Hera team congratulates NASA asteroid impactors
Monday, 26 September 2022 22:35ESA’s Hera mission team congratulates their counterparts in NASA’s DART mission team for their historic impact with the Dimorphos asteroid. Moving at 6.1 km per second, the vending-machine-sized Double Asteroid Redirect Test spacecraft struck the 160-m diameter asteroid at 01:15 CEST (00:15 BST) in the early hours of Tuesday morning, in humankind’s first test of the ‘kinetic impactor’ method of planetary defence.
UK shortlists Astroscale and ClearSpace for multi-debris removal mission
Monday, 26 September 2022 17:45The UK Space Agency said Sept. 26 it has shortlisted groups led by startups Astroscale and ClearSpace for a mission to remove two spacecraft from low Earth orbit in 2026.
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Direct impact or nuclear weapons? How to save Earth from an asteroid
Monday, 26 September 2022 17:39NASA's DART mission to test deflecting an asteroid using "kinetic impact" with a spaceship is just one way to defend planet Earth from an approaching object - and for now, the only method possible with current technology. The operation is like playing billiards in space, using Newton's laws of motion to guide us. If an asteroid threat to Earth were real, a mission might need to be lau
In new setback, hurricane forces Moon rocket into storage
Monday, 26 September 2022 17:39NASA's Artemis 1 rocket - waiting to blast off on a delayed mission to the Moon - will be rolled back into its storage hangar Monday night, the space agency said, as Florida braces for Hurricane Ian. The move, to protect the rocket from strong winds and heavy rain forecast for the Kennedy Space Center, will cause further setbacks for the uncrewed Moon mission, which was scheduled to launch
Hurricane forces NASA moon rocket to shelter; launch on hold
Monday, 26 September 2022 14:36Hurricane Ian is prompting NASA to move its moon rocket off the launch pad and into shelter, adding weeks of delay to the lunar-orbiting test flight.
SLS to roll back to VAB as hurricane approaches Florida
Monday, 26 September 2022 14:29NASA will move the Space Launch System rocket from its launch pad back the Vehicle Assembly Building as a precaution for an approaching hurricane, a decision that may delay the Artemis 1 mission until November.
Beyond Gravity: Mission-critical supplier for exploration
Monday, 26 September 2022 13:58Moon, Mars or Jupiter: No matter how distant or challenging a deep space mission, products from Beyond Gravity (formerly RUAG Space) help make space exploration a success.
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NASA to deflect asteroid in key test of planetary defense
Monday, 26 September 2022 11:54NASA will on Monday attempt a feat humanity has never before accomplished: deliberately smacking a spacecraft into an asteroid to slightly deflect its orbit, in a key test of our ability to stop cosmic objects from devastating life on Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spaceship launched from California last November and is fast approaching its target, which it will strike at
Plan to research solar power from space
Monday, 26 September 2022 11:20The Sun never stops shining in space, and sunlight is much more intense there than on Earth's surface. So what if we could gather that energy up in space then beam it down to Earth?
Recent studies funded by the Preparation element of ESA’s Basic Activities programme, show the concept, called Space-Based Solar Power, is theoretically workable and could support the path to decarbonising the energy sector. However, significant uncertainties and technical challenges remain. In response ESA is proposing a R&D programme to mature the concept and its critical technologies – SOLARIS.
BlackSky gets $14M in new orders to monitor critical global economic activity
Monday, 26 September 2022 10:06BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has received a combined total of $13.8 million of orders to date within the first year of a five-year National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) contract to monitor global economic activity. "These awards underscore the growing demand for commercial real-time, AI-driven monitoring services that reveal economic activity at manufacturing hubs, major m
Orbital Assembly and CisLunar Industries sign collaboration agreement
Monday, 26 September 2022 10:06Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the leader in developing a commercially viable, space-based business park with variable gravity, has announced an agreement with CisLunar Industries to collaborate on providing metal-processing services on its Pioneer-classTM space station. OAC will provide on-orbit facilities to CisLunar Industries, and CisLunar Industries will provide metal processing as a s
Spire Global awarded $10M NOAA contract to deliver satellite weather data
Monday, 26 September 2022 10:06Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR), has been awarded as part of Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Delivery Order 5 of the contract issued by the National Oceanographic and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), for commercially available space-based radio occultation (RO). The award, valued at $9.9 million, is the third multi-million dollar NOAA contract Spire has received in FY22.
Regions keep dark skies alight with constellations
Monday, 26 September 2022 10:06From the 'Saucepan' to the 'Southern Cross' star gazing is a popular pastime for many budding astronomers. But as Australia's cities continue to expand, finding a sky that's dark enough to see the stars is becoming more and more difficult, say UniSA astronomers. In search of dark skies - skies unaffected by unnatural light - a team of astronomy students will travel to the southern edge of
China's Mars rover expected to resume work in December
Monday, 26 September 2022 10:06China's Mars rover Zhurong, currently in sleep mode, is expected to wake up automatically in December when its energy level hits over 140 watts and the temperature of components like the battery rise above minus 15 degrees Celsius, according to its research team. Jia Yang, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 Mars mission from the China Academy of Space Technology, said Zhurong will resu
NASA and ESA sign lunar cooperation statement
Monday, 26 September 2022 09:27NASA and the European Space Agency signed an agreement on cooperation on lunar exploration activities that could open the door to additional ESA roles in the NASA-led Artemis effort.
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