ESA’s EnVision mission to Venus will perform optical, spectral and radar mapping of Earth’s sister planet. But before getting down to work the van-sized spacecraft needs to ‘aerobrake’ – lowering its orbit with thousands of passages through the planet’s hot, thick atmosphere for up to two years. A unique ESA facility is currently testing candidate spacecraft materials to check they can safely withstand this challenging process of atmospheric surfing.

Image: A spacewalk full of firsts

An innovative small-sized satellite product line for geostationary telecommunications has passed its ESA system requirements review and received its official name of “HummingSat”.

Paris, France (SPX) Jul 26, 2022
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and key OneWeb shareholders have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the objective of creating a leading global player in Connectivity through the combination of both companies in an all-share transaction. Eutelsat will combine its 36-strong fleet of GEO satellites with OneWeb's constellation of 648 Low Earth Orbit satellites, of which 428 are

Washington DC (SPX) Jul 25, 2022
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope recently captured the highest-resolution image of the universe in infrared that has ever been seen. The historic photos were made possible by the Defense Department's ability to secure strategic and critical materials necessary for the mission. At the top of that list is the unique element beryllium. Invisible to X-rays and with a stiffness six times

Arlington VA (SPX) Jul 25, 2022
CAES, a leader in advanced mission-critical electronics for aerospace and defense, has announced that its radiation hardened microelectronics are on board SpaceLogistics' Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) Spacecraft, and the Mission Extension POD (MEP), which will be deployed to assist in extending the life of aging satellites in space. The MRV is the second-generation servicing vehicle follow

Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 25, 2022
American and British arms companies have been working on the creation of defense systems against Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles, though the project is only "in its infancy" in the United States, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. In particular, British company Cohort has been developing technologies to destroy weapons moving five times faster than the speed of sound, Andy Tomis, th

Beijing (Global Times) Jul 26, 2022
A recent report by US magazine The National Interest demonized China's achievements in space by interpreting China's space exploration missions, including the lunar program and manned spaceflight, as "threats to US leadership in space" and a "detriment to US national security." This report is just the tip of iceberg in the US' sustained attempts to suppress and discredit China's space prog