Orbit Fab signs technology sharing agreement with U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
Thursday, 14 October 2021 16:40
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Orbit Fab, a venture-funded startup offering a refueling service in space, has signed a technology sharing agreement with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
Hubble finds evidence of persistent water vapor in one hemisphere of Europa
Thursday, 14 October 2021 15:00 Write a comment
China launches first solar observatory, tests grid fins
Thursday, 14 October 2021 12:02 Write a comment
China carried out its 37th orbital launch of the year Thursday, successfully sending the Chinese H-alpha Solar Explorer and 10 other satellites into orbit.
Russian Soyuz rocket launches 36 new UK satellites
Thursday, 14 October 2021 12:00 Write a comment
A Russian Soyuz rocket on Thursday blasted into space carrying 36 new satellites from British operator OneWeb, which aims to provide broadband internet everywhere in the world.
The rocket, operated by Europe's Arianespace, took off at 0940 GMT from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, broadcast live by the country's Roscosmos space agency.
"LIFTOFF!" Roscosmos tweeted after the launch—the seventh this year carrying OneWeb satellites.
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 in the race to provide fast internet for the world's remote areas via satellites along with tech billionaire Elon Musk and fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
The UK company plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by next year, supported by some 650 satellites.
Arianespace, which has worked with Russia for close to two decades, is under contract to make 16 Soyuz launches between December 2020 and the end of 2022.
With this latest mission, a total of 358 satellites are now in orbit for the constellation, Roscosmos said.
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Leaf Space establishes five new ground stations
Thursday, 14 October 2021 12:00 Write a comment
Italian ground segment provider Leaf Space announced plans Oct. 14 to add five ground stations to its global Leaf Line Network.
Space Perspective raises $40 million for stratospheric ballooning system
Thursday, 14 October 2021 11:00 Write a comment
Space Perspective, a company developing a stratospheric ballooning system intended to give people views like those from space, has raised $40 million to fund the company through the start of commercial operations.
China set to send 3 astronauts on longest crewed mission yet
Thursday, 14 October 2021 08:36 Write a comment
Working towards a Digital Twin of Earth
Thursday, 14 October 2021 07:45 Write a comment
How can a digital replica of Earth help us understand our planet’s past, present and future? As part of the fourth edition of Φ-week taking place this week, a group of European scientists have put forward their ideas on the practical implementation of Digital Twins and the potential application areas for a Digital Twin Earth in the real world.
Prince William tells space tourists: fix Earth instead
Thursday, 14 October 2021 07:07 Write a comment
Britain's Prince William has launched an attack on space tourism, urging more attention on problems closer to home ahead of the COP26 climate summit.
The comments by Queen Elizabeth II's grandson were airing in a BBC interview later Thursday, a day after "Star Trek" star William Shatner became a real space traveller on Blue Origin's second crewed mission.
The mission replayed the company's maiden human flight in July, which included its founder Jeff Bezos of Amazon and was seen as a breakthrough for the emerging space tourism sector.
But Prince William said: "We need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live."
Virgin Galactic, which offers a similar experience of a few minutes' weightlessness and a view of the Earth's curvature from the cosmos, launched its founder Richard Branson in July, a few days before Bezos.
A first for search and rescue from space
Thursday, 14 October 2021 07:01 Write a comment
Between September 1982 and December 2020, at least 51 512 people were rescued on land and at sea with help from a network of Earth-orbiting satellites able to detect and locate emergency distress beacons.
Funding the future of European space through OSIP in 2021
Thursday, 14 October 2021 06:00 Write a comment
What do high-tech sponges, aircraft shaped like falcons and 3D printers on the Moon have in common?
They can all be found among the topics of the 87 research and development activities funded by ESA's Discovery & Preparation programme between November 2020 and April 2021.
SpaceLink hires OHB to build data relay satellites
Wednesday, 13 October 2021 23:35 Write a comment
SpaceLink has awarded OHB System AG a contract with an anticipated value of more than $300 million to manufacture four satellites for its commercial space data relay constellation.
CAPSTONE launch delayed to March 2022
Wednesday, 13 October 2021 21:06 Write a comment
The launch of a NASA cubesat mission that will test the orbit to be used by the lunar Gateway has slipped to next March, the result of broader launch delays Rocket Lab has suffered because of the pandemic.
Space Force recruiters pitch military service to warriors and dreamers
Wednesday, 13 October 2021 20:06 Write a comment
Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service, said the Space Force met its goal last year of recruiting nearly 400 guardians. Next year the target has been raised to 500.
NASA turns to the cloud for help with next-generation Earth missions
Wednesday, 13 October 2021 18:03 Write a comment
As satellites collect larger and larger amounts of data, engineers and researchers are implementing solutions to manage these huge increases.
The cutting-edge Earth science satellites launching in the next couple of years will give more detailed views of our planet than ever before. We'll be able to track small-scale ocean features like coastal currents that move nutrients vital to marine food webs, monitor how much fresh water flows through lakes and rivers, and spot movement in Earth's surface of less than half an inch (a centimeter).