Propulsion Development Engineer 2

True Anomaly, Northrop Grumman secure contracts to develop GHOST-R GEO reconnaissance prototypes. * GHOST-R will use commercially developed spacecraft and electro-optical payloads for GEO reconnaissance * The prototypes are scheduled to launch directly into geostationary Earth orbit by 2028 * Northrop Grumman will use its ESPASat-L spacecraft for its GHOST-R prototype The Defense Innovation Unit and Space Systems Command have awarded contracts to Northrop Grumman and True Anomaly to develop reconnaissance prototypes under the GHOST-R program, with launch directly to geostationary Earth orbit scheduled by 2028, SSC said Friday. Table of Contents What is the GHOST-R program? GHOST-R is designed to provide high-resolution space-to-space imagery for characterizing resident space objects in geostationary orbit. The effort uses commercially developed space vehicles, buses and electro-optical payloads to support reconnaissance missions. The program is being developed in support of SSC's RG-XX office, which is pursuing lower-cost, reconnaissance-focused satellites for its constellation. The effort follows a May solicitation in which DIU sought commercially developed systems capable of producing high-resolution imagery of objects in GEO, with an initial prototype target of 24 months. How will GHOST-R transition to operational missions? The prototypes are expected to transition to government-owned and operated missions for the U.S. Space Force by 2029. Successful prototypes will have a path toward transition into the program of record, according to SSC. DIU's original solicitation called for the system to transition from commercial ownership and operation to government ownership and operation within 36 months. The DIU-SSC partnership uses a customer-and-accelerator model that relies on rapid prototyping to develop capabilities for the RG-XX program. The approach is intended to streamline standard defense acquisition processes and shorten the time needed to field prototype capabilities. The companies developing the prototypes will use proven commercial buses and integrate electro-optical payloads into the reconnaissance vehicles. Northrop Grumman will use its ESPASat-L spacecraft platform for its GHOST-R prototype and incorporate optical payloads from TRL-11. Col. Bryon McClain, acting portfolio acquisition executive for Space Combat Power, said the approach is intended to address technical risk and lifecycle costs while providing reconnaissance capabilities to the warfighter.

Castelion, Muon Space complete Series C funding rounds. Stay Connected Find opportunities - and win them. August 20, 2026 02:05 PM ET Both startups are using their newfound capital to accelerate production of their hypersonic weapons and satellites. This three-year-old maker of hypersonic strike missiles has completed a $1 billion Series C capital raise to aid its transition into scaled production of these weapons and efforts to expand the product portfolio. For Castelion, this new financing round follows its $350 million Series C that closed in December and an 18-month period where the company has booked $500 million in U.S. military contracts. JPMorgan Chase's Strategic Investment Group, which is part of the banking giant's Security and Resiliency Initiative, Andreesen Horowitz and The Carlyle Group acted as co-leads for the Castelion Series C equity financing. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lavrock Ventures, Altimeter, General Catalyst and Interlagos joined new investor T. Rowe Price Associates in the raise. Castelion now touts its valuation at around $13 billion following the Series C, which includes $800 million in equity capital and a $250 million revolving credit facility. Castelion's flagship system is the Blackbeard hypersonic missile, for which the Navy placed a $23.4 million firm-fixed-price order in June for 50 prototypes. In May, the Defense Department signed a testing-and-validation agreement with Castelion to lay down a framework for purchasing at least 500 Blackbeard missiles per year over up to five years. The Pentagon's pact with Castelion is part of a military-wide push to speed up the development and advancement of hypersonic weapons, which China and Russia have also prioritized. Hypersonics also depend on munitions, a segment of defense manufacturing under stress from conflicts in places like Ukraine and Russia. In addition to Blackbeard, Castelion will use the newfound capital to speed up its work on a new precision strike weapon and systems for air and missile defense. Bryon Hargis, Castelion's chief executive and a co-founder, told CNBC in an interview aired Thursday described the company as "following the model of what the country used to do in the Apollo era." Muon Space This five-year-old maker of small satellites has completed a $250 million Series C capital raise to aid its efforts at accelerating production of larger-scale constellations and expanding dual-use spacecraft. For Muon, this new financing round follows its $146 million Series C round completed in the summer of 2025. Muon has launched seven satellites so far this year, a run that brings its total number of deployments to 11 satellites with plans for 13 more over the next 12 months. Muon touts 50 customer satellites as currently in production and is pushing toward a production cadence of 500 birds per year. In addition to production, Muon also plans to use a portion of the newfound capital for investments in new capabilities such as orbital artificial intelligence computing. Eclipse Capital led the Series C round for Muon in the same year that the investment firm also co-led True Anomaly's $650 million Series D. Muon's new investors include Galvanize, Google, Salesforce Ventures, Wellington Management, I Squared Capital and Woven Capital. Existing investors returning to the fold for Muon include Radical Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Activate Capital, ACME Capital, ArcTern Ventures and Overlap Holdings. Muon designs its satellites to operate in low-Earth orbit while collecting and distributing Earth intelligence data for government and commercial entities. The company's federal portfolio includes a second-stage contract with the National Reconnaissance Office, which they signed in May to aid the further development and eventual deployment of the Halo satellite. Muon is also one of 14 companies involved in NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition contract, which the agency uses to expand the availability of Earth observation data across scientific communities.

NorthStar appoints Matthew Linton as Chief Legal Officer. Experienced space and national security legal executive will support the company's global expansion. Montreal, Canada, August 4th, 2026, - NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. ("NorthStar"), a global leader in Space Domain Awareness (SDA) with headquarters in Montreal and operations in the United States and Europe, today announced the appointment of Matthew Linton as Chief Legal Officer, Board Secretary, and Head of Human Resources. Linton will help strengthen the company's operational foundation as it continues to scale the enterprise to deliver services to government and commercial clients. He brings extensive experience advising companies across the space and national security sectors. Throughout his career, he has advised emerging space companies on complex commercial, regulatory, and governance matters while supporting the development and execution of satellite missions and strategic government partnerships. "Space is now the first line of defence and NorthStar has established itself as a pioneer in space-based monitoring and intelligence," said Linton. "As space becomes increasingly important to national security and global resilience, the ability to see, understand, and act on what is happening in orbit is essential. I look forward to working alongside an exceptional team, strengthening the partnerships that safeguard this increasingly vital domain, and to helping NorthStar deliver on its mission." Previously, Linton served as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at True Anomaly, a defence space technology company, where he helped shape the legal and regulatory framework supporting its national security and commercial space missions "We are very pleased to welcome Matt to NorthStar's management team," said Stewart Bain, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of NorthStar. "His legal, regulatory, and sector experience will be important as NorthStar continue to grow and deliver trusted space intelligence to government and commercial customers." About NorthStar Earth & Space NorthStar Earth & Space is a space intelligence and data analytics company. NorthStar is the first commercial enterprise to launch dedicated spacecraft that continuously scan, detect, and track the behaviour of satellites from space. NorthStar offers commercial and defence customers Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and 24/7 Space Domain Awareness (SDA) services. NorthStar's patented Space Information & Intelligence (Si2) Platform combines a robust system architecture, AI, edge computing, and diverse observation sources with its dedicated sensors to detect threats as they occur and evolve in-orbit. This highly differentiated service provides early detection, tracking, and custody of emerging space threats to enable decision makers to measure and assess alternative responses. With global headquarters in Montreal, Canada, a European HQ in Luxembourg, and a dedicated U.S. operation in McLean, Virginia. NorthStar supports mission critical operations with key defence and civil clients including the Royal Canadian Armed Forces' (RCAF) - 3 Canadian Space Division (3 CSD), the US Space Force Joint Commercial Operations, DARPA, the Luxembourg Space Agency, and the European Space Agency and others.