Beyond Artemis I—NASA plots cheaper rocket rollout while Congress calls for more flights
Thursday, 04 August 2022 15:41
NASA has yet to get its next-generation moon rocket off the ground, but this week announced a shift in how it plans to pay for future launches while also falling under a new directive from Congress to increase the number of flights each year.
Artemis I, a combination of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule, is set to roll out from Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building on Aug. 18 to Launch Pad 39-B ahead of a potential liftoff as early as Aug. 29. The uncrewed test flight will send Orion on a mission that could last up to 42 days traveling more than 1 million miles including several orbits around the moon.
The primary goal is to sign off on Orion's ability to support crew for future missions, including testing a heat shield that can endure the stresses of an intense re-entry.
"Orion will come home faster and hotter than any spacecraft has before," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during a press conference Wednesday. "It's going to hit the Earth's atmosphere at 32 times the speed of sound.
Consolidation wave pushes rivals SES and Intelsat into merger talks
Thursday, 04 August 2022 14:07
SES and Intelsat are in active merger talks as a wave of consolidation sweeps over the satellite industry, the Financial Times reported Aug. 4.
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Blue Origin launches sixth New Shepard crewed suborbital flight
Thursday, 04 August 2022 13:24
Blue Origin launched its New Shepard suborbital vehicle on its sixth crewed flight in a little more than a year Aug. 4, carrying six people that included the first individuals from Egypt and Portugal to go to space.
Geospatial analysis provider Descartes Labs sold to private equity firm
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:51
Private equity firm Antarctica Capital has acquired geospatial analytics provider Descartes Labs to support its growing space-based data portfolio.
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ULA launches missile warning satellite for US Space Force
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
United Launch Alliance launched a missile warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force on Thursday morning. ULA launched SBIRS GEO-6, into orbit on its Atlas V rocket on time at 6:29am. The SBIRS GEO-6 is an enhanced satellite built by Lockheed Martin that uses the LM 2100 Combat Bus to provide "even greater resiliency and cyber-hardening against growing threats" As reflective satellites fill the skies, UA students helping astronomers adapt
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
As satellites crawl across the sky, they reflect light from the sun back down to Earth, especially during the first few hours after sunset and the first few hours before sunrise. As more companies launch networks of satellites into low-Earth orbit, a clear view of the night sky is becoming rarer. Astronomers, in particular, are trying to find ways to adapt.
With that in mind, a team of Uni SpaceX debris discovered in Australian sheep paddock
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
A charred chunk of space junk found jutting from a paddock by an Australian sheep farmer was confirmed to be part of one of Elon Musk's SpaceX missions by authorities Thursday.
The ethereal-looking debris, believed to have plummeted to Earth on July 9, was found last week in Dalgety - a remote area near Australia's Snowy Mountains, about five hours' drive southwest of Sydney.
"It was ki Slingshot Aerospace acquires Numerica's space division and UK-Based Seradata
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
Slingshot Aerospace, Inc., a company building space simulation and analytics products to accelerate space sustainability, has announced that the company has acquired Numerica's Space Domain Awareness (SDA) division and UK-based Seradata.
Numerica's SDA division includes the world's first and only commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) daytime and nighttime optical s ASTRA announces major new equity facility
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
Astra Space, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTR) has entered into a common stock purchase agreement with B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC ("B. Riley Principal Capital II"). The agreement governs a Committed Equity Facility that provides Astra the right, in its discretion and without obligation, to sell and issue up to $100 million of its Class A common stock over the course of 24 months to B. Riley Principal Tonga eruption blasted unprecedented amount of water into stratosphere
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted on Jan. 15, it sent a tsunami racing around the world and set off a sonic boom that circled the globe twice. The underwater eruption in the South Pacific Ocean also blasted an enormous plume of water vapor into Earth's stratosphere - enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The sheer amount of water vapor could be enough to t International Space Agency Teamwork puts the Whole World in our Hands
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
NASA data scientist Dr. Manil Maskey has a calm demeanor and a ready smile. He's also a trailblazer. With peers from around the world, he has created an unprecedented tool to bring our planet down to Earth.
The Earth Observing Dashboard is a user-friendly interactive computer interface for exploring the planet and tracking its changes over time. This knowledge can help us understand our ow First global map of cargo ship pollution reveals effects of fuel regulations
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
A new study in Science Advances led by UMBC's Tianle Yuan used satellite data from 2003 - 2020 to determine the effect of fuel regulations on pollution from cargo ships. The research team's data revealed significant changes in sulfur pollution after regulations went into effect in 2015 and 2020. Their extensive data set can also contribute to answering a bigger question: How do pollutants and ot NASA's mineral dust detector on ISS starts gathering data with EMIT
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
Newly installed on the space station, the instrument, called EMIT, will help answer questions about how mineral dust from Earth's arid regions affects climate.
After being installed on the exterior of the International Space Station, NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission has provided its first view of Earth. The milestone, called "first light," took place at 'We're going;' NASA says its ready for Artemis I unmanned trip to moon
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
Sounding like an excited new parent, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson declared during a press briefing Wednesday that the agency's Artemis mission is ready to take its first physical steps to return to the moon and sometime later head to Mars.
Laying out an effort that will include international and commercial partners, Nelson said Artemis I will take off for months-long orbiting around t Major new investment accelerates construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope
Thursday, 04 August 2022 11:11
The Giant Magellan Telescope, the most powerful telescope ever engineered using the world's largest mirrors, today announced it has secured a $205 million investment from its international consortium to accelerate construction. This investment marks one of the largest funding rounds for the telescope since its founding and includes leading commitments from the Carnegie Institution for Science, H