NASA laser communications terminal delivered for Artemis II moon mission
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 14:18
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The laser communications system for NASA's Artemis II mission arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with the Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions.
On November 16, 2022, NASA launched the Artemis I mission, an uncrewed flight test that took the human-rated Orion spacecraft farther into space than any before. The next mission, Artemis II, will test all of Orion's systems needed for crewed spaceflight and set the stage for future missions to the lunar surface. The Artemis II mission will also test new and enhanced technologies including laser communication capabilities.
Orion's laser communications terminal is known as the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System, or O2O.
Laser communications systems, like O2O, provide missions with increased data rates, meaning they can send and receive more information in a single transmission compared to traditional radio wave systems, which most NASA missions use today.
Foldable phased-array transmitters developed for lightweight, smaller, and cost-efficient satellites
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 14:10 Write a comment
A newly designed foldable phased-array transmitter can help make satellites lightweight, smaller, and cost-efficient to launch, report scientists at Tokyo Tech. The transmitter is made of stacked layers of liquid crystal polymer and incorporates flexible creases, which provide flexibility and deployability. The new design could make research and implementation of space technologies more accessible to private companies and startups.
There has been a recent shift in the space industry towards what is now called the "new-space era." The term refers to how space is no longer dominated exclusively by government agencies such as NASA but has instead become a playground for many private companies and startups interested in exploring and deploying space technologies.
Muon celebrates launch of first satellite in Climate Constellation
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 12:30 Write a comment
Muon Space, a Silicon Valley startup building a climate-monitoring constellation, sent its first satellite into orbit June 12 on the SpaceX Transporter-8 rideshare flight.
China begins constructing commercial launch pad for solid rockets
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 11:49
Forecasting fires with SMOS
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As the current wildfires in Canada show, climate change is increasing the risk and extent of wildfires across the globe. ESA, along with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts have taken a new approach by using realtime observations from ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite mission to better anticipate the outbreak of fires.
ExLabs awarded Space Force contract for robotic capture system
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 10:57 Write a comment
Exploration Laboratories, ExLabs announces it has been selected by SpaceWERX for a Direct-to-Phase II SBIR contract in the amount of $1.7M, focused on Autonomous Capture and Acquisition to investigate its potential to fill capability gaps in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
The Air Force Research Laboratory and SpaceWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Rese Unlocking early Earth chemistry
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 10:57 Write a comment
Billions of years ago, Earth was an extremely hostile planet with active volcanoes, a harsh atmosphere, and certainly no life! This prebiotic Earth, however, was filled with a wide array of abiotic organic molecules derived from its early environment, which underwent chemical reactions that eventually led to the origin of life. A class of such abiotic molecules abundant during the prebiotic era Virgin Galactic's use of the 'Overview Effect' to promote space tourism is a terrible irony
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company founded in 2004 by Richard Branson, promotes its flights as offering:
A Brand New Perspective: Deepen your connection to Earth and to humanity with the transformational experience known as the Overview Effect.
First discussed in 1987 by space philosopher Frank White, the Overview Effect is a result of viewing Earth from space.
Expressi Arianespace and Orbex to explore European Launch Partnership
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
Arianespace and Orbex, a UK-based provider of small satellite launch services, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study possible future cooperation to answer its customers' requirements.
The agreement aims to increase the joint capabilities and flexibility of both partners' services. In particular, it is expected that future collaboration would be particularly beneficial fo Up and Over - Curiosity Is Heading East: Sol 3857
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
Earth planning date: Monday, June 12, 2023. Curiosity has been diligently driving uphill through a canyon but the terrain right near the crest has proven to be challenging due to a combination of steep slopes, bumpy bedrock, and fine-grained sand. Not to be deterred, the rover is taking advantage of a slightly different route to the east that will allow her to ascend out of the canyon onto flatt Curiosity captures Morning and Afternoon on Mars
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
After completing a major software update in April, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took a last look at "Marker Band Valley" before leaving it behind, capturing a "postcard" of the scene.
The postcard is an artistic interpretation of the landscape, with color added over two black-and-white panoramas captured by Curiosity's navigation cameras. The views were taken on April 8 at 9:20 a.m. and 3:4 Terran Orbital supervises Italian students building satellite for first Vatican space mission
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
A satellite created with the help of Terran Orbital Corporation's (NYSE: LLAP) Italian subsidiary, Tyvak International, successfully launched Monday, carrying Pope Francis's iconic "Statis Orbis" coronavirus pandemic prayer heavenward.
The Polytechnic University of Turin (PoliTO) CubeSat Team and DIANA Robotics Team designed the 3U CubeSat spacecraft for the papal Spei Satelles or Satellit Spire enables optical inter-satellite links with reduced data latency
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) has made contact with two satellites on the SpaceX Transporter-8 mission carrying optical inter-satellite link (OISL) payloads that will significantly reduce data latency and strengthen security of communication.
The 6U satellites are equipped with optical communications terminals (OCT) to send information between them securely and almost instantaneously, re Aerospacelab's Gregoire satellite launched on Spacex's Falcon 9 Via Exolaunch
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
Aerospacelab, the fast-growing small satellite Belgian manufacturer, and Exolaunch, the German-US global supplier of mission management and integration services, are pleased to announce the launch of Aerospacelab's Gregoire satellite, the company's second private small satellite to travel into space. Two years after Aerospacelab's first satellite mission (Arthur-1) flew into space on SpaceX's se NASA laser communications terminal delivered for Artemis II lunar mission
Wednesday, 14 June 2023 09:33 Write a comment
The laser communications system for NASA's Artemis II mission arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with the Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions.
On November 16, 2022, NASA launched the Artemis I mission, an uncrewed flight test that took the human-rated Orion spacecraft farther into space th