Washington DC (AFP) Apr 08, 2022
The first fully private mission to the International Space Station blasted off from Florida Friday with a four-member crew from startup company Axiom Space. The partnership has been hailed by NASA, which sees it as a key step in its goal to commercialize the region of space known as "Low Earth Orbit," leaving the agency to focus on more ambitious endeavors deeper into the cosmos. A S

Week in images: 4-8 April 2022

Discover our week through the lens

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of Sindh – the third-largest province of Pakistan.

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 07, 2022
NASA's GEDI mission has reached a major milestone with the release of its newest data product, which provides the first near-global estimate of aboveground forest biomass and the carbon it stores - filling a key gap in climate research. The data enables research into how Earth's forests are changing, what role they play in mitigating climate change, and the regional and global impacts of p

Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 07, 2022
Scientists have produced a new method that holds the promise of improving groundwater management - critical to both life and agriculture in dry regions. The method sorts out how much underground water loss comes from aquifers confined in clay, which can be drained so dry that they will not recover, and how much comes from soil that's not confined in an aquifer, which can be replenished by a few

Washington DC (SPX) Apr 06, 2022
DARPA and its U.S. Air Force partner recently completed a free flight test of the Lockheed Martin version of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). The vehicle, after release from a carrier aircraft, was boosted to its Aerojet Rocketdyne scramjet engine ignition envelope. From there, it quickly accelerated to and maintained cruise faster than Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) f

Washington DC (SPX) Apr 05, 2022
The Department of the Air Force selected six candidate locations for U.S. Space Force's Space Training and Readiness Command Headquarters, April 4. All USSF bases are candidate locations under consideration, which include Los Angeles Air Force Base, California (will be renamed a Space Force Base in the future), Vandenberg SFB, California, Buckley SFB, Colorado, Schriever SFB, Colorado, Pet

San Diego CA (SPX) Apr 05, 2022
Space Micro Inc., powered by Voyager Space, and a provider of digital, electro-optic and communications systems for satellites, deep space exploration and other space equipment, today announced an award from the U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command for a contract to build a GEO-capable uLCT secure laser communications terminal. Under the contract, Space Micro plans to deliver a flight model t

Cocoa FL (SPX) Apr 06, 2022
SmallSat launch services provider Vaya Space announced their strategic partnership with C8 Secure to provide turn-key cybersecurity solutions for the space industry. In addition, Vaya Space has agreed to provide launch services to Continent 8 Technologies, the parent corporation of C8 Secure, as they develop and implement plans to create a new satellite constellation to augment their global netw

Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 08, 2022
We successfully drove further down off of the "Greenheugh pediment" as we head toward smoother driving pathways downhill. However, the chaotic jumble of terrain we encountered in the final few rolls of our wheels left a couple of our wheels perched awkwardly. That meant we could not get out the arm for contact science, lest our large arm swinging around cause the rover to shift unexpectedl