The very first structures in the Universe
Thursday, 25 March 2021 10:40
Write a comment
The very first moments of the Universe can be reconstructed mathematically even though they cannot be observed directly. Physicists from the Universities of Gottingen and Auckland (New Zealand) have greatly improved the ability of complex computer simulations to describe this early epoch. They discovered that a complex network of structures can form in the first trillionth of a second after the Ocean currents predicted on Enceladus
Thursday, 25 March 2021 10:40 Write a comment
Buried beneath 20 kilometers of ice, the subsurface ocean of Enceladus--one of Saturn's moons--appears to be churning with currents akin to those on Earth.
The theory, derived from the shape of Enceladus's ice shell, challenges the current thinking that the moon's global ocean is homogenous, apart from some vertical mixing driven by the warmth of the moon's core.
Enceladus, a tiny fr Launcher opens California facility to develop small launch vehicle
Thursday, 25 March 2021 10:20 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle company Launcher has moved across the country to California as it takes its next steps in the development of its rocket.
Launcher, which had been based in New York City, is in the process of moving into a 24,000-square-foot building it is leasing in Hawthorne, California, a few blocks from the sprawling headquarters of SpaceX.
Raspberry Pi-powered cybersecurity for future missions, tested on Space Station
Thursday, 25 March 2021 10:11 Write a comment
One of the cheapest experiments ever flown in orbit has finished operating after 22 months on the International Space Station. Running on a Raspberry Pi Zero costing just a few Euros, ESA’s CryptIC payload was exploring cryptography techniques running on off-the-shelf hardware, to ensure cybersecurity for future low-cost space missions.
Op-ed | The use of AI in space systems: opportunities for mission improvement
Thursday, 25 March 2021 09:29 Write a comment
From analyzing the terrain on Mars to enhancing communications between satellites and ground communications, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing important role in space operations and exploration.
Earth from Space: Gariep Dam, South Africa
Thursday, 25 March 2021 09:00 Write a comment
The Gariep Dam, the largest dam in South Africa, is featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
Sky Perfect JSAT orders first Airbus satellite
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 21:03 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Japanese satellite operator Sky Perfect JSAT has ordered a spacecraft from Airbus for the first time, choosing the European aerospace giant to build Superbird-9 for a launch in 2024.
Superbird-9 will be based on Airbus’ reconfigurable payload platform OneSat, which can steer and reassign beams for different customers and services.
Space Force to launch fifth SBIRS satellite in May
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 18:09 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — A $1.6 billion Space Based Infrared System satellite arrived last week at Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The satellite, made by Lockheed Martin, is scheduled to launch May 17 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the U.S.
ABL Space Systems raises $170 million
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 16:17 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer ABL Space Systems announced March 25 it raised $170 million in funding to help it build up infrastructure and launch sites ahead of its first launch.
ABL said its Series B round was led by funds and accounts advised by T.
Op-ed | From spectator to space investor: How a teen from Maine became a Virgin Galactic shareholder
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 16:00 Write a comment
It all started with Mr. V, my middle school teacher famous for the stock market game he ran each year for the eighth graders. As a seventh grader, I convinced Mr. V to let me play.
Paraguay's first satellite deployed from the International Space Station
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 15:37 Write a comment
On March 14, the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) deployed a satellite from the International Space Station to help track a tiny parasite that causes Chagas disease. The satellite, Guaranisat-1, is the first developed and put into orbit by Paraguay. An estimated 8 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, which if untreated can be life-threatening. Large-scale population movements from rural to urban areas of Latin America and other parts of the world have increased the geographic distribution of the disease.
Guaranisat-1 is part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project, or BIRDS, supported by the nation of Japan and the Kyushu Institute of Technology or Kyutech.
Engine of Atlantis
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 15:11 Write a comment
Image:
The second European Service Module that will power the Orion spacecraft on a crewed flyby of the Moon is fitted with a special engine at Airbus facilities in Germany.
This engine belonged to Space Shuttle Atlantis, and is one of five refurbished engines to be paired with the first five European Service Modules. Technicians carefully install the engine in Airbus’ cleanroom.
ESM is the powerhouse of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. It will provide critical functions such as the propulsion system to get astronauts to the Moon, and the consumables astronauts need to stay alive.
ESM-2 will fuel the crewed Orion spacecraft during a
Arianespace launches 36 more OneWeb satellites
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 13:15 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Arianespace successfully launched another 36 satellites for low Earth orbit broadband operator OneWeb March 25, bringing its total in-orbit constellation to 146 satellites.
OneWeb has made contact with each satellite after they separated from a Soyuz-2.1b rocket that blasted off 10:47 p.m.
Gravitational lenses could allow a galaxy-wide internet
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 13:06 Write a comment
As Carl Sagan once said, "The sky calls to us. If we do not destroy ourselves, we will one day venture to the stars." And our first emissaries to the stars will be robotic probes. These interstellar probes will be largely autonomous, but we will want to communicate with them. At the very least, we will want them to phone home and tell us what they've discovered. The stars are distant, so the probes will need to make a very long-distance call.
Currently, we communicate with space probes throughout the solar system via the Deep Space Network (DSN). This is a collection of antenna stations located around the world. Each station has one large 70-meter dish and several smaller dishes. Such large radio dishes are necessary because the signals from a space probe are rather faint, and they grow fainter with increasing distance.
When we start sending probes to other stars, we're going to need an interstellar communication network.
Space vs. materials – orbital testing outside Space Station
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 12:00 Write a comment
Space leaves its mark on materials: exposure to such a harsh environment can darken, crack or crater their surfaces – or even erode them away entirely. The nothingness of hard vacuum can also provoke ‘outgassing’ vapours from materials that might degrade delicate mission systems. Accordingly ESA and the French space agency CNES are giving European researchers the chance to pit the latest aerospace materials directly against space.