NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter prepares for first flight
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41NASA is targeting no earlier than April 8 for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. Before the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft can attempt its first flight, however, both it and its team must meet a series of daunting milestones. Ingenuity remains attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover, which to
Pandora Mission Would Expand NASA's Capabilities in Probing Alien Worlds
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41In the quest for habitable planets beyond our own, NASA is studying a mission concept called Pandora, which could eventually help decode the atmospheric mysteries of distant worlds in our galaxy. One of four low-cost astrophysics missions selected for further concept development under NASA's new Pioneers program, Pandora would study approximately 20 stars and exoplanets - planets outside of our
Lockheed Martin and Omnispace explore space-based 5G Global Network
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Omnispace and Lockheed Martin have entered into a strategic interest agreement to explore jointly developing 5G capability from space. The proposed global 5G standards-based non-terrestrial network (NTN) would offer commercial, enterprise and government devices ubiquitous communications worldwide. This type of network has the potential to redefine mobile communications, benefiting users requirin
NanoAvionics expands into microsatellite market with MP42 bus
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Smallsat mission integrator NanoAvionics, which has gained recognition from the industry for its nanosatellite technology in recent years, aims to capture a share of the lucrative microsatellite segment with the first modular microsat bus in the industry, the "MP42". With 10,000 smallsats scheduled to be launched over the next 10 years, NanoAvionics expects to grow fivefold in size across its en
EUMETSAT and Arianespace confirm deal to launch of two Meteosat satellites with Ariane 6
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Today, at the occasion of the World Meteorological Day, EUMETSAT and Arianespace signed an update of their Launch Services Agreement for two Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites. Through this updated agreement, Arianespace is confirmed by EUMETSAT to launch the sounder satellite MTG-S1 and the imager satellite MTG-I2 with Ariane 6, the next generation of Ariane family of launchers. T
China's lunar rover travels 682 meters on far side of moon
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41The lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have been switched to dormant mode for the lunar night after working stably for a 28th lunar day, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. The lander was switched to dormant mode at 2 a.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), at 5:09 p.m. Saturday, said th
NASA's Mars helicopter may fly as early as April 8
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41NASA plans to fly its Mars helicopter Ingenuity on the Red Planet - the first powered aircraft flight on another planet - as early as April 8, space agency officials said Tuesday. But first, the helicopter must detach from the bottom of the rover Perseverance in Jezero Crater, where the robotic explorer landed Feb. 18, mission controllers said at a media briefing at the Jet Propulsion
Social networking algorithms help in study of space weather, substorms
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Scientists have revealed the global nature of magnetospheric substorms, the space weather phenomena responsible for the Northern Lights. The discovery was made possible by the same algorithms that help social networking sites match like-minded friends. Researchers amassed data on disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field collected by magnetometers positioned all over the Norther
Algorithms inspired by social networks reveal lifecycle of substorms
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Space weather often manifests as substorms, where a beautiful auroral display such as the Northern Lights is accompanied by an electrical current in space which has effects at earth that can interfere with and damage power distribution and electrical systems. Now, the lifecycle of these auroral substorms has been revealed using social media-inspired mathematical tools to analyse space weather ob
Astroscale confirms successful launch of ELSA-d satellite deorbiter
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Astroscale has confirmed the successful launch of its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale demonstration (ELSA-d) mission. This marks the start of the world's first commercial mission to prove the core technologies necessary for space debris docking and removal. ELSA-d, which consists of two satellites stacked together - a servicer designed to safely remove debris from orbit and a client sat
Deployable propulsion for satellites
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41It took a large hangar to unfold the four ultra-lightweight booms, each made of carbon fibre-reinforced composites and 13.5 metres long, arranged in a cross shape. Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) tested the booms twice in the aircraft hangar at the DLR site in Braunschweig. In cooperation with the US space agency NASA, the aim i
Ingenuity helicopter prepares for first flight on Mars
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 02:54WASHINGTON — A small helicopter that hitched a ride on NASA’s Perseverance rover will attempt its first flight on Mars in early April, demonstrating technology that could be used on future missions.
At a March 23 briefing, NASA officials discussed plans to perform the first flights of Ingenuity, a 1.8-kilogram helicopter currently attached to the underside of Perseverance.
NASA to offer funding for initial studies of commercial space stations
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 00:20WASHINGTON — NASA is shifting direction in its effort to support development of commercial space stations in low Earth orbit, with plans to issue a series of awards for initial studies before later purchasing services.
At a March 23 industry briefing, agency officials outlined what it calls the Commercial LEO Development (CLD) program, which will start with a set of two to four funded Space Act Agreements with companies to help with the initial design of their proposed orbital facilities.
Bluestaq wins $280 million Space Force contract to expand space data catalog
Monday, 22 March 2021 22:59WASHINGTON — Bluestaq announced March 23 it has received a $280 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to expand an existing library of space objects that integrates data from commercial and government sources.
Global Eagle Entertainment completes Chapter 11 restructuring
Monday, 22 March 2021 20:12TAMPA, Fla. — Global Eagle Entertainment, a provider of media services and satellite Wi-Fi to aircraft, boats and remote locations, has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Around half a dozen of the satellite communication provider’s lenders took control of the company March 23, shedding about $488 million of its debt in the process.