ESA considering moving up radar satellite launch after Sentinel-1B malfunction
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 23:04
The European Space Agency is considering accelerating the launch of a new Earth science satellite after an existing one malfunctioned last month and remains out of service.
Federal budget stalemate having ‘ripple effects’ on national security space missions
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 22:40
If a CR continues, two national security space missions funded in 2022 would have to be pushed into 2023 or beyond.
SES absorbs SES Networks in streamlining effort
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 22:04
Satellite operator SES is absorbing its SES Networks business unit ahead of deploying its next-generation O3b mPOWER broadband constellation this year.
EarthDaily taps Loft Orbital to build and operate $150 million constellation
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 21:49
EarthDaily Analytics (EDA) said Jan. 18 it has selected condosat operator Loft Orbital to build, launch and operate a fleet of 10 Earth-observation satellites on its behalf.
Raymond: Space Force in 2022 to focus on the design of a resilient architecture
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 21:43
The U.S. Space Force will turn more attention in the coming year to the design of the military’s future space architecture, chief of space operations Gen. John “Jay” Raymond said Jan.
Israel to sign Artemis Accords: foreign minister
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 16:01
Israel will sign the U.S.-led Artemis Accords outlining best practices for space exploration, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Steady driving toward ExoMars launch
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 15:10
The first simulation of the ExoMars rover driving off its landing platform closed out an incredible year of preparations as the mission now marches with confidence towards a September launch.
ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover starts the year with months of successful maintenance and functional tests behind it. All its instruments are go for flight, with some minor tuning left to complete this month.
Europe narrows hunt for next astronauts, eyes crewed flights
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 15:03
The European Space Agency has narrowed down the candidate list for its next generation of astronauts, including dozens who have a physical disability.
The agency announced last year that it had received a record number of 22,589 applicants from people hoping to become the continent's next generation of space travelers.
ESA said Tuesday it has reduced these to fewer than 1,400—including 29 of whom have a physical disability—and hoped to cut the shortlist down to several tens of candidates by the end of the year for the four to six positions on its astronaut training program.
The agency's director-general, Josef Aschbacher, said the selection process would be accompanied by a feasibility study to determine the implications of choosing candidates with disabilities "but, yes, we are committed at ESA to open space to everyone."
ESA has for decades relied on its Russian and American counterparts to launch astronauts into space. Currently the agency has several places booked on American commercial launches.
But Aschbacher said Europe may finally get its own crewed spacecraft if ESA member states approve the idea at a meeting later this year.
China’s Landspace appears to be preparing to launch its new methane-fueled rocket
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 13:37
Chinese private company Landspace is working towards a first launch of its new methane-fueled Zhuque-2 rocket with the construction of launch facilities at Jiuquan.
Ariane 6 central core reaches Europe’s Spaceport
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 13:00
The central core of ESA’s new generation Ariane 6 launch vehicle has arrived in French Guiana from Europe. This enables combined tests at Europe’s Spaceport where Ariane 6 parts will come together on the launch pad for the first time.
NASA safety panel recommends agency review how it manages human spaceflight programs
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 11:21
NASA’s safety advisers are calling on the agency to reexamine how it manages human spaceflight programs to reflect the changing relationship with industry and to better run its core exploration effort.
First archaeological experiment in space
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 11:20
A world-first—or solar-system-first—archaeological project has this week begun on the International Space Station.
Led by archaeologists Associate Professor Alice Gorman from Flinders University and Associate Professor Justin Walsh of Chapman University in California, the International Space Station Archaeological Project (ISSAP) is the first archaeological study of a space habitat.
"We're the first to try to understand how humans relate to the items they live with in space," says Associate Professor Walsh.
"By bringing archaeological perspectives to an active space domain, we're the first to show how people adapt their behaviour to a completely new environment."
The team's first project, Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment, or SQuARE, has now launched, with an experiment that creatively imagines for space the most basic technique for sampling an archaeological site: the test pit.
While earth-bound archaeologists dig one-meter squares to understand a site and strategize further study, the ISSAP team will use adhesive tape to define one-meter areas of the International Space Station and then use daily photographs to study how the spaces are used.
"Instead of digging them to reveal new layers of soil representing different moments in the site's history, we will have them photographed each day to identify how they're being used and how they change over time," explains Associate Professor Gorman.
ESA Director General's Annual Press Conference
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 09:30
Video:
01:47:29
Exciting launches to the Moon and to the Red Planet, a second mission to the International Space Station for ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, the very first images provided by the James Webb Space Telescope, and a new class of European astronauts: 2022 looks very promising for European space!
Watch the replay of our annual press conference with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher presenting the highlights for 2022. He is joined by ESA Directors and answers questions from journalists.
Bluestaq gets new investor to fund growth in defense and space data management
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 08:00
The O’Neil Group, a real estate and asset management company based in Colorado Springs, announced Jan. 18 it is making a strategic investment in Bluestaq, a technology startup that is developing an enterprise data system for the U.S.
Astronaut selection: stage one complete
Tuesday, 18 January 2022 07:05
The next stage of ESA’s astronaut selection is underway, with around 1391 applicants invited to a full day of testing at a facility in Europe.