Space law protects you from falling debris, but there are no legal penalties for leaving junk in orbit
Monday, 17 May 2021 13:23
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On May 8, 2021, a piece of space junk from a Chinese rocket fell uncontrolled back to Earth and landed in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives. A year ago, in May 2020, another Chinese rocket met the same fate when it plummeted out of control into the waters off the West African coast. No one knew when or where either of these pieces of space junk were going to hit, so it was a relief when neither crashed on land or injured anyone.
Space debris is any nonfunctional human-made object in space.As a professor of space and society focused on space governance, I've noticed that there are three questions the public always asks when falling space debris gets into the news.
Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) starts 5-year survey
Monday, 17 May 2021 13:14 Write a comment
A five-year quest to map the universe and unravel the mysteries of "dark energy" is beginning officially today, May 17, at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. To complete its quest, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will capture and study the light from tens of millions of galaxies and other distant objects in the universe.
DESI is an international science collaboration managed by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, or Berkeley Lab, with primary funding from DOE's Office of Science.
By gathering light from some 30-million galaxies, project scientists say DESI will help them construct a 3D map of the universe with unprecedented detail.
60 years later, is it time to update the Drake equation?
Monday, 17 May 2021 12:41 Write a comment
On November 1, 1961, a number of prominent scientists converged on the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, for a three-day conference. A year earlier, this facility had been the site of the first modern SETI experiment (Project Ozma), where famed astronomers Frank Drake and Carl Sagan used the Green Bank telescope (aka "Big Ear") to monitor two nearby sun-like stars—Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti.
While unsuccessful, Ozma became a focal point for scientists who were interested in this burgeoning field known as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). As a result, Drake and Sagan were motivated to hold the very first SETI conference, wherein the subject of looking for possible extraterrestrial radio signals would be discussed. In preparation for the meeting, Drake prepared the following heuristic equation:
N = R* • fp • ne • fl • fi • fc • L
This would come to be known as the "Drake equation," which is considered by many to be one of the most renowned equations in the history of science.
Space Force to spend years and billions of dollars to convert data into knowledge
Monday, 17 May 2021 12:22 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force plans to spend billions of dollars over the next decade to convert huge amounts of data that resides in separate systems into a digital enterprise architecture.
Space Force to increase spending on technologies to turn data into knowledge
Monday, 17 May 2021 12:22 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force plans to spend billions of dollars over the next decade to convert huge amounts of data that resides in separate systems into a digital enterprise architecture.
Defense Innovation Unit selects ABL Space to launch DoD mission
Monday, 17 May 2021 12:00 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Small launch startup ABL Space Systems announced May 17 it was selected by the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit to launch a military payload.
Based in El Segundo, California, ABL is developing the RS1 small launch vehicle designed to deliver up to 1,350 kilograms into low Earth orbit.
Solar Orbiter images first coronal mass ejections
Monday, 17 May 2021 11:00 Write a comment
- First Solar Orbiter movies showing coronal mass ejections (CMEs)
- A pair of CMEs were detected by multiple instruments during February’s close flyby of the Sun
- CMEs are eruptions of particles from the solar atmosphere that blast out into the Solar System and have the potential to trigger space weather at Earth
- Solar Orbiter will begin its main science mission in November this year
- Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA
China rolls out rocket for Tianzhou-2 space station supply mission
Monday, 17 May 2021 09:43 Write a comment
HELSINKI — China is set to launch the Tianzhou-2 space station cargo mission this week after rollout of a Long March 7 rocket at Wenchang spaceport.
Parsons wins $185 million Space Force contract for technology services
Monday, 17 May 2021 09:00 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Parsons Corp. announced May 17 it has won a $185 million U.S. Space Force contract for information technology and engineering services.
The contract is from the Space and Missile Systems Center Special Programs Directorate in Los Angeles, California, that oversees classified projects such as space surveillance sensors and systems to defend satellites.
Name the mission
Monday, 17 May 2021 09:00 Write a comment
Video:
00:01:56
We need a name for our new spacecraft. Its mission? To spot potentially hazardous solar storms before they reach Earth.
Between them, our greatest minds have come up with ... not very much.
ESA needs you.
New ESA contracts to advance Prometheus and Phoebus projects
Monday, 17 May 2021 08:00 Write a comment
ESA is forging ahead with advanced developments in two flagship space transportation demonstration projects, Prometheus and Phoebus. This will benefit Europe’s new Ariane 6 launcher in the near-term, and prepare for a new generation of European launch vehicles in the next decade.
Modernization investments needed to protect space domain, Space Force Chief Says
Monday, 17 May 2021 04:20 Write a comment
The United States is a spacefaring nation, which depends on access to space and freedom to maneuver in space. However, there's a potential for conflict in space that could affect the lives of every American, said the chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force.
Space Force Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond spoke at the McAleese "FY2022 Defense Programs" conference in Washington, D.C. Roth, Brown, Raymond present Air and Space Forces priorities to Congress
Monday, 17 May 2021 04:20 Write a comment
Acting Secretary of the Air Force John Roth told a congressional subcommittee Friday that both the Air and Space forces are moving decisively to confront new and emerging threats, including those from China and Russia, while also devoting resources "to rid our ranks of corrosive elements and injustices."
Appearing alongside Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., and Chief of STPSat-6 safely arrives in Florida
Monday, 17 May 2021 04:20 Write a comment
The U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Test Program Satellite - 6 space vehicle arrived at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, on May 6, 2021. STPSat-6 is the primary space vehicle on the Space Test Program - 3 mission, and was safely transported by Northrop Grumman from their facility in Dulles, Virginia where STPSat-6 was built and tested. STPSat-6 is on s