48 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2025
NASA's New Deep Space Network
Antenna Has Its Crowning Moment u
NASA's Deep Space Network, an array of giant
radio antennas, allows agency missions to track,
send commands to, and receive scientific data
from spacecra venturing to the Moon and
beyond. NASA is adding a new antenna, bring-
ing the total to 15, to support increased demand
for the world's largest and most sensitive radio
frequency telecommunication system.
Solar Powered Aircraft Achieves
New Stratospheric Success u
During the first flight at Spaceport Amer-
ica® in New Mexico, in recent weeks, the solar
powered aircra flew for 24 hours climbing
to more than 66,000 feet and cruising in the
stratosphere, before successfully landing in a
serviceable condition, meaning it was ready to
fly again just two days later.
Cutting-Edge Satellite Tracks Lake
Water Levels in Ohio River Basin u
Since early 2023, SWOT has been measuring the
height of nearly all water on Earth's surface—
including oceans, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers—
covering nearly the entire globe at least once
every 21 days. e SWOT satellite also mea-
sures the horizontal extent of water in freshwa-
ter bodies. Earlier this year, the mission started
making validated data publicly available.
NASA's Kennedy Marks New Chapter
for Florida Space Industry u
e future of research and technology at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is
expanding Wednesday, as Kennedy's center
director and charter members in the Florida
University Space Research Consortium signed
a memorandum of understanding in research
and development to assist with missions and
contribute to NASA's Moon to Mars explora-
tion approach.
L3Harris Showcases Robotic Drone
Detection Capability for US Army u
L3Harris Technologies has successfully dem-
onstrated a new drone detection and defeat
capability for its T7 robot system at Vanguard
24, an annual capstone experiment the U.S.
Army hosts at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. e T7
is a large robotic system that gives operators
precision control for Explosive Ordnance Dis-
posal (EOD) and other complex tasks.
Northrop Grumman to Deliver US Navy's
E-130J Nuclear Command, Control and
Communications Aircraft u
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been
selected as the prime contractor to deliver
nuclear command, control and communica-
tions (NC3) aircra for the U.S. Navy's Take
Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission.
Two Additional Boeing O3b mPOWER
Satellites Successfully Communicating
in Space u
Two more Boeing-built O3b mPOWER sat-
ellites are sending and receiving signals in
space aer launching from the Kennedy Space
Center, Florida and will join the first six O3b
mPOWER to further enhance SES's ability
to deliver high-speed, reliable connectivity to
global users.
