SBIRS GEO Flight 5: RocketShip delivers Atlas V for Space Force launch
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket built to carry a sophisticated U.S. national security satellite into space arrived at Cape Canaveral, FL today after sailing from the factory aboard the R/S RocketShip. The Atlas V booster stage and Centaur upper stage left the ULA manufacturing facility in Decatur, AL, on March 23 aboard our unique custom-built rocket transportation vessel. Th
An Australian 'space command' could be a force for good - or a cause for war
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45As the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) celebrated 100 years with a spectacular and well-attended flyover in Canberra yesterday, many eyes were lifted to the skies. But RAAF's ambitions go even higher, as its motto "through adversity, to the stars" hints. The Chief of Air Force, Air Marshall Mel Hupfeld, announced the intention to create a new "space command". Having a dedicated space com
A sun reflector for earth?
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45Nine of the hottest years in human history have occurred in the last decade. Without a major shift in this climate trajectory, the future of life on Earth is in question. Should humans, whose fossil-fueled society is driving climate change, use technology to put the brakes on global warming? Every month since September 2019 the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group, a team of internat
Thermal power nanogenerator created without solid moving parts
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45As environmental and energy crises become increasingly more common occurrences around the world, a thermal energy harvester capable of converting abundant thermal energy - such as solar radiation, waste heat, combustion of biomass, or geothermal energy - into mechanical energy appears to be a promising energy strategy to mitigate many crises. The majority of thermal power generation techno
Rise of the 'robo-plants', as scientists fuse nature with tech
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45Remote-controlled Venus flytrap "robo-plants" and crops that tell farmers when they are hit by disease could become reality after scientists developed a high-tech system for communicating with vegetation. Researchers in Singapore linked up plants to electrodes capable of monitoring the weak electrical pulses naturally emitted by the greenery. The scientists used the technology to trigger
Even without a brain, Penn Engineering's metal-eating robots can search for food
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45When it comes to powering mobile robots, batteries present a problematic paradox: the more energy they contain, the more they weigh, and thus the more energy the robot needs to move. Energy harvesters, like solar panels, might work for some applications, but they don't deliver power quickly or consistently enough for sustained travel. James Pikul, assistant professor in Penn Engineering's
A new phase in Bose-Einstein condensate of light particles observed
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45A single "super photon" made up of many thousands of individual light particles: About ten years ago, researchers at the University of Bonn produced such an extreme aggregate state for the first time and presented a completely new light source. The state is called optical Bose-Einstein condensate and has captivated many physicists ever since, because this exotic world of light particles is home
Lockheed Martin expands quick, affordable launch capability with ABL Block Buy
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:45ABL Space Systems will provide Lockheed Martin with routine launches of RS1 rockets to accelerate payload technologies into orbit. Lockheed Martin will purchase up to 26 vehicles through 2025 and then up to 32 additional launches through 2029. Launches could use a network of U.S. and international launch sites, including Vandenberg Space Force Base, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and in the
CAES and Swissto12 partnership brings 3D printed RF solutions to the US
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:18TAMPA, Fla. — CAES, the former electronics unit of British defense and aerospace contractor Cobham, has forged an alliance to bring Swiss 3D printed satellite RF technology to the U.S.
CAES and Swissto12 partnership brings 3D-printed RF solutions to the U.S.
Monday, 05 April 2021 13:18TAMPA, Fla. — CAES, the former electronics unit of British defense and aerospace contractor Cobham, has forged an alliance to bring Swiss 3D-printed satellite RF technology to the U.S. market.
Exploring comet thermal history: Burnt-out comet covered with talcum powder
Monday, 05 April 2021 12:55The world's first ground-based observations of the bare nucleus of a comet nearing the end of its active life revealed that the nucleus has a diameter of 800 meters and is covered with large grains of phyllosilicate; on Earth large grains of phyllosilicate are commonly available as talcum powder.
Engine explosion blamed for latest Starship crash
Monday, 05 April 2021 11:33WASHINGTON — SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said an engine on the company’s latest Starship prototype suffered a “hard start” that caused the vehicle to explode when attempting to land on a test flight last week.
Guangzhou moves to establish Chinese commercial space cluster
Monday, 05 April 2021 10:51HELSINKI — Guangzhou is developing a major space cluster in the city by hosting new projects including the new headquarters for the space business of Geely Technology Group.
406 Day: celebrating Galileo saving lives
Monday, 05 April 2021 10:30Today is 406 Day – the annual campaigning day to spread awareness of the importance of emergency beacons, and the satellites that pick up their signals, including Europe’s Galileo constellation. As well as letting people across the world find their way, Galileo also serves to detect SOS messages and relay them to authorities, contributing to saving many lives.
Germany’s space agency selects Lockheed Martin’s traffic management software
Monday, 05 April 2021 08:20WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin’s space traffic management software will be used by Germany’s space agency, the company announced April 6.
The German Space Agency at DLR — which operates the German space situational awareness center along with the German Air Force — selected Lockheed Martin’s iSpace, a system that is used by the U.S.