NRL News

Tag: spacecraft engineering

NRL’s Satellite Operations Service is Ready for the Space Force Enterprise
December 9, 2025 — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Spacecraft Engineering Department recently developed the Transmit/Receive Enterprise (TREx) service with sponsorship from the Space Development Agency, Space Rapid Capabilities Office, and Space Systems Command to provide software development and mission operations for sponsoring organizations across the space community... MORE

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory recently developed the Transmit/Receive Enterprise (TREx) service with sponsorship from the Space Development Agency, Space Rapid Capabilities Office, and Space Systems Command. The TREx service provides secure access to various government and commercial antenna networks, which dramatically increases the amount of time satellites can be in contact with ground stations. This enables the satellite missions to operate more effectively by downlinking more data from space, and to recover faster if the satellite experiences an anomaly.

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Wins Best Paper Award at International Space Robotics Conference
December 5, 2025 — A U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) space robotics team received the Best Paper Award in Orbital Robotics at the 2025 International Conference on Space Robotics (iSpaRo) in Sendai, Japan, on Dec. 3. The recognition spotlights NRL’s leadership in autonomous space systems and artificial intelligence–enabled operations... MORE

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Senior Scientist for Robotics and Autonomous Systems Glen Henshaw, Ph.D., accepts the Best Paper Award in Orbital Robotics on behalf of the Autonomous Planning In-space Assembly Reinforcement-learning free-flyer (APIARY) team at the 2025 International Conference on Space Robotics (iSpaRo) in Sendai, Japan, on Dec. 3, 2025.

Naval Research Laboratory Robotic Servicing Payload Clears Thermal Vacuum Lab Test, Readies for Space
September 18, 2025 — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in partnership with and with funding support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics, has reached a historic milestone in satellite servicing technology, completing on Sept. 5 a critical round of space-readiness testing on a robotic spacecraft designed to extend and upgrade satellites already in orbit... MORE

The Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload integrated with the Northrop Grumman Mission Robotics Vehicle (MRV) spacecraft bus moves into the cryogenic thermal vacuum chamber for testing at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST) in Washington, D.C., July 24, 2025. NRL NCST, with funding support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is conducting final space-readiness testing on RSGS, a robotic payload designed to extend and upgrade satellites already in orbit.

Reinforcement Learning is Making a Buzz in Space
September 9, 2025 — A U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) research team successfully conducted the first reinforcement learning (RL) control of a free-flyer in space on May 27... MORE

Samantha Chapin, Ph.D., U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) space roboticist, performs a reinforcement learning control test on free-flyer robots aboard the International Space Station from NRL headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 27, 2025. The test demonstrated the potential of reinforcement learning to improve robotic autonomy for space exploration and logistics. (U.S. Navy photo by Sarah Peterson)

Northrop Grumman Successfully Integrates Spacecraft for Next-Generation Space Robotic Servicing System
June 5, 2025 — June 5, 2025 – Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) SpaceLogistics LLC has announced the integration of a robotics payload onto its Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) spacecraft bus, achieving another milestone for its MRV and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program... MORE

Northrop Grumman announced June 5, 2025, it integrated the robotics payload, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), onto its Mission Robotics Vehicle at the company’s Dulles, Virginia, facility.

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