Copernical Team
SpaceX CRS-22 mission to space station launches water bears, squid, solar panels
The 22nd SpaceX cargo resupply mission carrying scientific research and technology demonstrations launches to the International Space Station from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than June 3. Experiments aboard include studying how water bears tolerate space, whether microgravity affects symbiotic relationships, analyzing the formation of kidney stones, and more.
Highlights of the payloads on this resupply mission include:
Water bears take on space
Tardigrades, known as water bears due to their appearance under a microscope and common habitat in water, are tiny creatures that tolerate environments more extreme than most life forms can.
Russian rocket launches UK telecom satellites after delay
A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying 36 UK telecommunication and internet satellites blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far East on Friday, the space agency said.
During the launch, which was carried out by Arianespace, the world's leading satellite launch company, the Soyuz rocket took off at 1738 GMT.
"The launch went according to plan," Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Roscosmos space agency, said on messaging app Telegram.
The launch was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed for technical reasons.
OneWeb, a London-headquartered company, is working to complete the construction of a constellation of low earth orbit satellites providing enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the world.
The company is competing against billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the race to provide fast internet via satellites for the world's remote areas.
The UK company plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by next year, supported by some 650 satellites.
Earlier launches of 36 satellites each took place in April and March.
"The satellites arrive pre-assembled from Florida in containers. Our team takes them over in Russia and accompanies them from their arrival at the airport until the launch," Arianespace launch campaign manager, Jean-Claude Garreau, told AFP.
Researchers prepare to send fungi for a ride around the moon
Commanding role for ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is expected to serve as International Space Station commander for Expedition 68, following an in-principle agreement by international partners on 19 May, pending consolidation of the Space Station’s operational plans and launch dates.
Navigation error sends NASA's Mars helicopter on wild ride
A navigation timing error sent NASA's little Mars helicopter on a wild, lurching ride, its first major problem since it took to the Martian skies last month.
The experimental helicopter, named Ingenuity, managed to land safely, officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported Thursday.
The trouble cropped up about a minute into the helicopter's sixth test flight last Saturday at an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters). One of the numerous pictures taken by an on-board camera did not register in the navigation system, throwing the entire timing sequence off and confusing the craft about its location.
Earth from Space: The Great Lakes
All five of North America’s Great Lakes are pictured in this spectacular image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission: Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.
ESA signs contract for new generation of Galileo
Acting on behalf of the European Commission, ESA has signed two contracts for an overall amount of €1.47 billion, to design and build the first batch of the second generation of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites.
RUAG Space dispenser places 200th OneWeb satellite in orbit
On Thursday, May 27, OneWeb will launch further 36 broadband internet satellites aboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. OneWeb is building a communications network with a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites that will deliver internet access around the world.
As a key supplier to OneWeb Satellites, RUAG Space built the satellite dispenser, which funct Probing deeper into origins of cosmic rays
Cosmic rays are high-energy atomic particles continually bombarding Earth's surface at nearly the speed of light. Our planet's magnetic field shields the surface from most of the radiation generated by these particles. Still, cosmic rays can cause electronic malfunctions and are the leading concern in planning for space missions.
Researchers know cosmic rays originate from the multitude of NASA's Roman Mission to probe cosmic secrets using exploding stars
NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will see thousands of exploding stars called supernovae across vast stretches of time and space. Using these observations, astronomers aim to shine a light on several cosmic mysteries, providing a window onto the universe's distant past and hazy present.
Roman's supernova survey will help clear up clashing measurements of how fast the unive