DoD a challenging customer for fast-moving satellite broadband industry
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 18:02Companies that provide low Earth orbit satellite broadband view the U.S. Defense Department as a key customer but are being challenged to make their networks compatible with government ground systems and user terminals.
Kymeta announces successful OneWeb antenna tests
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 17:18Kymeta said Sept. 7 that it successfully tested its u8 broadband terminal on OneWeb’s low-Earth-orbit constellation, achieving 200 megabits per second (Mbps) downlink speeds ahead of the network’s partial launch this year.
Satellite operators see acquisition opportunities
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 16:06Companies that operate both geostationary satellites and low Earth orbit constellations say they see opportunities to acquire complementary firms but cautioned that a long-projected consolidation of the industry isn’t likely in the near future.
Inflight call with Thomas Pesquet
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 15:00Thomas Pesquet took part in a discussion with the EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, and the EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius. The inflight call took place during their visit to ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, where they were accompanied by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
Ariane 5 elements for Webb launch reach Europe's Spaceport
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 12:10NASA's Perseverance rover collects first rock sample
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37NASA's Perseverance rover has completed the collection of the first sample of Martian rock, a core from Jezero Crater slightly thicker than a pencil. Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California received data that confirmed the historic milestone. The core is now enclosed in an airtight titanium sample tube, making it available for retrieval in the f
NASA begins air taxi flight testing with Joby
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37NASA began flight testing Monday with Joby Aviation's all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as part of the agency's Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign. This testing runs through Friday, Sept.10, at Joby's Electric Flight Base located near Big Sur, California. This is the first time NASA will test an eVTOL aircraft as part of the campaign. In the future, eVTOL airc
Protective equipment against radiation to be tested on Nauka Module on ISS in 2023
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37New equipment that will help protect people from radiation during interplanetary flights will be tested on the Russian Nauka multipurpose laboratory module at the International Space Station, the head of the nuclear planetology department at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Igor Mitrofanov, said. "We are wrapping up the construction of a design and developme
NASA confirms Perseverance Mars rover got its first piece of rock
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37NASA confirmed Monday that its Perseverance Mars rover succeeded in collecting its first rock sample for scientists to pore over when a future mission eventually brings it back to Earth. "I've got it!" the space agency tweeted, alongside a photograph of a rock core slightly thicker than a pencil inside a sample tube. The sample was collected on September 1, but NASA was initially unsure
Astronomers explain origin of elusive ultradiffuse galaxies
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37As their name suggests, ultradiffuse galaxies, or UDGs, are dwarf galaxies whose stars are spread out over a vast region, resulting in extremely low surface brightness, making them very difficult to detect. Several questions about UDGs remain unanswered: How did these dwarfs end up so extended? Are their dark matter halos - the halos of invisible matter surrounding the galaxies - special?
Hubble discovers hydrogen-burning white dwarfs enjoying slow aging
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37Could dying stars hold the secret to looking younger? New evidence from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope suggests that white dwarf stars could continue to burn hydrogen in the final stages of their lives, causing them to appear more youthful than they actually are. This discovery could have consequences for how astronomers measure the ages of star clusters, which contain the oldest known stars in t
Astronomers nail down the origins of rare loner dwarf galaxies
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37By definition, dwarf galaxies are small and dim, with just a fraction of the stars found in the Milky Way and other galaxies. There are, however, giants among the dwarfs: Ultra-diffuse galaxies, or UDGs, are dwarf systems that contain relatively few stars but are scattered over vast regions. Because they are so diffuse, these systems are difficult to detect, though most have been found tucked wi
ISRO developing microbe cultivation device for orbital biological experiments
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37According to state scientific representatives, India's space agency (ISRO) must identify indigenous solutions to achieve its ambitious space program. Researchers also state that the device has separate compartments that can conduct different kinds of experiments. Scientific representatives from one of India's premiere institutes, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), partnering with the
AFRL offers university satellite program
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37The Air Force Research Laboratory's University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) request for proposals (RFP) will be open until October 1. UNP funds U.S. university students and programs to design, build, launch, and operate small satellites with the primary goal to train the next generation of space professionals. "For more than 20 years, UNP has equipped thousands of students across the countr
Scientists are using new satellite tech to find glow-in-the-dark milky seas of maritime lore
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 08:37For centuries, sailors have been reporting strange encounters like the one above. These events are called milky seas. They are a rare nocturnal phenomenon in which the ocean's surface emits a steady bright glow. They can cover thousands of square miles and, thanks to the colorful accounts of 19th-century mariners like Capt. Kingman, milky seas are a well-known part of maritime folklore. But beca