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Space

Loft Federal and Microsoft Join Ball Aerospace’s Team for SDA NExT Contract

By Rachel Jewett

Tuesday, April 11th, 2023

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Loft Federal and Microsoft Join Ball Aerospace’s Team for SDA NExT Contract

SDA NExT constellation logo. Photo: SDA

Loft Federal and Microsoft [MSFT] will join Ball Aerospace [BLL] to work on its Space Development Agency (SDA) contract for the experimental testbed NExT for 10 satellites. SDA awarded Ball Aerospace the NExT contract in October 2022 to build 10 satellites and accompanying ground systems to serve as the experimental testbed of the SDA’s constellation. The contract is worth up to $176 million and the satellites are set to fly beginning in 2024. Ball Aerospace announced April 11 Loft Federal, the government subsidiary of Loft Orbital,…

Congress

House Republicans’ Blueprint For Reconciliation 3.0 Includes $60 Billion For Defense

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for a third reconciliation bill that includes $60 billion for defense, a figure slightly below the Trump administration’s request to cover Iran war […]

Congress

Senate Dems Block Consideration Of FY ‘27 NDAA Over Iran War Concerns

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to advance consideration of the chamber’s $1.14 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization (NDAA). The procedural vote was 46-50, failing to reach […]

Congress

Concerns Raised At SASC Hearing On Unobligated Reconciliation Funds And Lack Of Updates On Iran War Cost

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns at a hearing on Tuesday about the majority of funds in the $153 billion first reconciliation bill being unobligated thus […]

Unmanned Systems

CBO Says Upfront Costs To Protect Military Installations From Drones Between $1 Million And $74 Million

The initial costs to acquire and deploy counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) defenses at individual Defense Department installations are estimated at between $1.2 million and $73.6 million depending on the […]