Kendall: If China can’t beat the U.S. in the air it will try in space
Monday, 20 September 2021 21:02
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Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in a keynote speech Sept. 20 warned that China’s rapid advances in nuclear and conventional weapons will challenge the United States both in the air and space domains.
Demand growing for managing heat on increasingly intricate satellites
Monday, 20 September 2021 19:21 Write a comment
Increasingly capable satellites are driving demand for more complex thermal management solutions to keep them from overheating as they work harder, according to heat pipe manufacturer Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT).
Solar electric propulsion makes NASA's Psyche spacecraft go
Monday, 20 September 2021 19:06 Write a comment
When it comes time for NASA's Psyche spacecraft to power itself through deep space, it'll be more brain than brawn that does the work. Once the stuff of science fiction, the efficient and quiet power of electric propulsion will provide the force that propels the Psyche spacecraft all the way to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The orbiter's target: A metal-rich asteroid also called Psyche.
The spacecraft will launch in August 2022 and travel about 1.5 billion miles (2.4 billion kilometers) over three and a half years to get to the asteroid, which scientists believe may be part of the core of a planetesimal, the building block of an early rocky planet.
Space sustainability makes slow progress at the United Nations
Monday, 20 September 2021 13:29 Write a comment
Diplomats and other experts see signs of progress at the United Nations on addressing space sustainability but caution it may will take many years before any sort of binding agreement emerges.
Tianzhou-3 spacecraft docks with Chinese space station
Monday, 20 September 2021 13:21 Write a comment
China's Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft docked in orbit with the Tianhe space station module Monday following launch from the coastal Wenchang launch center.
A catalog of solar stream interactions
Monday, 20 September 2021 12:21 Write a comment
When a fast solar wind stream erupts from a coronal hole (a cooler region in the Sun's atmosphere) and overtakes a slower moving solar wind stream, a stream interaction region (SIR) can form. In the SIR, a density "pileup" of compressed plasma develops upstream of the interface; typically there is a peak in pressure followed by a rarefaction region in the fast solar wind component. As the SIR propagates away from the Sun, to distances of one astronomical unit or beyond, the compression can form a shock that efficiently accelerates charged particles.
L3Harris’ missile-tracking satellites pass early design review
Monday, 20 September 2021 12:00 Write a comment
L3Harris announced Sept. 20 that the Space Development Agency has approved the company’s proposed design for a missile tracking satellite.
How many satellites are orbiting Earth?
Monday, 20 September 2021 11:27 Write a comment
It seems like every week, another rocket is launched into space carrying rovers to Mars, tourists or, most commonly, satellites. The idea that "space is getting crowded" has been around for a few years now, but just how crowded is it? And how crowded is it going to get?
I am a professor of physics and director of the Center for Space Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Many satellites that were put into orbit have gone dead and burned up in the atmosphere, but thousands remain.
Swimmers show sporting success using satellites
Monday, 20 September 2021 08:20 Write a comment
Athletes who participated in an open-air mass sporting event at the weekend had images of their sporting prowess sent to family and friends within seconds, thanks to a space-enabled app.
Joining forces for Aeolus
Monday, 20 September 2021 06:00 Write a comment
For a team of scientists and technicians from Europe and the US, the fact of ‘going back to the office’ this September has meant heading off to the Cabo Verde islands in the Atlantic – not to extend their summer holidays, but for a complex international experiment campaign that will scrutinise the data being delivered by one of today’s most innovative Earth observation satellites: ESA’s Aeolus wind mission.
FAA releases draft environmental report on SpaceX Starship orbital launches
Monday, 20 September 2021 04:24 Write a comment
A draft environmental assessment released by the Federal Aviation Administration suggests that SpaceX will be able to proceed with orbital Starship launches from Texas, but with a number of mitigations required.
Space community ponders right-of-way rules for space traffic
Sunday, 19 September 2021 16:01 Write a comment
The growing number of satellites in orbit is leading to calls to develop formal “right of way” rules, although there is no consensus on what those rules should be and how they should be established.
SpaceX all-civilian orbital crew completes historic mission
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48 Write a comment
Four SpaceX tourists returned to Earth safely on Saturday after spending three days in space, successfully concluding the first orbital mission in history with no professional astronauts on board.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, whose heat shield allowed it to withstand descent, was slowed down by four large parachutes before splashing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida at 7:06 pm ( China prepares to launch Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48 Write a comment
The combination of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y4 carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Thursday.
The CMSA said the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time.
The facilities and equipment at the Wenchang Spacecraft L NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Captures a Mars Rock Feature in 3D
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48 Write a comment
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter provided a 3D view of a rock-covered mound during its 13th flight on Sept. 4. The plan for this reconnaissance mission into the "South Seitah" region of Mars' Jezero Crater was to capture images of this geologic target - nicknamed "Faillefeu" (after a medieval abbey in the French Alps) by the agency's Perseverance rover team - and to obtain the color pictures fro