Copernical Team
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:29
Meet ESA’s R&D department
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Our new brochure introduces ESA’s R&D department: the engineers charged with inventing the new technologies needed for Europe to push further out into space, and develop the novel services improving our lives here on Earth.
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:37
ESA's Solar Orbiter ducks behind the sun
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Name: Solar Orbiter, or "Solo' as the mission control team fondly call it, is one of the European Space Agency's pluckiest missions and is now cruising toward the sun.
Age: One year old! We launched on 10 February 2020. Granted, it was first powered up on Earth at some point during construction, but launch is 'when it came alive."
What's it doing out there? It's imaging our star, observing the solar wind and unraveling mysteries of the solar cycle. It's already returned some of the best images of ol'Sol ever, revealing omnipresent miniature solar flares, dubbed 'campfires," near the surface.
Anything else? Well, it uses prehistoric cave pigment as a coating to withstand temperatures up to 520°C. The sun's pretty darn hot, you know.
So, what's happening now? The spacecraft's orbit is taking it behind the sun, and starting a few days ago the apparent angle, as seen from Earth, between Solar Orbiter and the sun started falling below 5 degrees.
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Russian cosmonauts to test new shielding material for radiation protection
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Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 09, 2021
An award-winning composite material that has proven effective against radiation in nuclear submarines will be sent to the orbital outpost for further testing this year, the Russian space agency said on Monday.
"Space is known for its elevated radiation levels... The invention has already been tested in nuclear subs. If the space experiment proves to be equally successful the material will
An award-winning composite material that has proven effective against radiation in nuclear submarines will be sent to the orbital outpost for further testing this year, the Russian space agency said on Monday.
"Space is known for its elevated radiation levels... The invention has already been tested in nuclear subs. If the space experiment proves to be equally successful the material will
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
China tests its missile interception equipment
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Beijing (XNA) Feb 08, 2021
China conducted a land-based, midcourse missile interception test on Thursday-the fifth land-based, anti-ballistic missile test the country has publicly announced.
The Defense Ministry said in a brief statement late on Thursday that the test had achieved its goals, and the operation was defensive in nature, not targeting any other country.
Before the latest operation, China had succe
China conducted a land-based, midcourse missile interception test on Thursday-the fifth land-based, anti-ballistic missile test the country has publicly announced.
The Defense Ministry said in a brief statement late on Thursday that the test had achieved its goals, and the operation was defensive in nature, not targeting any other country.
Before the latest operation, China had succe
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
DARPA pursues plan for robust manufacturing in space
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Washington DC (SPX) Feb 08, 2021
As commercial space companies increase the cadence of successful rocket launches, access to space is becoming more routine for both government and commercial interests. But even with regular launches, modern rockets impose mass and volume limits on the payloads they deliver to orbit. This size constraint hinders developing and deploying large-scale, dynamic space systems that can adapt to change
As commercial space companies increase the cadence of successful rocket launches, access to space is becoming more routine for both government and commercial interests. But even with regular launches, modern rockets impose mass and volume limits on the payloads they deliver to orbit. This size constraint hinders developing and deploying large-scale, dynamic space systems that can adapt to change
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
NATO picks France's Toulouse for new military space 'Center of Excellence'
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Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 08, 2021
While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has disavowed an interest in militarizing space, several members of the alliance, including the US, UK, and France, have oriented themselves toward conflict in the space domain in recent years.
The North Atlantic alliance has selected the French city of Toulouse to host its new higher education center for military space affairs.
NAT
While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has disavowed an interest in militarizing space, several members of the alliance, including the US, UK, and France, have oriented themselves toward conflict in the space domain in recent years.
The North Atlantic alliance has selected the French city of Toulouse to host its new higher education center for military space affairs.
NAT
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Study of supergiant star Betelgeuse unveils the cause of its pulsations
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Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
Betelgeuse is normally one of the brightest, most recognizable stars of the winter sky, marking the left shoulder of the constellation Orion. But lately, it has been behaving strangely: an unprecedentedly large drop in its brightness has been observed in early 2020 (Figure 1), which has prompted speculation that Betelgeuse may be about to explode.
To find out more, an international team of
Betelgeuse is normally one of the brightest, most recognizable stars of the winter sky, marking the left shoulder of the constellation Orion. But lately, it has been behaving strangely: an unprecedentedly large drop in its brightness has been observed in early 2020 (Figure 1), which has prompted speculation that Betelgeuse may be about to explode.
To find out more, an international team of
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Rare blast's remains discovered in Milky Way's center
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Boston MA (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
Astronomers may have found our galaxy's first example of an unusual kind of stellar explosion. This discovery, made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, adds to the understanding of how some stars shatter and seed the universe with elements critical for life on Earth.
This intriguing object, located near the center of the Milky Way, is a supernova remnant called Sagittarius A East, or Sg
Astronomers may have found our galaxy's first example of an unusual kind of stellar explosion. This discovery, made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, adds to the understanding of how some stars shatter and seed the universe with elements critical for life on Earth.
This intriguing object, located near the center of the Milky Way, is a supernova remnant called Sagittarius A East, or Sg
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
RUAG Space provides Solar Subsystem for planet hunter PLATO
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Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
The "planet-hunting" mission PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) of the European Space Agency (ESA) is a space-based observatory to find and study extrasolar planetary systems with emphasis on the properties of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars.
It is scheduled to launch in 2026. Mid-January RUAG Space, a leading supplier to the space indust
The "planet-hunting" mission PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) of the European Space Agency (ESA) is a space-based observatory to find and study extrasolar planetary systems with emphasis on the properties of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars.
It is scheduled to launch in 2026. Mid-January RUAG Space, a leading supplier to the space indust
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Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Water ice resources identified in Martian northern hemisphere
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Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
Areas featuring subsurface frozen water ice that could benefit future human explorers have been identified in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars, a new paper led by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Gareth A. Morgan says. Through the integration of orbital datasets from several NASA spacecraft - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Global Surveyor - in concert with new
Areas featuring subsurface frozen water ice that could benefit future human explorers have been identified in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars, a new paper led by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Gareth A. Morgan says. Through the integration of orbital datasets from several NASA spacecraft - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Global Surveyor - in concert with new
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