China tests high-thrust rocket engine for upcoming space station missions
Wednesday, 03 March 2021 07:39
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A Chinese high-thrust oxyhydrogen engine designed for the Long March-5 carrier rocket has completed a 520-second test in Beijing in preparation for space station missions, the engine's maker said on Wednesday.
Developed by an institute under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the engine is the most advanced cryogenic liquid rocket engine that has been put into u Webb Telescope completes final functional tests to prepare for launch
Wednesday, 03 March 2021 07:39 Write a comment
February marked significant progress for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which completed its final functional performance tests at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California. Testing teams successfully completed two important milestones that confirmed the observatory's internal electronics are all functioning as intended, and that the spacecraft and its four scientific instruments can send SpaceX launches and lands Starship prototype, which later explodes
Wednesday, 03 March 2021 00:34 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched a prototype of its Starship next-generation vehicle March 3, landing it safely only to have the vehicle explode minutes later.
The Starship SN10 vehicle lifted off from the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, test site at about 6:15 p.m.
Biden’s first strategic guidance sets broad national security priorities
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 23:05 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden issued a national security blueprint that lays out broad goals and priorities for his administration and identifies China as the United States’ primary competitor.
With regard to space, the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance released March 3 says the United States will “explore and use” outer space but also ensure space remains safe and stable.
VIPER lunar rover mission cost increases
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 22:58 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — A NASA rover mission to look for ice at the south pole of the moon has passed a key review, but now costs significantly more than previously advertised.
NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission passed its confirmation review Feb.
Delayed Indonesian broadband satellite SATRIA fully funded
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 21:56 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Indonesia’s government has secured financing to continue manufacturing the SATRIA broadband satellite, although its intended orbital slot remains up in the air.
Thales Alenia Space started developing the Ka-band spacecraft in September after receiving partial financing, which spokesperson Sandrine Bielecki told SpaceNews covered work up until this point.
Source of hazardous high-energy particles located in the Sun
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 19:00 Write a comment
The source of potentially hazardous solar particles, released from the Sun at high speed during storms in its outer atmosphere, has been located for the first time by researchers at UCL and George Mason University, Virginia, U.S.
These particles are highly charged and, if they reach Earth's atmosphere, can potentially disrupt satellites and electronic infrastructure, as well as pose a radiation risk to astronauts and people in airplanes. In 1859, during what's known as the Carrington Event, a large solar storm caused telegraphic systems across Europe and America to fail.
Foust Forward | Will Jeff Bezos kick-start Blue Origin? Does he need to?
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 18:49 Write a comment
Back in the 1990s, space advocates had visions of reusable launch vehicles that would lower the cost of getting to orbit, opening the door to everything from space hotels to space solar power satellites. The problem, they argued at conferences as they showed viewgraphs of their designs, was not technical but financial: few were willing to invest in these ventures.
Space Care
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 16:00 Write a comment
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Why does ESA send missions beyond our Earth? To explore unknown worlds, and better understand our place in the Universe. But that answer only gives part of the picture. The first thing people do when they first reach space is to turn back to see our homeworld. Looking down on our planet from above allows ESA with its global partners to monitor climate, disasters and environmental changes – to work together to protect our home.
And danger comes from above as well as below: a close eye on our stormy Sun is vital to gather early warning of
Raymond: Space Force ‘not a political issue’
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 15:20 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The White House unambiguous statement of support for the Space Force makes it “really clear that this is not a political issue, it’s an issue of national security,” Chief of Space Operations Gen.
Help is a long way away: The challenges of sending humans to Mars
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 14:30 Write a comment
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin stepped out a lunar lander onto the surface of the moon. The landscape in front of him, which was made up of stark blacks and grays, resembled what he later called "magnificent desolation."
When it comes to desolation, however, the moon may have nothing on Mars.
The red planet circles the sun at an average distance of about 140 million miles from Earth. When people eventually visit this world—whether that's in 20 years or 50—they may face a journey lasting 1,000 days or longer. The entire Apollo 11 mission, in contrast, lasted just a little over eight days. If future Mars astronauts get lonely, or if something more serious goes wrong, help is a long way away.
For researchers who study how human bodies and minds respond to the rigors of space travel, the scenario poses a lot of unknowns.
China to develop two super-heavy launchers for moon missions
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 13:26 Write a comment
HELSINKI — China will work on development of two types of super-heavy launch vehicles for future lunar projects, a senior official said Wednesday.
Jiang Jie, chief designer of the Long March 3A series of hypergolic launchers, told press (Chinese) in Beijing March 3 that the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) would continue development of both a heavy launch vehicle and a new generation crew launch vehicle over the next five years.
Electronic Data Sheets: a common language for space
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 13:15 Write a comment
Designing and building equipment for space is hard enough; then comes the writing of its accompanying documentation. Creating a working space mission involves putting together a vast number of elements correctly, so such guidelines need to be clear and easy to understand. ESA is leading efforts to create standardised ‘Electronic Data Sheets’ for common use across the space industry.
Eastern Range looks for ways to support additional launches
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 12:32 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — As launch activity grows on the Eastern Range in Florida, companies and government agencies are looking at ways to add capacity, largely through incremental improvements.
In a panel discussion at the 47th Spaceport Summit Feb.
Media event: Second spaceflight for Samantha Cristoforetti
Tuesday, 02 March 2021 12:30 Write a comment
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Watch the replay of the briefing to media representatives to learn more about the next spaceflight of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.
During the event, Samantha was joined by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker, and Italian space agency president Giorgio Saccoccia.
Samantha is a member of ESA’s astronaut class of 2009. During her firsission ‘Futura’ in 2014t m–15, she spent 200 days in space, carrying out science and operations on the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expeditions 42 and 43. She now looks forward to returning to the