How many satellites are orbiting Earth?
Monday, 20 September 2021 11:27
It seems like every week, another rocket is launched into space carrying rovers to Mars, tourists or, most commonly, satellites. The idea that "space is getting crowded" has been around for a few years now, but just how crowded is it? And how crowded is it going to get?
I am a professor of physics and director of the Center for Space Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Many satellites that were put into orbit have gone dead and burned up in the atmosphere, but thousands remain.
Swimmers show sporting success using satellites
Monday, 20 September 2021 08:20
Athletes who participated in an open-air mass sporting event at the weekend had images of their sporting prowess sent to family and friends within seconds, thanks to a space-enabled app.
Joining forces for Aeolus
Monday, 20 September 2021 06:00
For a team of scientists and technicians from Europe and the US, the fact of ‘going back to the office’ this September has meant heading off to the Cabo Verde islands in the Atlantic – not to extend their summer holidays, but for a complex international experiment campaign that will scrutinise the data being delivered by one of today’s most innovative Earth observation satellites: ESA’s Aeolus wind mission.
FAA releases draft environmental report on SpaceX Starship orbital launches
Monday, 20 September 2021 04:24
A draft environmental assessment released by the Federal Aviation Administration suggests that SpaceX will be able to proceed with orbital Starship launches from Texas, but with a number of mitigations required.
Space community ponders right-of-way rules for space traffic
Sunday, 19 September 2021 16:01
The growing number of satellites in orbit is leading to calls to develop formal “right of way” rules, although there is no consensus on what those rules should be and how they should be established.
SpaceX all-civilian orbital crew completes historic mission
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48
Four SpaceX tourists returned to Earth safely on Saturday after spending three days in space, successfully concluding the first orbital mission in history with no professional astronauts on board.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, whose heat shield allowed it to withstand descent, was slowed down by four large parachutes before splashing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida at 7:06 pm ( China prepares to launch Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48
The combination of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y4 carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Thursday.
The CMSA said the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time.
The facilities and equipment at the Wenchang Spacecraft L NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Captures a Mars Rock Feature in 3D
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter provided a 3D view of a rock-covered mound during its 13th flight on Sept. 4. The plan for this reconnaissance mission into the "South Seitah" region of Mars' Jezero Crater was to capture images of this geologic target - nicknamed "Faillefeu" (after a medieval abbey in the French Alps) by the agency's Perseverance rover team - and to obtain the color pictures fro Space Force grappling with aging infrastructure used to operate satellites
Sunday, 19 September 2021 09:00
The ground stations and tracking antennas the U.S. military relies on to communicate with its satellites — known as the Satellite Control Network, or SCN — are decades old and short of the capacity needed to keep up with the projected growth in space activities.
Trailblazing tourist trip to orbit ends with splashdown
Sunday, 19 September 2021 07:45
Crew Dragon splashes down to conclude Inspiration4 mission
Saturday, 18 September 2021 22:29
SpaceX’s first private crewed mission ended with the splashdown of the Crew Dragon spacecraft off the Florida coast Sept. 18.
SpaceX to launch Turksat 6A
Saturday, 18 September 2021 19:40
Turksat will launch its first domestically built communications satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9, the Turkish government announced Sept. 17.
SpaceX Inspiration4 mission sent 4 people with minimal training into orbit
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03
Just after 8 p.m. EST on Sept. 15, 2021, the next batch of space tourists lifted off aboard a SpaceX rocket. Organized and funded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the Inspiration4 mission touts itself as "the first all-civilian mission to orbit" and represents a new type of space tourism.
The four crew members are not the first space tourists this year. In the past few months, the world wit SKorea plans to launch solid-propellant space launch vehicle in 2024, Defence Ministry says
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03
South Korea's Institute for Defense Analyses managed to carry out successful firing tests of a solid-propellant engine for a new space launch vehicle already on 29 July, paving way for commercial launches of this type of rockets to start as early as in 2024, the defense ministry said on 16 September.
The new engine will allow launching small satellites and groups of extra-small satellites ABL Space selected for NASA Cryogenic Demonstration Mission
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03
ABL Space Systems announced that is has been selected as the launch provider for the NASA Cryogenic Demonstration Mission. Developed under a NASA Tipping Point contract awarded in 2020, the Cryogenic Demonstration Mission will launch in 2023 and demonstrate in-space transfer of cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2), the most challenging but highest-performing propellant for lunar and deep space explor