Raytheon completes acquisition of Blue Canyon Technologies
Monday, 21 December 2020 17:23WASHINGTON — Raytheon Technologies’ acquisition of satellite manufacturer Blue Canyon Technologies has been completed, the company announced Dec. 22.
Boulder, Colorado-based Blue Canyon from now on will be part of Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a business unit of Raytheon Technologies based in Arlington, Virginia.
ESA highlights 2020
Monday, 21 December 2020 16:202020 has been another year of progress for ESA. The launch and commissioning of Solar Orbiter heralded a new era of space science, whilst Eutelsat Konnect revolutionised telecommunications. The new Vega SSMS began a cost-effective new launch system for small satellites, deploying exciting new technologies such as PhiSat and ESAIL. ESA’s Earth Observation activities were also showcased, with the launch of Sentinel-6 and an international effort to monitor the environmental and economic impact of COVID-19. Gaia and Cheops yielded new findings about our universe; ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano returned successfully from orbit. With a lunar programme agreement
Image: Instruments installed on Euclid spacecraft
Monday, 21 December 2020 13:30The optical and infrared instruments of Euclid, ESA's mission to study dark energy and dark matter, have passed the qualification and acceptance review and are now fully integrated into the spacecraft's payload module. This marks an important step forward in the assembly of the Euclid space telescope, which is scheduled for launch in 2022.
The visible and infrared instruments are crucial to measure the shapes and distances of billions of galaxies. This will enable scientists to reconstruct 10 billion years of cosmic history, and investigate the mysterious dark matter and dark energy that are thought to dominate the universe.
This image shows Euclid's payload module, which consists of a silicon baseplate supporting the telescope and two instruments. The visual imager is visible towards the top, which, with more than 600 megapixels, will be one of the biggest cameras in space. The near-infrared spectrometer and photometer is to the right. The telescope's primary and secondary mirrors are hidden from view and inside the white baffle with gold multi-layer insulation, underneath the baseplate in this orientation.
Op-ed | Building on the Artemis Accords to address space sustainability
Monday, 21 December 2020 13:00Ethiopia takes over operation of Chinese-built satellite
Monday, 21 December 2020 12:16The Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite-1, the African nation's first satellite, has been handed over to its Ethiopian operators, according to the China Academy of Space Technology, which designed and built the spacecraft. A delivery ceremony was held earlier this month in Beijing with participants from both countries, it said in a statement. Ethiopian Ambassador to China Teshome Toga
Japan's signs historic MOU with the US Space Force
Monday, 21 December 2020 12:16The U.S. Space Force and Japan's Office of National Space Policy signed an historic Memorandum of Understanding this week to launch two U.S. payloads on Japan's Quasi Zenith Satellite System. The Department of the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center is developing the payloads, which feature Space Domain Awareness optical sensors and will launch from Japan's Tanegashima Space Cente
What's with all the US space-related agencies?
Monday, 21 December 2020 12:16For centuries, the U.S. military has fought wars on land and sea. For that, America has the Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps. Then, in 1909, the U.S. Army bought America's first military aircraft with a $30,000 contract awarded to the Wright brothers. Less than four decades later, in 1947, the U.S. military gave birth to the U.S. Air Force to operate in the air domain. Now, the Defense
ULA aims for launch of new Vulcan rocket at end of 2021
Monday, 21 December 2020 12:16United Launch Alliance, which has been a launch provider to the U.S. government for 14 years, plans to send its new Vulcan rocket aloft by late 2021, CEO Tory Bruno said Thursday. The company had been aiming for the first Vulcan launch in mid-2021, but the timeline slipped for the first mission - the Peregrine lunar rover being builkt by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, Bruno said.
Next lunar mission to sample pole or far side
Monday, 21 December 2020 12:16China plans to use its next moon mission, Chang'e 6, to collect samples from the moon's south pole or possibly the celestial body's far side, according to a key figure in the nation's lunar exploration program. Wu Yanhua, deputy head of China National Space Administration, told China Daily on Thursday after a news conference in Beijing that project managers' current plans call for the Chan
China's space landing site chosen with utmost care
Monday, 21 December 2020 12:16For Siziwang Banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, falling spacecraft are nothing unusual. Before the landing of Chang'e 5 at 1:59 am on Thursday, the site also welcomed back 11 Shenzhou spacecraft designed for China's manned spaceflight program, as well as 14 astronauts over the past two decades. Siziwang Banner is located at the center of Inner Mongolia, about 80 kilomete
China ponders moon base within five years
Monday, 21 December 2020 12:16According to a report, China's national space agency said it would invite other agencies and foreign partners to work jointly on the project if possible, with the next lunar mission likely to take place in the next five years. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced it will analyse whether it can build a permanent base on the moon, media reports revealed on Thursday.
China's new Long March-8 rocket makes first flight
Monday, 21 December 2020 11:32China's new carrier rocket, the Long March-8, made its maiden flight on Tuesday, the country's space agency said, the first phase of a strategy to deploy launch vehicles that can be reused.
The Long March-8 series is part of China's endeavours to develop reusable rockets, potentially lowering mission costs and paving the way towards commercial launch services.
The programme has drawn parallels to private US rocket firm SpaceX's Falcon range, although China said in 2018 its reusable carrier vehicle would use different technologies.
The new medium-lift carrier rocket sent five satellites into planned orbit, blasting off from the Wenchang launch site on the southern Hainan island at 12:37 pm Beijing time (0437 GMT) on Tuesday.
China launches first Long March 8 from Wenchang spaceport
Monday, 21 December 2020 11:09HELSINKI — China successfully carried out a first launch of the new Long March 8 medium-lift rocket late Monday, marking a small step towards Chinese rocket reusability.
Omnibus spending bill funds Commerce Department space traffic management work
Monday, 21 December 2020 10:21WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department will be able to accelerate it work on space traffic management after Congress provided the agency with most, but not all, the funding it requested for that effort.