NASA spacecraft takes a picture of Jupiter … from the Moon
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 14:50
You may know the feeling of seeing Jupiter through your own telescope. If it gives you the chills—like it does for me—then you'll know how the team for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter felt when they turned their spacecraft around—yes, the orbiter that's been faithfully circling and looking down at the Moon since 2008—and saw the giant planet Jupiter with their camera. If you zoom in on the picture, you can even see Jupiter's Galilean moons.
Usually, LRO takes stunning, high-resolution images of the lunar surface, including details of the Apollo landing sites. But recently, the LRO team used some high-powered calculations and precise timing to use its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) to scan the area of the sky where Jupiter was going to be, about 600 million km away.
They hit the jackpot.
While it's not Hubble Space Telescope quality, the fact this image was taken from a spacecraft orbiting 100 km above the lunar surface is a true feat of engineering.
"We took a pic of Jupiter from the Moon last month," said LRO team member Brett Denevi on Twitter.
Rate of space industry deals may slow down in the next year
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 14:15
The torrid pace of investment and acquisitions involving space companies this year is unlikely to continue next year, but investors and bankers are still optimistic about the long-term growth prospects for the industry.
Kleos reveals results of RF reconnaissance demonstration
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 13:42
Kleos Space presented a technical paper at the GEOINT 2021 Symposium that highlighted better-than-expected performance of RF reconnaissance satellites.
Eutelsat ups its OneWeb stake with additional $165 million
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 13:27
Eutelsat says it will own nearly 23% of OneWeb, the second largest stake behind Bharti Global's 30% share of the company once the transaction closes.
Earth observation company Satellogic expands partnership with Amazon Web Services
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 13:14
Earth observation company Satellogic announced Oct. 6 it will be using Amazon’s ground station service to control its satellites and download data from space.
Japanese carmaker Honda developing reusable rocket for LEO satellites
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 12:29
Honda says its core automotive technologies for combustion, fluid, remote control and guidance will be applied to a rocket it aims to test launch by 2030.
Satellite models to strike a pose for competing AIs
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 11:00
Movie special effects fans like to debate CGI versus traditional model effects – an issue about which competing AIs will soon gain direct experience. Trained upon computer-generated images of satellites, AIs will go on to judge the position and orientation of realistic mockups snapped in space-like lighting conditions.
NGA looking to tap ‘all sources of innovation in the commercial space’
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 10:07
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has launched several initiatives to team up with the private sector and make it easier for new entrants to do business with the government
A step toward making GPS more resilient to space weather
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 09:58
Societies around the world now depend on satellite-based navigation systems, such as GPS, for a multitude of applications, including transportation, agriculture, military munitions, emergency services, and social networking, among others.
SES CEO thinks satellite industry consolidation likely
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 09:16
The CEO of satellite operator SES says consolidation of the satellite industry is more likely than ever to improve its overall return on investment, but that the structure of the industry might hinder such deals.
Visitors with disabilities at ESA Open Day
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 08:29
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Visitors with disabilities at ESA Open Day A European push to the Moon
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 07:30
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The European Space Agency is playing a vital role in humankind’s return to the Moon. In a few months NASA will launch Artemis I from the Kennedy Space Center. The uncrewed mission will carry NASA’s Orion spacecraft incorporating ESA’s European Service Module (ESM-1), built and tested by Airbus Bremen, in Germany, with the help of 10 European nations. ESM-1’s main engine and 32 thrusters will propel Orion into orbit around the Moon and return it to Earth.
As Artemis I prepares for launch, the second European Service Module (ESM-2) is about to ship to the US with ESM-3
Russian actress, director enter space station to film movie
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 07:12
A Russian actor, director and cosmonaut entered the International Space Station Tuesday, where they will stay nearly two weeks to film the first full-length movie shot in space.
The newcomers came aboard the space station just after 11 a.m. EDT. Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, who piloted the Soyuz spacecraft, entered first, followed by actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko. Lockheed Martin opens intelligent, advanced hypersonic strike production facility
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 07:12
Lockheed Martin is breaking barriers in hypersonic technology, adding to its world-class portfolio another milestone with the grand opening of an advanced production facility in Courtland, Alabama, focused on hypersonic strike production. Capitalizing on critical digital factory capabilities to deliver this technology, the corporation is working closely with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) First planet to orbit 3 Stars discovered
Wednesday, 06 October 2021 07:12
In a distant star system - a mere 1,300 light years away from Earth - UNLV researchers and colleagues may have identified the first known planet to orbit three stars.
Unlike our solar system, which consists of a solitary star, it is believed that half of all star systems, like GW Ori where astronomers observed the novel phenomenon, consist of two or more stars that are gravitationally boun