Airbus has landed a potential $275.1M contract build another spacecraft module for the European Space Agency to support NASA's manned deep space exploration goals. The company said Tuesday it will produce the third European Service Module designed to fly with Lockheed Martin-built (NYSE: LMT) Orion spacecraft as part of the the Artemis III Mission to bring astronauts to the moon sometime in 2024.

SparkCognition, an Austin, Texas-based artificial intelligence company, has formed a wholly owned AI subsidiary focused on government and national defense. SparkCognition Government Systems will deliver AI-based systems to government agencies to help them address national security needs and improve operations through data analysis, application of prescriptive and predictive analytics, autonomy technology deployment and use of natural language processing to facilitate unstructured data processing.

Deirdre Walsh, former chief operating officer in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, has been appointed vice president of Washington, D.C. operations at Ball Aerospace.

TYSONS CORNER, VA, May 21, 2020 — ManTech International (Nasdaq: MANT) unveiled a technology offering for military, intellgence and commercial customers to avoid cyberattacks on space assets, ExecutiveBiz reported May 5.

Luis De Leon Chardel, senior vice president of operations and deputy head of RUAG's space business, has been appointed to lead the segment on an acting basis beginning in June.

Twenty-eight representatives from the government, private and academic sectors have been appointed to serve for a term of up to two years on the user’s advisory group of the National Space Council.

Cubic’s (NYSE: CUB) mission solutions business has transferred its Tampa operations in Florida to a larger office in the city to advance growth initiatives and further support U.S. military clients through the delivery of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology platforms.

AMERGINT Technologies Holdings has acquired Bothell, Wash.-based space technology company Tethers Unlimited Inc. for an undisclosed sum as part of efforts to deliver integrated end-to-end satellite communications and in-space services to government and commercial clients.

The Space Development Agency has released a solicitation for a program to design, develop, test and launch the initial batch of satellites that will comprise the Transport Layer Tranche 0 as part of the proliferated  National Defense Space Architecture in low-Earth orbit. A solicitation notice posted Friday says the transport layer will serve as the architecture’s backbone by delivering low-latency and resilient military connectivity and data to a range of warfighter applications.

Blue Origin, Leidos’ (NYSE: LDOS) Dynetics subsidiary and SpaceX have won 10-month contracts worth $967M combined to design and build human landing systems for NASA's Artemis moon mission in 2024.