Aeolus paves the way for future wind lidars in space
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 14:35
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It’s hard to believe that ESA’s Aeolus wind mission has now been orbiting Earth for three years and, remarkably, exceeded its design life milestone. Aeolus has gone way further than its original goal of demonstrating that ground-breaking laser technology can deliver global profiles of the wind; its data are being distributed to weather forecasting services across the world in less than three hours of measurements being made in space. Moreover, Aeolus has laid the foundation for future Doppler wind lidar satellite missions.
Solar Orbiter publishes a wealth of science results from its cruise phase
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 14:00 Write a comment
For a mission yet to have entered its main science phase, Solar Orbiter has already generated a lot of great science. Today sees the publication of a wealth of results from the mission’s cruise phase.
Video: Double drop test success for ExoMars parachutes
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 13:35 Write a comment
The largest parachute set to fly on Mars has completed its first successful high-altitude drop test, a critical milestone for ensuring the ExoMars mission is on track for launch in 2022. Both the first and second stage parachutes have now successfully flown this year.
A pair of high-altitude drop tests took place in Oregon on 21 November and 3 December as part of the ongoing parachute testing to ensure the safe delivery of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok lander to the surface of Mars in June 2023.
Albedo wins license to sell 10-centimeter imagery
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 13:00 Write a comment
Earth observation startup Albedo was granted a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration license to sell commercial optical imagery with a resolution of 10 centimeters per pixel.
Space traffic control startup Kayhan Space raises $3.7 million in seed funding
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 13:00 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Kayhan Space, a startup based in Boulder, Colorado, announced Dec. 14 it has closed a $3.75 million seed funding round. The company developed a space traffic control system for satellite operators to help prevent collisions in Earth’s orbit.
Space traffic analytics startup Kayhan Space raises $3.7 million in seed funding
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 13:00 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Kayhan Space, a startup based in Boulder, Colorado, announced Dec. 14 it has closed a $3.75 million seed funding round. The company developed a cloud-based collision-avoidance software service for low Earth orbit satellite operators.
Rocket Lab to acquire SolAero Holdings
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 12:46 Write a comment
Rocket Lab announced Dec. 13 that it is acquiring solar power system manufacturer SolAero Holdings, the latest in a series of acquisitions by Rocket Lab of component developers.
China tests hypersonic flight engine using rejected design developed in US
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 12:32 Write a comment
A team of scientists has built and successfully tested a prototype based on a novel idea created more than two decades ago by an American space agency expert of Chinese descent.
A Chinese research team has built and tested a prototype hypersonic flight engine, capable of operating in Mach 4 to Mach 8 (4,900-9,800 kph) speed conditions, based on a design cooked up in NASA but later rejected Orbex begins construction of new rocket launchpad in the UK
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 12:32 Write a comment
Orbex, Europe's leading private small satellite launch services provider, has announced it has started construction of its first state-of-the-art Launch Platform, the first orbital space launchpad to be built in the UK for more than half a century.
Orbex has commissioned Motive Offshore Group, a leading Scottish company specialising in the design and manufacture of marine and lifting equip How to see comet Leonard, according to the researcher who discovered it
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 11:24 Write a comment
Now is the best time to get a glimpse of Comet C/2021 A1, better known as Comet Leonard. It's named for its discoverer, Gregory Leonard, a senior research specialist at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
Every night with clear skies, astronomers with LPL's Catalina Sky Survey scan the sky for near-Earth asteroids—space rocks with the potential of venturing close to Earth at some point.
During one such routine observation run on Jan. 3, Leonard spotted a fuzzy patch of light tracking across the starfield background in a sequence of four images taken with the 1.5-meter telescope at the summit of Mount Lemmon.
Software-defined OneSat ready for production
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 11:16 Write a comment
The latest type of telecommunication satellite that can respond from space to changing demands on Earth is about to start assembly of its electronic components.
Double drop test success for ExoMars parachutes
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 07:30 Write a comment
The largest parachute set to fly on Mars has completed its first successful high-altitude drop test, a critical milestone for ensuring the ExoMars mission is on track for launch in 2022. Both the first and second stage parachutes have now successfully flown this year.
Double drop test success
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 07:30 Write a comment
Video:
00:01:30
Onboard video footage from two high-altitude drop tests of the ExoMars second stage parachute. The cameras are on the drop test vehicle and capture the moment of separation from the stratospheric balloon, the release of the pilot chute, and the extraction of the main parachute.
The footage is shown at various speeds, capturing in slow motion the inflation of the 35 m wide subsonic parachute – the largest ever to fly on Mars.
The drop tests took place in Oregon on 21 November and 3 December as part of the ongoing parachute testing to ensure the safe delivery of
ESA Highlights: images and achievements from 2021
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 07:00 Write a comment
ESA Highlights: images and achievements from 2021
ESA Highlights 2021 is available online in this interactive format, which can be read on your desktop computer, laptop, tablet or phone.
Artificial intelligence for eye health in space
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 07:00 Write a comment
Young researchers from ESA’s Spaceship EAC initiative are keeping a good eye on ocular health by using images of astronauts’ optical discs in space to train an artificially intelligent (AI) model. All going well, this model will be used to automatically detect changes in the optic nerve of astronauts, known as Space-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS).