US, India agree to cooperate on space situational awareness
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 13:32
The United States and India have agreed to cooperate on space situational awareness, a deal that the U.S. Department of Defense said would “lay the groundwork for more advanced cooperation in space.”
The post US, India agree to cooperate on space situational awareness appeared first on SpaceNews.
New home for Earth’s protectors
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 13:30
ESA’s new Space Safety Centre is a hub for activities protecting our planet from a raging star, risky asteroids and defunct satellites.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher inaugurated the Centre today at the Agency’s ESOC mission control centre, in Darmstadt, Germany.
Space balloon company offers first look at luxury cabins
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 12:47
A new entrant in the space tourism market promises customers views of the Earth's curvature from the comfort of a luxury cabin, lifted to the upper atmosphere with a giant balloon.
Space Perspective on Tuesday revealed illustrations of its swish cabins, which it hopes to start launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida from late 2024. More than 600 tickets have so far been sold, at $125,000 each.
With five-feet (1.5 meter) high windows, deep seats, dark, purple tones and subdued lighting, the atmosphere contrasts with the white and sanitized capsules of its competitors.
Wifi connectivity and a drinks bar round out the "Space Lounge" inside the company's Neptune capsule.
The impact of long-term spaceflight on cerebrospinal fluid and perivascular spaces in astronauts and cosmonauts
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 12:19
An international team of researchers has conducted an extensive study of the impact of long-term space flight on the eyes and brains of astronauts. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of MRI scans of both astronauts and cosmonauts before and after venturing into space and the differences they found between the two groups.
When humans venture into space, their bodies undergo changes due to freefall. Prior research has shown that a person's height can be impacted, for example, due to less downward pressure on the spinal column. More recently, as flight times have expanded, researchers have found that the great reduction in gravity also impacts vison and the brain. In this new effort, the researchers took a close look at such changes by studying MRIs made of 24 astronauts and 13 cosmonauts before they went into space and then again within two weeks of their return to Earth. All those studied had spent a minimum of six months in space. The researchers also looked at MRIs of astronauts that had been in space for just two weeks as part of NASA shuttle missions, and also at a few astronauts with the European Space Agency.
Astra wins order for electric thrusters from LeoStella
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 12:14
Astra Space announced April 12 an order of electric thrusters by LeoStella, part of the company’s efforts to move beyond launch.
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NASA defends decision to proceed with modified SLS countdown test
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 10:01
NASA officials defended their decision to proceed with a modified version of a countdown rehearsal for the Space Launch System that does not involve fueling the rocket’s upper stage, saying they’ll wait until after the test to determine the next steps toward launch.
Op-ed | Guarding against greenwashing in space
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 10:00
Are these commitments resulting in meaningful performance? Or are they “greenwashing” — mere marketing pledges or virtue signaling with little actual impact on sustainability?
The post Op-ed | Guarding against greenwashing in space appeared first on SpaceNews.
How sherpas guide startups through government contracting terrain
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 08:00
U.S. defense and intelligence agencies are eager to tap into commercial innovation, and many startup founders are eager to win government funding. The problem is the two groups often have trouble communicating.
The post How sherpas guide startups through government contracting terrain appeared first on SpaceNews.
An astronaut awakes | Cosmic Kiss
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 07:30
Video:
00:01:35
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer gives a glimpse into his morning routine aboard the International Space Station during his Cosmic Kiss mission.
Matthias’s crew quarters, known as CASA (short for Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation), is located within the European Columbus science laboratory module. The glowing pink light of this module comes from NASA’s Veggie facility, where astronauts help researchers study plant growth in microgravity.
Each astronaut aboard the Space Station has their own crew quarter. No larger than a changing room, this is their bedroom in space where they can store personal items, use a laptop to contact friends and
Submissions open for Copernicus Masters 2022
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 06:43
Submissions open for Copernicus Masters 2022
Maxar eager to launch new satellites amid soaring demand for imagery over Ukraine
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 01:00
As Maxar satellites continue to collect images of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, the company is working with customers so it can allocate more capacity to meet U.S. government needs, CEO Daniel Jablonsky told SpaceNews.
Most distant galaxy candidate yet
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 00:05
An international astronomer team has discovered the most distant galaxy candidate to date, named HD1, which is about 13.5 billion light-years away. This discovery implies that bright systems like HD1 existed as early as 300 million years after the Big Bang. This galaxy candidate is one of the targets of the James Webb Space Telescope launched late last year. If observations with the James Webb S NASA working around valve issue to complete testing of Artemis
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 00:05
NASA on Tuesday plans to proceed with modified pre-launch tests of its next mega moon rocket, the Space Launch System.
The tests have been delayed due to a valve issue with the rocket's upper stage, agency officials said Monday, but they will be working around it - by not fully fueling the rocket - in order to finish the tests.
Issues with the rocket's helium pressure system -- L3Harris awarded $117M space object-tracking modernization contract
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 00:05
L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has been awarded $117 million for option-year three of a U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command contract to continue maintaining and modernizing infrastructure to track objects in space. The Maintenance Of Space Situational Awareness Integrated Capabilities (MOSSAIC) program has an estimated contract value of $1.2 billion over 10 years.
L3Harris won the in 17-year Neptune study reveals surprising temperature changes
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 00:05
The heating-and-cooling changes of Neptune's atmospheric and global temperatures have caught the attention of the astronomers who have monitored them over 17 years, a study released Monday shows.
The expert international team spent nearly two decades keeping a close watch on the gaseous planet's temperatures using ground-based telescopes, including the European Southern Observatory's Ve