Beijing, China (SPX) Jan 07, 2021
Chinese scientists have established the world's first integrated quantum communication network, combining over 700 optical fibers on the ground with two ground-to-satellite links to achieve quantum key distribution over a total distance of 4,600 kilometers for users across the country. The team, led by Jianwei Pan, Yuao Chen, Chengzhi Peng from the University of Science and Technology of China i

Herndon VA (SPX) Jan 07, 2021
BlackSky has won an award from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) for a multi-phase, multi-year research contract. IARPA is responsible for leading research programs to overcome difficult challenges relevant to the U.S. intelligence community. BlackSky has been selected to aid in the development of IARPA's Space-based Machine Automated Recognition Technique (SMART

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 11, 2021
NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) reaffirming the agencies' longstanding relationship to foster robust American commercial space transportation capabilities, including commercial crew and cargo activities. The NASA-FAA MOU follows the success of NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 launch - the first crewed mission from American soil to be li

Toronto, Canada (SPX) Jan 11, 2021
What feels like up may actually be some other direction depending on how our brains process our orientation, according to psychology researchers at York University's Faculty of Health. In a new study published in PLoS One, researchers at York University's Centre for Vision Research found that an individual's interpretation of the direction of gravity can be altered by how their brain respo

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 11, 2021
As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars, the agency's quest to seek answers about our solar system and beyond continues to inform those efforts and generate new discoveries. The agency has extended the missions of two spacecraft, following an external review of their scientific productivity. The missions - Juno and InSight - have each increased our understanding

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 7, 2021
SpaceX successfully launched a Turkish communications satellite, the Turksat 5A, from Florida on Thursday night. Liftoff occurred at 9:15 p.m. aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which was about 45 minutes later than SpaceX had originally scheduled for the launch though well within its four-hour launch window.

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 6, 2021
The Minuteman III program of 450 missiles, begun in1970, must be replaced and not extended, U.S. Strategic Command chief Adm. Charles Richard said. Richard's comments, made during a virtual briefing on Tuesday, come as President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration considers ways to reduce the cost of a planned 30-year, $1.2 trillion modernization of the United States' nuclear defe

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected four small astrophysics missions for further study, although the agency cautions that not all may ultimately be flown.

NASA announced Jan. 7 it selected three smallsat missions and one high-altitude balloon mission as the first in its new Astrophysics Pioneers program.

WASHINGTON — The outgoing director general of the European Space agency announced Jan. 8 that he will step down at the end of February, four months ahead of schedule.

In a blog post, Jan Wörner announced that, after consultation with the chair of the ESA Council, Anna Rathsman, he will resign at the end of February.

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Space Force on Jan. 8 officially became the 18th member of the U.S. intelligence community.

The addition of the Space Force to the intelligence community was formalized at a ceremony Friday afternoon held at a classified facility in Bethesda, Maryland.