SpaceX delivers trio of Cape Town built satellites into orbit
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 09:19
Cape Town, South Africa (VOA) Jan 14, 2022
SpaceX rocket launch Thursday carried three small South African-made satellites that will help with policing South African waters against illegal fishing operations.
Produced at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the satellites could also be used to help other African countries to protect their coastal waters.
SpaceX's billionaire boss Elon Musk has given three nano satelli

Making a splash in a lava sea
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 09:00
Volcanoes, impact craters, tectonic faults, river channels and a lava sea: a vast amount of information is captured in a relatively small area in this geologically rich new image from ESA’s Mars Express.
Warpspace wins JAXA contract to design Optical Cislunar Communication Architecture for Lunar mission
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Tsukuba, Japan (SPX) Jan 26, 2022
Warpspace Co., Ltd., a spin-out space startup from the University of Tsukuba, an optical inter-satellite communication service provider, announced that it has been selected to conduct a study on space communication for the lunar exploration by JAXA, which could be a part of the Artemis plan. Warpspace develops "WarpHub InterSat," the optical inter-satellite data relay communication service for t

China tests new engine, 'likely to power hypersonic aircraft'
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Beijing (XNA) Jan 26, 2022
China on Monday conducted a test flight for a new engine that experts said could power China's future hypersonic aircraft and near-space plane.
The engine, developed by the Laboratory of Spray Combustion and Propulsion under School of Aerospace Engineering at Tsinghua University, successfully conducted a flight test on Monday morning, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
A two

SpaceX to crash Falcon 9 rocket into Moon
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 26, 2022
SpaceX launched its first deep-space mission in February 2015. The uncrewed Falcon 9 transported the refrigerator-sized Deep Space Climate Observatory into the void. However, because it doesn't have enough fuel to return to Earth and land on a floating platform as planned, the rocket will instead be ploughed into the Moon.
In a first, a Space X rocket that has been navigating deep space si

Five Space Station Research Results Contributing to Deep Space Exploration
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Houston TX (SPX) Jan 25, 2022
More than 3,000 experiments have been conducted aboard the International Space Station during the 21 years humans have been living and working in space. These experiments have provided insights helping improve life back on Earth and explore farther into the solar system. Researchers have shared these results in thousands of scientific publications.
Over the past few months, scientists shar

US undermines safety of Russian cosmonaut's at ISS by denying visa, Roscosmos says
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 26, 2022
Refusal of the United States to issue an entry visa for Russian cosmonaut Nikolay Chub, who was to undergo training at the NASA space center, threatens his safety during his stay at the International Space Station (ISS), as well as the safety of his US colleagues, Russia's State Space Corporation Roscosmos said on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, a source told Sputnik that the US did not gran

New control technique uses solar panels to reach desired Mars orbit
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Urbana IL (SPX) Jan 25, 2022
A satellite on a science mission to Mars aims for a low-altitude orbit, but the lower the orbit, the more propellant is required to enter orbit when arriving from Earth. To save propellant, a technique called aerobraking uses a small propulsive maneuver for orbit insertion to enter a large orbit; the satellite then makes many passes through the upper atmosphere, using drag on the solar panels to

Sols 3367-3368: The Prow to take another bow
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 26, 2022
The weekend plan included a short drive (or bump) to get us closer to one of the interesting, more resistant ledges that are exposed in this area ("The Prow"), as Curiosity continues her climb up Mount Sharp. These resistant ledges have caught our attention because they reveal distinct textures. Being able to get close-up, high resolution imaging accompanied by compositional data, will help the

SwRI scientist helps confirm liquid water beneath Mars south polar cap
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
San Antonio, TX (SPX) Jan 26, 2022
A Southwest Research Institute scientist measured the properties of ice-brine mixtures as cold as -145 degrees Fahrenheit to help confirm that salty water likely exists between grains of ice or sediment under the ice cap at Mars' south pole. Laboratory measurements conducted by SwRI geophysicist Dr. David Stillman support oddly bright reflections detected by the MARSIS subsurface sounding radar

A planetary dynamical crime scene at 14 Herculis
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
New York NY (SPX) Jan 25, 2022
The forensic evidence left in the 14 Her giant planetary system suggests an active dynamical past. Two giant planets, several times more massive than Jupiter, in highly eccentric orbits around a solar-type star were found orbiting at nearly right angles to each other.
In the recently published paper "14 Her: a likely case of planet-planet scattering," Daniella Bardalez Gagliuffi-a senior m

UC Berkeley astronomers eager to put new space telescope through its paces
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Berkeley CA (SPX) Jan 26, 2022
NASA's latest and snazziest satellite, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched on Christmas Day, deployed its 21-foot-wide mirror a mere two weeks ago and reached its orbital destination earlier this week. With a flashy new telescope now nearly a reality, astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, are chomping at the bit to start observing.
After months of anxiety about

Webb Telescope has reached its destination now what
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Jan 26, 2022
Since its launch on Christmas day, astronomers have eagerly followed the complex deployment and unfurling of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope - the largest to ever take to the skies.
Right around the time this article is published, it's expected Webb will have reached a place called the Earth-Sun "second Lagrange point", or "L2". This is a point in space about 1.5 million kilometres away

UW alum helped pack James Webb telescope for space travel
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 08:09
Madison WI (SPX) Jan 26, 2022
A University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering mechanics alumnus made important contributions to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which arrived at its home in distant orbit Monday.
The telescope, the world's largest and most powerful space science observatory, launched on Dec. 25, starting its journey toward its destination about 1 million miles from Earth.
Webb is an international

Forecasting performance of a space antenna – before it is built
Wednesday, 26 January 2022 07:29
Antennas are among the most complex systems aboard a satellite – making them demanding to produce and often unpredictable to test. Tiny variables in their building, mounting or operation may impact their working performance in a big way. So ESA teamed up with Danish company TICRA to develop a method of forecasting such discrepancies well before an antenna construction even starts.