Copernical Team
DLR is creating the rocket fuels of the future
Sustainability and environmental compatibility are becoming increasingly important considerations in the space sector. In order to achieve these objectives, scientists at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Lampoldshausen are developing fuels for next-generation space applications. The focus is on application-related properties such as improved environ
NASA certifies new launch control system for Artemis I
When NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft lift off from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the Artemis I mission, the amount of data generated by the rocket, spacecraft, and ground support equipment will be about 100 megabytes per second. The volume and speed of this information demands an equally complex and robust computer system to process and deliver that
The fiery chief of Russia's troubled space programme
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's troubled space agency Roscosmos, is hardly your typical bureaucrat. Brash and brazen, the former diplomat has made his name with provocative tweets and boisterous claims. But he is equally well-known for leading the once-prized Soviet space programme during years of corruption scandals and technological stagnation. In 2014, Rogozin, then a deputy
Air Force's hypersonic missile booster fails to launch from B-52 in first test
The Air Force's first booster vehicle in a hypersonic weapons test this week failed to launch, the service said on Tuesday. A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress took off over the Point Mugu Sea Range in California on Monday with the intention of firing the first booster test vehicle for the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon program. But the booster was not able to comp
Pentagon building autonomous daytime telescopes for tracking enemy satellites
While the Pentagon has cried foul over Russian space-based devices it claims are weapons, the US has tested its own identical devices for years. Their claims have served as the alarmist foundations for justifying the creation of the US Space Force and the militarization of space. The US Air Force has invested in half a dozen advanced daytime ground-based telescopes it intends to use for tr
COVID-19 Impact on Smallsat Market Mitigated by Funding Availability, Government Support
The latest update of "Prospects for the Small Satellite Market" was released this week by Euroconsult, forecasting further growth in the global supply and demand of government, commercial and academic satellites weighing up to 500 kg. The market intelligence report, now in its 7th edition, builds upon Euroconsult's previous iteration that accurately predicted more than 1,000 satellites would be
NASA seeks to create a better battery with SABERS
Dealing with battery issues on our phones, tablets, or laptops can be frustrating. Although batteries are everywhere in everyday life, many still suffer breakdowns and failures. The minor inconvenience of needing to charge them more often could even turn into costly repairs or buying a new device altogether. Batteries in larger electronics, like hoverboards or cars, can even catch fire. No
Soyuz crew blasts off; marking 60 years of spaceflight
A three-man crew will blast off to the International Space Station on Friday in a capsule honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space. Reminders of Gagarin's achievement were everywhere at the Russia-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei prepare
Earth from Space: Bucharest, Romania
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Bucharest – the capital and largest city of Romania.
New research shows that Mars did not dry up all at once
The Perseverance rover has just landed on Mars. Meanwhile, its precursor Curiosity continues to explore the base of Mount Sharp (officially Aeolis Mons), a mountain several kilometers high at the center of the Gale crater. Using the telescope on the ChemCam instrument to make detailed observations of the steep terrain of Mount Sharp at a distance, a French-US team headed by William Rapin, CNRS researcher at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (CNRS/Université Toulouse III/CNES), has discovered that the Martian climate recorded there alternated between dry and wetter periods, before drying up completely about 3 billion years ago.