Space Council condemns “irresponsible” Russian ASAT test
Wednesday, 01 December 2021 21:20Administration officials used a National Space Council meeting to issue a new round of criticism of Russia’s antisatellite weapon test and call for a halt to future ASAT tests that create debris.
White House releases space priorities framework
Wednesday, 01 December 2021 15:00WASHINGTON — The White House released Dec. 1 a document that outlines its space policy priorities, including addressing growing military threats and supporting “a rules-based international order for space.” The seven-page United States Space Priorities Framework document, released ahead of the first meeting by the National Space Council under the Biden administration, represents the first […]
Test tanks fuelled for ESA’s Themis reusable first stage
Wednesday, 01 December 2021 13:00Recently completed tests of two propellant tanks set a first technological milestone in the ESA reusability roadmap towards the demonstration of a reusable first stage vehicle called Themis.
Soon, 1 out of every 15 points of light in the sky will be a satellite
Wednesday, 01 December 2021 11:28I'm outside at my rural Saskatchewan farm, chatting with my neighbors who I've invited over to appreciate the night sky through my telescope. After exclamations and open-mouthed wonder over Saturn's rings, and light that has been traveling through space for more than two million years to reach our eyes from the Andromeda Galaxy, our conversation inevitably turns to the pandemic, our work-from-home arrangements and complaints about rural internet. My neighbor casually mentions they've just switched to using Starlink for their internet provider.
I glance up and notice a bright satellite moving across the sky, almost certainly a Starlink, since they now make up almost half of the nearly 4,000 operational satellites and they're extremely bright. I take a deep breath and carefully consider how to discuss the substantial cost that we're all going to have to pay for Starlink internet.
I don't blame my neighbors for switching.
SpaceX grapples with Raptor production problems
Wednesday, 01 December 2021 10:23Problems increasing production of the Raptor engines that power SpaceX’s Starship vehicle have led to personnel shakeups at the company and a warning from founder Elon Musk that the company risked “bankruptcy” if the company could not resolve them.
NASA inspector general warns of space station gap
Wednesday, 01 December 2021 08:56Concerns about the long-term viability of some existing International Space Station modules and the potential of delays in development of commercial space stations heighten the risk of a gap in low Earth orbit destinations, a new report warns.
Mike Griffin critical of U.S. response to China’s advances in hypersonic weapons
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 23:27In the global race for geopolitical dominance, hypersonic glide weapons level the playing field “not by improving their own capabilities, but by removing ours,” said Mike Griffin.
Lightfoot to lead Lockheed Martin space unit
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 22:31Lockheed Martin has named a former acting administrator of NASA as the new head of its space business unit.
Anuvu raises $50 million for small GEO mobility constellation
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 19:48Investors that rescued Anuvu from bankruptcy in March have thrown $50 million behind plans for the mobile connectivity provider to have its own constellation of small geostationary-orbit (GEO) satellites.
NASA TV to Air IXPE Prelaunch Activities, Launch
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 19:24Airbus Ventures leads Q-Ctrl’s $25 million quantum sensor funding round
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 18:09Australian startup Q-Ctrl has raised $25 million to develop software for space-qualified quantum sensors in a funding round led by Airbus Ventures, the venture capital arm of European aerospace and defense giant Airbus.
Are water plumes spraying from Europa? NASA's Europa Clipper is on the case
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 16:39Finding plumes at Europa is an exciting prospect, but scientists warn it'll be tricky, even from up close.
In 2005, images of a brilliant watery plume erupting from the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus captivated the world. The giant column of vapor, ice particles, and organic molecules spraying from the moon's south polar region suggested that there's a liquid water ocean below Enceladus' ice shell and confirmed the moon is geologically active. The plume also thrust Enceladus and other worlds in the outer solar system, with no atmospheres and far from the heat of the Sun, toward the top of NASA's list of places to search for signs of life.
Op-ed | Creating sustainable value from space
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 16:05As the National Space Council prepares to meet this week, job one is to fully apply space technology to address the most compelling issue of our time — human-induced climate change.
Biden taps former Air Force procurement official LaPlante to run Pentagon acquisitions
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 15:29President Biden has nominated William LaPlante to be the Defense Department’s top procurement official, the White House announced Nov. 30.