York to expand manufacturing capacity, once again
Thursday, 21 October 2021 14:17
York Space Systems is once again expanding manufacturing capacity to meet demand for its standard small satellites.
Information Session from 300th ESA Council
Thursday, 21 October 2021 14:00
Video:
00:40:56
Watch the replay of this media event to hear about the outcome of the 300th ESA Council.
Delegations from Member States are meeting in Paris on 20 and 21 October 2021. Panelists, including ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, provide live updates on the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting that will take place in Portugal in November 2021. The High-Level Advisory Group Report will also be presented and new ESA directors will be announced.
ESA moves forward with Destination Earth
Thursday, 21 October 2021 12:45
Earth observation provides a wealth of information to benefit our daily lives. As the demand for satellite data grows to address the challenges of climate change and a growing population, ESA, under the leadership of the European Commission, along with its key European partners, are developing high precision digital models of Earth to monitor and simulate both natural and human activity, to enable more sustainable development and support European environmental policies.
Today, at the ESA Council, Member States approved a ‘Contribution Agreement', which paves the way for cooperation with the European Commission on the Destination Earth initiative, in the context of the Digital
Capella to work with U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center
Thursday, 21 October 2021 12:00
Capella Space is working with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center to satisfy Army demand for Earth observation with rapid tasking and delivery of synthetic-aperture radar data.
Mining the moon's water will require a massive infrastructure investment, but should we?
Thursday, 21 October 2021 11:10
We live in a world in which momentous decisions are made by people often without forethought. But some things are predictable, including that if you continually consume a finite resource without recycling, it will eventually run out.
Yet, as we set our sights on embarking back to the moon, we will be bringing with us all our bad habits, including our urge for unrestrained consumption.
Since the 1994 discovery of water ice on the moon by the Clementine spacecraft, excitement has reigned at the prospect of a return to the moon. This followed two decades of the doldrums after the end of Apollo, a malaise that was symptomatic of an underlying lack of incentive to return.
That water changed everything. The water ice deposits are located at the poles of the moon hidden in the depths of craters that are forever devoid of sunlight.
South Korea’s 1st homegrown space rocket reaches space but fails to orbit dummy payload
Thursday, 21 October 2021 10:48
“The flight of Nuri was completed. I’m very proud of this. Regrettably, it didn’t reach the goal it aimed at,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced at Naro Space Center, where the three-stage KSLV-2 rocket, also known as Nuri, lifted off Oct.
ESA Vision: accelerate the use of space
Thursday, 21 October 2021 10:35
ESA Vision: accelerate the use of space
Europe must have the ambition to have a space programme and a space agency that is world-class and is leading. Agenda 2025 will bring European space to the next level. To meet our ambitions we need to accelerate the use of space in Europe.
Final report from the high-level advisory group on accelerating the use of space in Europe
Thursday, 21 October 2021 10:35
Final report from the high-level advisory group on accelerating the use of space in Europe
A group of advisors were given the mandate to advise the ESA DG on directions and actions for ESA to realise ambitious goals, together with other stakeholders, serving the future of Europe and its citizens. This report summarises their recommendations.
NASA starts process to acquire more commercial crew missions
Thursday, 21 October 2021 10:20
NASA is beginning the process to procure more commercial crew flights as it looks to extend the International Space Station through the end of the decade, including the opportunity for new entrants to join the program.
Galileo: the first ten years
Thursday, 21 October 2021 09:30
Video:
00:01:25
Europe’s own satellite navigation system, Galileo, has become the world’s most precise, delivering metre-level accuracy, available anywhere on Earth. It is also saving lives, relaying distress calls for search and rescue. Today there are 26 Galileo satellites in orbit 23 222 km over our heads; the first of them were launched on 21 October 2011, with nine more launches in the following years. The satellites in space are supported by a globe-spanning ground segment. The system as a whole is set to grow, with the first of 12 ‘Batch 3’ about to join the current satellites in
South Korea launches own space rocket for the first time
Thursday, 21 October 2021 09:18
South Korea launched its first domestically developed space rocket on Thursday, carrying a 1.5-tonne payload into orbit it seeks to join the ranks of advanced space-faring nations. The Korea Space Launch Vehicle II, informally called Nuri and emblazoned with a South Korean flag, rose upwards from the launch site in Goheung trailing a column of flame. U.S. needs nuclear spacecraft to compete with China, NASA official says
Thursday, 21 October 2021 09:18
NASA and U.S. aerospace experts urged Congress on Wednesday to invest more quickly and heavily in development of nuclear-powered spacecraft Wednesday to stay ahead of such competitors as China.
The space agency believes spacecraft powered by a nuclear thermal rocket reach Mars in just three to four months, which is about half the time required by traditional, liquid propellant rockets. Rocket Lab to recover Electron Rocket, introduce helicopter support operations
Thursday, 21 October 2021 09:18
Rocket Lab USA reports it will attempt a controlled ocean splashdown and recovery of the first stage of an Electron rocket during the company's next launch in November. The mission will be Rocket Lab's third ocean recovery of an Electron stage; however, it will be the first time a helicopter will be stationed in the recovery zone around 200 nautical miles offshore to track and visually observe a NASA looks beyond SpaceX, Boeing contracts for space station commutes
Thursday, 21 October 2021 09:18
NASA posted a formal request on a government website Wednesday, seeking companies that could provide astronaut transportation vehicles to the International Space Station by 2027.
SpaceX has provided such transport services with the Crew Dragon capsule since May 2020, while Boeing also holds a contract. But Boeing is four years behind schedule in delivering on its contract, as the compan NASA announces winners of Deep Space Food Challenge
Thursday, 21 October 2021 09:18
Variety, nutrition, and taste are some considerations when developing food for astronauts. For NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge, students, chefs, small businesses, and others whipped up novel food technology designs to bring new solutions to the table.
NASA has selected 18 U.S. teams to receive a total of $450,000 for ideas that could feed astronauts on future missions. Each team will rece