NASA continues to delay return of Boeing Starliner, astronauts from ISS
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58There still is no return date set for the Starliner astronauts aboard the International Space Station, officials with NASA and Boeing said Thursday. NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich in a conference call Thursday morning said the agency has made significant progress in assessing the Starliner's return capability but there is no official plan to bring the astronauts home.
Star Catcher Secures $12.25M Seed Funding to Revolutionize Space Energy
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58Star Catcher Industries, Inc. ("Star Catcher"), a leader in space-based energy generation, has successfully closed a $12.25 million seed funding round. The funding round was co-led by Initialized Capital and B Capital, with significant participation from Rogue VC. This investment will enable the company to build the Star Catcher Network, the world's first space-based energy grid, aimed at elimin
From Garuda to Pioneering Nepal's Space-Tech Industry
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58In the Himalayan nation of Nepal, two innovators, Mohan Tamang and Akrit Dhungel, are making history with Mach24Orbitals, the country's first space-tech startup. Previously, Dhungel and Tamang led the Garuda project, which launched Nepal's first rocket on March 20, 2021. This project earned the Nancy Squires Team Spirit Award at the Spaceport America Cup 2021. Using potassium nitrate and s
UAH TERMINUS student group set to launch biggest, most advanced spacecraft with NASA
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58This August, a student team at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, is set to launch its biggest payload yet into the upper atmosphere from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch is part of NASA's RockSat Program, an initiative that aims to connect higher education students from across the United States with
Tracking Carbon Dioxide Movement in Earth's Atmosphere
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58This global map illustrates carbon dioxide concentrations as the gas moved through Earth's atmosphere from January to March 2020, influenced by wind patterns and atmospheric circulation. Due to the model's high resolution, it's possible to zoom in and observe carbon dioxide emissions originating from power plants, fires, and cities, then dispersing across continents and oceans. "As p
Expiring Medications Present Risk for Long-Duration Space Missions
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58Medications used by astronauts on the International Space Station may not last for the duration of a three-year mission to Mars. A study led by Duke Health found that over half of the medications stocked in space, including pain relievers, antibiotics, allergy medicines, and sleep aids, would expire before astronauts return to Earth. Astronauts could potentially rely on ineffective o
Epson Makes Strategic Investment in Microsatellite Innovator Axelspace
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58Epson, alongside its subsidiary Epson X Investment Corporation (EXI), has invested in Axelspace Holdings, the parent company of Axelspace Corporation, a pioneering startup in microsatellite development and manufacturing. This investment was facilitated through the EP-GB Investment Limited Partnership fund. Axelspace, with its mission to bring "Space within Your Reach," operates AxelLiner,
NASA Achieves Milestone in 4K Video Streaming from Aircraft to ISS and Back
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland successfully streamed 4K video from an aircraft to the International Space Station (ISS) and back using laser communications for the first time. This achievement is part of ongoing tests to develop technology for live video coverage of astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis missions. Traditionally, NASA has used radio waves to transmit data to a
Terran Orbital Secures Up to $98 Million via ATM Program
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite-based solutions for the aerospace and defense industries, has announced an at-the-market (ATM) offering program. This program will enable the Company to sell its common stock in transactions categorized as "at the market" offerings, with a total value not exceeding $98,000,000. However, under the Company's existing debt agreem
Dark Matter Races Ahead in Galaxy Cluster Collision
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58Astronomers have analyzed a complex collision between two massive galaxy clusters, revealing that the dark matter within these clusters has moved ahead of the normal matter. The clusters, each containing thousands of galaxies and located billions of light-years from Earth, showed distinct separation of their dark matter from the normal matter as they collided. These observations mark the first d
A new insight into Jupiter's shrinking Great Red Spot
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58Jupiter's Great Red Spot, the largest windstorm in the solar system, is shrinking, and a recent study offers a potential explanation. Situated in Jupiter's southern hemisphere, the Great Red Spot is a massive, red-orange oval of high pressure over 10,000 miles wide. This anticyclone rotates counterclockwise with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour. The Great Red Spot has been diminish
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Friday, 26 July 2024 20:32Image: NASA's Orion spacecraft gets lift on Earth
Friday, 26 July 2024 14:45Crane operator Rebekah Tolatovicz, a shift mechanical technician lead for Artic Slope Regional Corporation at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, operates a 30-ton crane to lift the agency's Artemis II Orion spacecraft out of the recently renovated altitude chamber to the Final Assembly and Systems Testing, or FAST, cell inside NASA Kennedy's Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on April 27.
During her most recent lift July 10, Tolatovicz helped transfer Orion back to the FAST cell following vacuum chamber qualification testing in the altitude chamber earlier this month. This lift is one of around 250 annual lifts performed at NASA Kennedy by seven operator/directors and 14 crane operators on the ASRC Orion team.
"At the time of the spacecraft lift, I focus solely on what's going on in the moment of the operation," explains Tolatovicz. "Listening for the commands from the lift director, making sure everyone is safe, verifying the vehicle is clear, and ensuring the crane is moving correctly."
All Orion crane operators are certified after classroom and on-the-job training focusing on areas such as rigging, weight and center of gravity, mastering crane controls, crane securing, assessing safety issues, and emergency procedures.
NASA supports burst test for orbital reef commercial space station
Friday, 26 July 2024 14:44An element of a commercial space station, Orbital Reef, under development by Blue Origin and Sierra Space, recently completed a full-scale ultimate burst pressure test as part of the agency's efforts for new destinations in low Earth orbit.
This milestone is part of a NASA Space Act Agreement awarded to Blue Origin in 2021. Orbital Reef includes elements provided by Sierra Space, including the LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat structure.
Teams conducted the burst test on Sierra Space's LIFE habitat structure using testing capabilities at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The inflatable habitat is fabricated from high-strength webbings and fabric that form a solid structure once pressurized. The multiple layers of soft goods materials that make up the shell are compactly stowed in a payload fairing and inflated when ready for use, enabling the habitat to launch on a single rocket.
Week in images: 22-26 July 2024
Friday, 26 July 2024 12:10Week in images: 22-26 July 2024
Discover our week through the lens