...the who's who,
and the what's what 
of the space industry

Copernical Team

Copernical Team

Orlando FL DC (UPI) Feb 04, 2022
A former NASA official revealed Thursday that his new space company, Maryland-based Quantum Space, plans to launch robotic satellite outposts to orbit the sun about a million miles from the Earth. The eventual goal is to provide easier and cheaper access to space while also limiting debris in Earth's orbit, Steve Jurczyk, Quantum CEO, told UPI in an interview. "We'd have a regular ca
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 04, 2022
At a press conference today, NSF's NOIRLab announced that it has been selected, along with the SKA Observatory (SKAO), by the International Astronomical Union to host the new IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. The center coordinates collaborative multidisciplinary international efforts with institutions and individuals and works acr
Charlotte NC (SPX) Feb 02, 2022
Satellogic Inc., a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection, has announced a new partnership with Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR), a leading builder of operating systems for the modern enterprise. Under the agreement, Satellogic will leverage Palantir's Foundry platform, accelerating business processes, rapid image product delivery, AI model training, and enterprise-wid
Bellevue WA (SPX) Feb 02, 2022
New advances in 5G standards are creating opportunities to integrate non-terrestrial networks (NTN) into an interoperable, standardized wireless experience across the entire globe. Today, 5G Americas, the voice of 5G and 4G LTE for the Americas, announced the release of its latest white paper covering the role of 5G in satellite networks entitled, "5G and Non-Terrestrial Networks." Said Ch
Friday, 04 February 2022 04:51

Webb team begins aligning the telescope

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 04, 2022
This week, the three-month process of aligning the telescope began - and over the last day, Webb team members saw the first photons of starlight that traveled through the entire telescope and were detected by the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument. This milestone marks the first of many steps to capture images that are at first unfocused and use them to slowly fine-tune the telescope. This
London, UK (SPX) Feb 03, 2022
The UK will invest 1.4 billion pounds to bolster our national interests in space, as part of the first Defence Space Strategy published this week. Following publication of the National Space Strategy in September last year, the Defence Space Strategy (DSS) outlines how Defence will protect the UK's national interests in space in an era of ever-growing threats, stimulating growth across the
Placing marine plastic litter for detection testing

Could satellites be able to help track and map the marine plastic waste befouling our oceans? Research teams from across Europe returned to a Netherlands-based ocean wave test facility to try and detect floating plastic. Using a suite of microwave and optical instruments, the researchers are assessing if orbital monitoring of plastic might be practical in the future.

Friday, 04 February 2022 08:00

Earth from Space: Batura Glacier

Batura Glacier

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Batura Glacier – one of the largest and longest glaciers in the world, outside of the polar regions.

Video: 00:48:00

Embark on a mission with ESA astronomers Mark McCaughrean and Giovanna Giardino to learn more about the James Webb Space Telescope and the early Universe. This programme is suitable for primary and secondary students. Join the quest!

Find more educational resources, videos and links about astronomy on ESA Education's Teach with Astronomy webpage.

Incoming! Debris enroute to the Moon
Artist's impression of DSCOVR on the way to L1 on its Falcon 9 upper stage in 2015. Credit: SpaceX

The moon is set to gain one more crater. A leftover SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage will impact the lunar surface in early March, marking the first time that a human-made debris item unintentionally reaches our natural satellite.

In 2015 the Falcon 9 placed NOAA's DSCOVR climate observatory around the L1 Lagrange point, one of five such gravitationally-stable points between Earth and the Sun. Having reached L1, around 1.5 million km from Earth, the mission's ended up pointed away from Earth into interplanetary space.

This rendered a deorbit burn to dispose of it in our planet's atmosphere impractical, and the upper stage also lacked sufficient velocity to escape the Earth-moon system. Instead it was left in a chaotic Sun-orbiting orbit near the two bodies.

Now credible public estimates forecast its impact with the moon on 4 March at 12:25:39 UTC at a point on the lunar far side near the equator.

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