ESA to unveil its plans for lunar satellites
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 11:05
ESA is backing a bold proposal to create a commercially viable constellation of satellites around the Moon.
Benchmark and Starfish Space Team to Enable Precision On-Orbit Services
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Burlington VT (SPX) May 19, 2021
The future of the space economy relies heavily on servicing infrastructure and vehicles that can make precision maneuvers to successfully approach, inspect and dock with spacecraft in need of refueling, maintenance and a wide range of on-orbit services.
Starfish Space, a satellite servicing company, and Benchmark Space Systems, a leading provider of in-space mobility systems and services,

Satellite navigation, positioning services valued at Y400 BN
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Beijing (XNA) May 19, 2021
By the end of 2020, the overall value of satellite-enabled navigation and positioning services in China was 403.3 billion yuan ($62.8 billion), with a 16.9-percent increase year-on-year, according to a white paper published on Tuesday in Beijing.
The 2021 White Paper on the Development of China's Satellite Navigation and Positioning Industries, compiled by the Global Navigation Satellite S

An incubator for the information society
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Berlin, Germany (SPX) May 19, 2021
Our world is extremely networked. This is apparent both in our day-to-day lives as individuals and in the world of work. Everyone from manufacturers to service providers, goods transporters and application developers have customers and providers that are connected by an invisible digital link.
"Fibre optics and mobile communications alone will not be enough throughout Germany to connect ev

Space station core module in orbit to prep for next stage of construction
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Beijing (XNA) May 19, 2021
The recently-launched core module of China's Tiangong space station has moved to a rendezvous orbit to prepare for the planned docking with the Tianzhou 2 cargo spaceship that will soon be lifted, the China Manned Space Agency said.
The agency said in a brief statement on Tuesday the currently unmanned core module, named Tianhe, or Harmony of Heavens, has carried out a series of tests to v

NASA eyes moon's dark side for astronomy, new telescopes
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Orlando FL (UPI) May 19, 2021
NASA scientists, as well as astronomers around the world, plan to install lunar observatories in the next few years to peer into the universe's ancient past - just after the Big Bang.
Science equipment headed to the moon already includes a spectrometer built for launch in early 2022, known as ROLSES, which will study how sunlight charges the slight lunar atmosphere.
The acronym includes t

NASA AI could speed up fault diagnosis process in spacecraft
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 19, 2021
New artificial intelligence technology could speed up physical fault diagnosis in spacecraft and spaceflight systems, improving mission efficiency by reducing down-time.
Research in Artificial Intelligence for Spacecraft Resilience (RAISR) is software developed by Pathways intern Evana Gizzi, who works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. With RAISR, artificial int

Euroconsult opens Australian office to help grow local space industry
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 19, 2021
Euroconsult is opening a representative office in Australia to serve local and international clients in the fast growing Australian space sector, further expanding its global market reach. As part of recent work carried out on the Australian space market, including an assessment for Austrade on the development of potential Australian launch capabilities, Euroconsult had the opportunity to witnes

China's core space station module Tianhe completes in-orbit tests
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Beijing (XNA) May 19, 2021
China's core space station module Tianhe has recently completed its platform function tests and entered the orbit to rendezvous and dock with the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Tuesday.
The core module, which was sent into orbit on April 29, has recently completed platform function tests for rendezvous and docking, astronaut stay and the m

LHAASO discovers a dozen PeVatrons and photons exceeding 1 PeV and launches ultra-high-energy gamma
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Beijing, China (SPX) May 19, 2021
China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) - one of the country's key national science and technology infrastructure facilities - has found a dozen ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic accelerators within the Milky Way. It has also detected photons with energies exceeding 1 peta-electron-volt (quadrillion electron-volts or PeV), including one at 1.4 PeV. The latter is the highest ener

Stunning simulation of stars being born is most realistic ever
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Chicago IL (SPX) May 19, 2021
A team including Northwestern University astrophysicists has developed the most realistic, highest-resolution 3D simulation of star formation to date. The result is a visually stunning, mathematically-driven marvel that allows viewers to float around a colorful gas cloud in 3D space while watching twinkling stars emerge.
Called STARFORGE (Star Formation in Gaseous Environments), the comput

Up-Close View of NASA's X-59 Engine Inlet
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Edwards AFB CA (SPX) May 17, 2021
NASA's X-59 requires the use of creative and strategic supersonic technologies to control and soften the jarring sound that hits the ground as the aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound above. One of these creative technologies is the placement of the X-59 engine inlet.
This visual is a closeup looking downstream inside of the X-59's engine inlet where, later in the assembly process

Missile detection satellite launches from Florida
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Washington DC (UPI) May 18, 2021
United Launch Alliance sent a new missile-warning satellite into orbit for the U.S. Space Force from Florida on Tuesday afternoon.
The Atlas V rocket lifted off at 1:37 p.m. EDT into a mostly blue sky from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. After just a minute into flight, the vehicle traveled at 2,000 mph.
The satellite, known as SBIRS GEO 5, is the fifth in a ser

Deep water on Neptune and Uranus may be magnesium-rich
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 08:45
Tempe AZ (SPX) May 18, 2021
While scientists have amassed considerable knowledge of the rocky planets in our solar system, like Earth and Mars, much less is known about the icy water-rich planets, Neptune and Uranus.
In a new study recently published in Nature Astronomy, a team of scientists re-created the temperature and pressure of the interiors of Neptune and Uranus in the lab, and in so doing have gained a greate

Private sector seeks bigger role in NASA Earth science programs
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 07:47
WASHINGTON — Companies and organizations used a House hearing May 18 to advocate for a larger role in NASA’s Earth science programs, arguing their capabilities can complement NASA spacecraft.
The hearing by the House space subcommittee on NASA’s Earth science programs devoted much of its attention to how commercial Earth imaging spacecraft could supplement NASA missions to study climate change, a growing priority for both the agency and the Biden administration.