Harris to place “personal stamp” on National Space Council
Saturday, 01 May 2021 16:31Updated 1:55 p.m. Eastern with Nelson statement.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will put her “personal stamp” on the National Space Council as it takes on both existing and new priorities under the Biden administration.
Senior administration officials, speaking on background in a call with reporters May 1, confirmed that the administration will retain the National Space Council, an interagency body used to coordinate space policy across the federal government.
Raytheon gets $228 million contract extension for GPS ground system
Saturday, 01 May 2021 08:46WASHINGTON — Raytheon received a $228 million contract to continue development of a ground system for Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center announced April 30.
The contract is for work on the operational control system for the newest version of GPS 3 satellites made by Lockheed Martin.
NASA extends Mars helicopter mission to assist rover
Saturday, 01 May 2021 02:01NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has been so successful, the space agency on Friday said it would extend the mission so the mini-aircraft can act as a scout for the rover Perseverance. Engineers decided to let the helicopter operate another 30 days for longer flights to new areas of Jezero Crater, they announced in a press conference Friday. NASA originally planned to retire the helicop
Mars Ingenuity helicopter given new scouting mission
Saturday, 01 May 2021 02:01After proving powered, controlled flight is possible on the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter has new orders: scout ahead of the Perseverance rover to assist in its search for past signs of microbial life. The next phase extends the rotocraft's mission beyond the original month-long technology demonstration. Now, the goal is to assess how well flyers can help future exploration of
Ingenuity shifts from technology to operations demo after successful fourth flight
Friday, 30 April 2021 21:35WASHINGTON — With four flights now complete, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter will transition from being strictly a technology demonstration to a test of its ability to work in cooperation with the Perseverance rover.
Ingenuity performed its fourth flight April 30, staying aloft for 117 seconds.
Space industry in midst of transformation following record private and public investments
Friday, 30 April 2021 20:40TAMPA, Fla. — The space market is at a watershed moment as private and public investments continue to surge.
Boutique research and advisory firm Quilty Analytics recorded $5.7 billion in investments for the first quarter of 2021, a 356% increase from $1.2 billion in the same period last year.
Mars helicopter makes 4th flight, gets extra month of flying
Friday, 30 April 2021 19:50After proving powered, controlled flight is possible on the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter has new orders: scout ahead of the Perseverance rover to assist in its search for past signs of microbial life.
The next phase extends the rotocraft's mission beyond the original month-long technology demonstration. Now, the goal is to assess how well flyers can help future exploration of Mars and other worlds.
"We're going to gather information on the operational support capability of the helicopter while Perseverance focuses on its science mission," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, told reporters Friday.
SpaceX making 1st US crew splashdown in dark since Apollo 8
Friday, 30 April 2021 19:45SpaceX this weekend will attempt the first U.S.
Dynetics HLS protest argues NASA should have revised competition after budget shortfall
Friday, 30 April 2021 16:56Updated 3:10 p.m. Eastern with NASA statement about stop-work order on HLS award to SpaceX.
WASHINGTON — NASA should have revised its approach to the Human Landing System (HLS) program or withdrawn the solicitation entirely once it was clear the agency didn’t have the funding to support two companies, one of the losing bidders argues in its protest of the award.
On National Security | Is space-as-a-service a viable option for the DoD?
Friday, 30 April 2021 16:55Does it make sense for the Pentagon to spend billions of dollars buying and maintaining satellites when there are now private companies that can provide space-based capabilities as a service?
Op-ed | Are we there yet? A journey to more clearly see the changing planet
Friday, 30 April 2021 15:57We’ve all been there. Either as a child, in the back of your parents’ car, probably squashed between two obnoxious siblings or, as a parent of a restless toddler, 15 minutes into a four-hour road trip, the question always arises, “Are we there yet?”
Lessons learnt from simulated strike
Friday, 30 April 2021 14:33In an alternate reality playing out at this year’s international Planetary Defense Conference, a fictional asteroid crashes over Europe, 'destroying' a region about 100 km wide near the Czech Republic and German border. The scenario was imagined, but the people who took part are very real, and the lessons learnt will shape our ability to respond to dangerous asteroids for years to come.
Lithuania becomes ESA Associate Member state
Friday, 30 April 2021 13:41Lithuania signed an Association Agreement with ESA on 28 April 2021.
This Association Agreement between ESA and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, builds on the successful results achieved under the previous frameworks of cooperation and enters into force for a duration of seven years. Comprising 18 Articles and two Annexes, it orchestrates the strengthening of Lithuania’s relations with ESA.
Kleos Space develops tool for in-space manufacturing of large structures
Friday, 30 April 2021 13:40SAN FRANCISCO — Kleos Space is conducting a six-month test of technology for in-space manufacturing of large 3D carbon fiber structures that could be used to construct solar arrays, star shades and interferometry antennas.
The company with operations in Luxembourg, the United States and United Kingdom is best known for radio frequency reconnaissance satellites.
Conférence de presse de Thomas Pesquet depuis l'ISS
Friday, 30 April 2021 12:30L’astronaute de l’ESA Thomas Pesquet a échangé depuis la Station spatiale internationale avec des journalistes européens rassemblés à Paris, le vendredi 30 avril 2021, pour partager ses premiers jours de retour en impesanteur, la vie à bord et les enjeux de la mission Alpha.
A l’issue d’un voyage de près de 24 heures à bord d’une capsule Crew Dragon de SpaceX, il était arrivé samedi 24 avril 2021 sur la Station spatiale internationale. Dans le cadre de sa mission Alpha, il réalisera plus de deux cents expériences scientifiques – y compris 12 nouvelles manipulations du CNES, l’agence spatiale