Pangea Aerospace to test aerospike rocket engine
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15The world first Methalox 3D printed aerospike engine The European space start-up Pangea Aerospace raised euro 3 million to close its seed round. The round has been led by Inveready and backed up by Primo space, Dozen Investments, E2MC and CDTI. The capital raised will be used to additively manufacture and test the first engine of this kind and work towards a commercial-ready aerospike engine wi
Highest bid for Blue Origin's maiden voyage $2.6 million and climbing
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15An online bid for a seat aboard Blue Origin's first crewed spaceflight was going for $2.6 million on Wednesday afternoon as the company prepares to blast off this summer. Would-be customers have until June 10 before the current phase ends, and the company will hold a live final round on June 12, with the proceeds going to the company's charitable foundation. Jeff Bezos' space venture is
NASA joins two major Artemis II Core Stage Structures
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans stacked two of three hardware elements for NASA's Space Launch System rocket in an assembly area in the facility on April 28. Crews connected the liquid oxygen tank flight hardware with the intertank. Later, they will add the forward skirt to form the upper portion of the core stage that will help power Artemis II, the first c
Nickel atoms detected in the cold gas around interstellar comet 2I/Borisov
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15Unbound nickel atoms and other heavy elements have been observed in very hot cosmic environments, including the atmospheres of ultra-hot exoplanets and evaporating comets that ventured too close to our Sun or other stars. A new study conducted by JU researchers reveals the presence of nickel atoms in the cold gasses surrounding the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. The team's finding is being publi
On its first try, China's Zhurong rover hit a Mars milestone
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15China's Zhurong rover landed safely on Mars on May 15, making China only the third country to successfully land a rover on the red planet. More impressively still, China is the first Mars-going nation to carry out an orbiting, landing and rovering operation as its first mission. Planetary scientist Roberto Orosei told Nature China is "doing in a single go what NASA took decades to
Heavy metal vapors unexpectedly found in comets throughout our Solar System
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15A new study by a Belgian team using data from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) has shown that iron and nickel exist in the atmospheres of comets throughout our Solar System, even those far from the Sun. A separate study by a Polish team, who also used ESO data, reported that nickel vapour is also present in the icy interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. This is the fi
Chinese Mars rover beams back first photos
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15Solar panels against an alien landscape, ramps and rods pointing at the Martian horizon - China's first probe on the Red Planet has beamed back its first "selfies" after its history-making landing last week. The Zhurong rover was carried into the Martian atmosphere in a lander on Saturday, in the first ever successful probe landing by any country on its first Mars mission. Zhurong, name
A revolutionary method to drastically reduce stray light on space telescopes
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15A team of researchers at the Centre Spatial de Liege (CSL) of the University of Liege has just developed a method to identify the contributors and origins of stray light on space telescopes. This is a major advance in the field of space engineering that will help in the acquisition of even finer space images and the development of increasingly efficient space instruments. This study has just bee
More than 175 billion cosmic rays later
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 23:15The International Space Station's largest scientific instrument celebrates a decade in orbit. Wednesday 19 May 2021 marks 10 years since the cosmic-ray-hunting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) was installed on the exterior of the Space Station. AMS-02 is a sub-atomic particle detector that looks for dark matter, antimatter and measures cosmic rays. It took 16 countries and nearly 20 ye
IAF moves forward with in-person conference in Dubai
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 22:22WASHINGTON — The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is moving ahead with plans to hold an in-person conference, one of the largest in the space industry, this October in Dubai.
At a May 18 press conference, officials with the IAF and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center confirmed they will hold the 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) Oct.
NASA seeking more than $10 billion in infrastructure bill
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 20:43WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told House appropriators May 19 that the agency is requesting more than $11 billion in an upcoming infrastructure bill that would go for the agency’s Human Landing System program and upgrading center facilities.
Horizon Technologies gets funding for maritime surveillance satellites
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 20:39TAMPA, Fla. — A British company that equips spy planes and drones to track satellite telephones has raised capital to launch a handful of tiny surveillance spacecraft to listen for signals from ships operating clandestinely.
China postpones launch of rocket carrying space station supplies
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 20:20China has postponed the planned launch Thursday of a rocket carrying supplies for its new space station due to technical reasons, state media said.
The China Manned Space Agency gave no details on what the reasons were, and said only that a new launch time would be "determined later," the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The blast-off was to have taken place just days after China landed a rover on Mars, as it hustles ahead with its extraterrestrial ambitions.
Beijing has pumped billions into its space programme in a bid to make up ground on pioneers Russia and the United States, with ambitious projects in Earth orbit and the landing of uncrewed craft on the Moon and Mars.
But it was heavily reprimanded by the United States and many experts for a potentially dangerous breach of space etiquette for letting a massive rocket segment free-fall to Earth earlier this month after launching the core module of China's space station.
China delays supply mission to newly launched space station
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 20:20China has postponed the planned launch Thursday of a rocket carrying supplies for its new space station due to technical reasons, state media said.
The China Manned Space Agency gave no details on what the reasons were, and said only that a new launch time would be "determined later," the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The blast-off was to have taken place just days after China landed a rover on Mars, as it hustles ahead with its extraterrestrial ambitions.
Beijing has pumped billions into its space programme in a bid to make up ground on pioneers Russia and the United States, with ambitious projects in Earth orbit and the landing of uncrewed craft on the Moon and Mars.
But it was heavily reprimanded by the United States and many experts for a potentially dangerous breach of space etiquette for letting a massive rocket segment free-fall to Earth earlier this month after launching the core module of China's space station.
ESA Astronaut Careers Fair Q&A
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 15:45This video is a summary compilation of the questions and answers sessions held during the ESA Astronaut Careers Fair on 22 April 2021. The ESA speakers are Florence Loustalot, Talent Acquisition Specialist; Antonella Costa, HR Business Partner; Dagmar Boos, Head of HR Competence and Policy Centre; and Guillaume Weerts, Space Medicine Team Leader. See the astronaut vacancy notice and other opportunities to work at ESA at https://jobs.esa.int
Further information on the astronaut selection may be found in the Astronaut Applicant Handbook and in the astronaut selection FAQs. If your question is not answered in these documents,