NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity needs a patch to keep flying after sensor failure
Wednesday, 08 June 2022 11:52
Write a comment
NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has suffered a sensor failure, according to Håvard Grip, the chief helicopter pilot on the project. In a recent blog post on the NASA Science page, he described some of the challenges the tiny robot is experiencing in the harsh environment and also noted that a sensor failure is going to require a computer patch.
Comet Interceptor approved for construction
Wednesday, 08 June 2022 11:45 Write a comment
ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission to visit a pristine comet or other interstellar object just starting its journey into the inner Solar System has been ‘adopted’ this week; the study phase is complete and, following selection of the spacecraft prime contractor, work will soon begin to build the mission.
France joins Artemis Accords
Wednesday, 08 June 2022 10:32 Write a comment
France joined the U.S.-led Artemis Accords June 7, a long-anticipated but significant milestone for the effort to establish best practices for sustainable space exploration.
The post France joins Artemis Accords appeared first on SpaceNews.
NASA to launch 3 rockets from private Australian space port
Wednesday, 08 June 2022 07:17 Write a comment
NASA will launch a research rocket from remote northern Australia this month in the agency's first blast off from a commercial space port outside the United States.
Three suborbital sounding rockets will be launched from the Arnhem Space Center on Indigenous-owned land near the mining town of Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory on June 26, July 4 and 12, said NASA and the launch pad's owner, Equatorial Launch Australia.
Tailor-made composites for tougher space structures
Wednesday, 08 June 2022 07:08 Write a comment
An ESA-led project constructed a test cylinder using a novel method of laying down carbon fibre, then tested it to buckling point within a crushing machine that subjected it to the equivalent of 10 tons of force. The cylinder met its predicted specifications perfectly, outperforming a traditionally-made equivalent using the same constituent materials. The company involved, iCOMAT in the UK, has now been shortlisted for the 2022 JEC World Composites Innovation Award – recognised as one of the year’s global top three main innovations in the field of aerospace composites.
Mars sleeps with one eye open
Wednesday, 08 June 2022 07:00 Write a comment
This scarred and colourful (by martian standards!) landscape shows part of Aonia Terra, an upland region in the southern highlands of Mars. The image was taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 25 April 2022.
Space-enabled 5G links Japan and Europe
Wednesday, 08 June 2022 06:00 Write a comment
Engineers have connected Japan and Europe via space-enabled next-generation 5G telecommunication links. It is the first time that such an intercontinental connection has been established between Europe and Japan.
Elon Musk reportedly extends timeline for potential Starlink IPO
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 21:29 Write a comment
SpaceX is unlikely to offer shares in its broadband company Starlink to the public until 2025 or later, according to a report citing comments its CEO Elon Musk made to employees last week.
The post Elon Musk reportedly extends timeline for potential Starlink IPO appeared first on SpaceNews.
NASA's Europa Clipper Mission completes main body of the spacecraft
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 19:34 Write a comment
The main body of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft has been delivered to the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Over the next two years there, engineers and technicians will finish assembling the craft by hand before testing it to make sure it can withstand the journey to Jupiter's icy moon Europa.
The spacecraft body is the mission's workhorse.
Xona to test GPS-alternative demo satellite with customer
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 17:24 Write a comment
Startup Xona Space Systems is preparing to demonstrate services from a test satellite to the first major customer for its planned navigation constellation.
The post Xona to test GPS-alternative demo satellite with customer appeared first on SpaceNews.
French astronaut Pesquet calls for European space independence
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 16:37 Write a comment
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet on Tuesday urged Europe to seize the momentum created by its newfound diplomatic unity and "start moving now" to develop its own human spaceflight capacity.
The charismatic engineer and pilot, 44, recently completed his second deployment to the International Space Station on the NASA-SpaceX Crew-2 mission, and has arguably the highest profile among the European Astronaut Corps, in addition to being a celebrity in his native France.
Though he has long extolled international cooperation in space and remains in the mix to possibly go to the Moon as part of the NASA-led Artemis missions, Pesquet said it was vital for Europe's leaders to give the European Space Agency (ESA) the funding and mandate it needs to launch its own people, too.
NASA Artemis I moon rocket rolls back to Kennedy Space Center launch pad
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 16:04 Write a comment
NASA has sent the Artemis I rocket back to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center for testing later this month, looking to get back on track for a potential moon launch as early as August.
The 5.75 million-pound, 322-foot-tall combination of the Space Launch System, Orion capsule and mobile launcher left the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center early Monday to make the 4.4-mile slow crawl to Launch Pad 39-B.
The rocket still needs to run through a complete wet dress rehearsal during which NASA will fill and drain the core and upper stage with 730,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen while also simulating a countdown but without lighting the engines.
It first rolled out to the launch pad back in March, but several issues scrubbed three test run attempts forcing the rocket back to the VAB, but now mission managers hope their headaches are behind them.
"I think we've got a pretty good plan in place. We'll see how it turns out as we get into our next attempt, but I certainly think we've learned a lot and figured out a lot of specific things and how you want to do this dance," said Tom Whitmeyer, NASA's deputy associate administrator for common exploration systems development.
Op-ed | FAA Overregulation Threatens America’s Future in Commercial Space
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 14:30 Write a comment
The FAA's culture of prescriptive rules and obsession with passenger safety at all costs is antithetical to the Office of Commercial Space Transporation's congressionally mandated role of encouraging, facilitating, and supporting a nascent U.S. commercial spaceflight industry.
South Korea cancels Apophis probe
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 13:56 Write a comment
Citing a “lack of technical capabilities,” South Korea has dropped the plan of developing a robotic spacecraft to escort asteroid Apophis during its 2029 close encounter with Earth.
The post South Korea cancels Apophis probe appeared first on SpaceNews.
Vega-C inaugural launch: mission highlights
Tuesday, 07 June 2022 13:00 Write a comment
Video:
00:01:21
Animated preview of flight VV21 illustrates gantry rollout and liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, stage and fairing separations, and deployment of the Italian Space Agency’s LARES-2 scientific payload and six research CubeSats. Vega-C represents a dramatic capability boost compared to its predecessor, Vega, which has flown since 2012. With new first and second stages and an uprated fourth stage, Vega-C increases performance from Vega’s 1.5 t to about 2.2 t in a reference 700 km polar orbit and handles larger payloads.