Copernical Team
55 Years Ago: Space Task Group Proposes Post-Apollo Plan to President Nixon
The Apollo 11 mission in July 1969 completed the goal set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. At the time, NASA planned nine more Apollo Moon landing missions of increasing complexity and an Earth orbiting experimental space station. No firm human space flight plans existed once these missions ended in th Compact nuclear clocks edge closer to reality
Scientists use atomic clocks to measure 'second,' the smallest standard unit of time, with great precision. These clocks use natural oscillations of electrons in atoms, similar to how pendulums work in old grandfather clocks. The quest for an even more precise timekeeper led to the discovery of nuclear clocks, which use the transitions of atomic nuclei instead of electrons to keep time.
A Reaching New Heights to Unravel Deep Martian History!
The Perseverance rover is reaching new heights as it ascends the rim of Jezero crater (over 300 meters in elevation higher than the original landing site)! The rover is now enroute to its first campaign science stop Dox Castle (image in the far ground) a region of interest for its potential to host ancient Mars' bedrock in the exposed rocks on the rim.
Impact craters like Jezero may be the Airbus to Provide Over 200 Sparkwing Solar Arrays for MDA AURORA Satellites
Airbus has been selected by MDA Space Ltd. (TSX:MDA), a global leader in advanced space technology and services, to supply solar arrays for its MDA AURORA TM software-defined satellite product line. This satellite system aims to expand communication networks across the world by enabling satellite constellations for improved global connectivity.
Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver over AST SpaceMobile launches first 5 BlueBird satellites into orbit
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) reports the the successful launch of its first five commercial satellites, called BlueBirds.
The groundbreaking launch started at 4:52 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The event was witnessed by partners and retail shareholders from around the globe who had gathered to be a part of this historic milestone.
These large arrays of antennas are Apex Unveils Nova Satellite Bus Platform
Apex, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in spacecraft bus platforms, has introduced Nova, a new ESPA-Grande class satellite bus platform designed to accommodate payloads between 200 and 500 kg.
Set for delivery starting in Q3 2025, Nova will cater to the demands of proliferated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions, including projects for the U.S. Space Force's Space Development Agency (SD Astropolitics 3.0: A Reality Check
With the release of his 10th book, Astropolitics 3.0: Reality Check, Frank, delivers another sharp and insightful analysis in the acclaimed "Reality Check" series, which includes successful releases: A.I. 2.0, Earth Polycrisis, Hydrogen 3.0, and Net Zero.
Space is no longer the exclusive domain of scientific discovery. In Astropolitics 3.0: Reality Check, the author takes a hard look at th Shamir study supports century-old tired light theory, challenging big bang
A recent study led by a Kansas State University engineer has provided evidence that supports the "Tired Light" theory, a century-old concept that challenges the widely accepted Big Bang theory.
Lior Shamir, an associate professor of computer science, conducted an observational study using imaging from three telescopes and over 30,000 galaxies to measure the redshift of galaxies based on th NASA's Artemis II crew uses Iceland terrain for lunar training
Black and gray sediment stretches as far as the eye can see. Boulders sit on top of ground devoid of vegetation. Humans appear almost miniature in scale against a swath of shadowy mountains. At first glance, it seems a perfect scene from an excursion on the moon's surface … except the people are in hiking gear, not spacesuits.
Iceland has served as a lunar stand-in for training NASA astronauts since the days of the Apollo missions, and this summer the Artemis II crew took its place in that long history. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, along with their backups, NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons, joined geology experts for field training on the Nordic island.
New video shows how tiny spacecraft will 'swarm' Proxima Centauri
Earlier this year, NASA selected a rather interesting proposal for Phase I development as part of their NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. It's known as Swarming Proxima Centauri, a collaborative effort between Space Initiatives Inc. and the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is) led by Space Initiative's chief scientist, Marshall Eubanks.
The concept was recently selected for Phase I development as part of this year's NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.
Similar to other proposals involving gram-scale spacecraft and lightsails, the "swarming" concept involves accelerating tiny spacecraft with a laser array to up to 20% the speed of light. This past week, on the last day of the 2024 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium, Eubanks and his colleagues presented an animation illustrating what this mission will look like.
The video and their presentation provide tantalizing clues as to what scientists expect to find in the closest star system to our own.