Russia says it is leaving the International Space Station program. What does that mean?
Thursday, 28 July 2022 16:00
Russia will withdraw from the International Space Station project after 2024 to focus on forming its own space station, the head of the Russian space agency said Tuesday.
The announcement, given by Roscosmos CEO Yuri Borisov, reflects the further disintegration of relations between the U.S. and Russia. The two nations have partnered with Japan, Canada and other European countries on the project for nearly 30 years.
Borisov said Russia will honor all commitments to its partners but will not waiver on the 2024 deadline. "I think we will have started work on the Russian space station by that time," he said.
Russian officials have not yet notified NASA of their plans, according to Robyn Gatens, director of the space station for NASA.
What is the International Space Station? What significance has it contributed to science? Here's what to know.
What is the International Space Station?
The International Space Station, or ISS, is a large spacecraft that orbits the earth and houses crews of astronauts and cosmonauts, according to NASA.
The station is the culmination of the work of several nations. It's not owned by any one nation; rather, it's a "co-operative program" between Europe, the U.S.
Uncontrolled debris from Chinese space rocket could crash back to Earth as soon as Saturday
Thursday, 28 July 2022 15:40
Uncontrolled debris from a Chinese rocket could come crashing back to Earth as soon as Saturday, according to The Aerospace Corporation, a federally-funded space research center that tracks orbital debris reentry.
China launched a new laboratory module called the Wentian for its Tiangong space station from Hainan Island in the South China Sea earlier this week. The rocket carrying the module, the Long March 5B, will make an uncontrolled reentry.
This isn't the first time rocket debris from China's space program has plunged through the atmosphere with an air of suspense.
In May 2021, the world watched with uncertainty as it tried to determine where the remains of a rocket of the same class carrying the initial module for the Tiangong space station would crash.
After days of tense monitoring by scientists and various agencies, including United States Space Command, the rocket reentered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
Now, a replica situation is at hand.
The rocket, China's largest, measures roughly 175 feet and weighs 23 metric tons, according to the Aerospace Corporation. It is much too early to tell exactly where it will fall.
Northrop Grumman dismisses speculation that its 2018 acquisition of Orbital ATK could be challenged
Thursday, 28 July 2022 15:09
Northrop Grumman does not expect an ongoing antitrust review of its acquisition of Orbital ATK to have any “adverse impact” on the company, said CEO Kathy Warden.
The post Northrop Grumman dismisses speculation that its 2018 acquisition of Orbital ATK could be challenged appeared first on SpaceNews.
Operation centres in tune for upcoming weather satellite
Thursday, 28 July 2022 12:40
In just a few months’ time Europe’s first Meteosat Third Generation satellite will soar into the skies on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. From geostationary orbit, this new satellite, carrying two new highly sensitive instruments, will take weather forecasting to the next level. Taking a significant step towards launch, the satellite operations teams at two different centres have completed an all-important suite of tests ensuring that their procedures are fully compatible with the satellite.
New Chinese rocket makes debut flight
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
The ZK 1A, a new model of carrier rocket, conducted its debut flight at noon on Wednesday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, becoming the country's largest and most powerful solid-propellant rocket.
Designed and built by CAS Space, a Beijing-based rocket company owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the rocket blasted off at 12:12 pm and soon placed six satel Readying spacecraft to surf Venus' atmosphere
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
ESA's EnVision mission to Venus will perform optical, spectral and radar mapping of Earth's sister planet. But before getting down to work the van-sized spacecraft needs to 'aerobrake' - lowering its orbit with thousands of passages through the planet's hot, thick atmosphere for up to two years. A unique ESA facility is currently testing candidate spacecraft materials to check they can safely wi NASA aims to return Mars samples to Earth in 2033
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
NASA has finished the system requirements review for its Mars Sample Return Program, which is nearing completion of the conceptual design phase. During this phase, the program team evaluated and refined the architecture to return the scientifically selected samples, which are currently in the collection process by NASA's Perseverance rover in the Red Planet's Jezero Crater.
The architectur NASA's LRO finds Lunar pits harbor comfortable temperatures
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
NASA-funded scientists have discovered shaded locations within pits on the Moon that always hover around a comfortable 63 F (about 17 C) using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft and computer modeling.
The pits, and caves to which they may lead, would make thermally stable sites for lunar exploration compared to areas at the Moon's surface, which heat up to 260 F NASA marks 25 years since Pathfinder touched down on Mars
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
When a daring team of engineers put a lander and the first rover on the Red Planet a quarter century ago, they changed how the world explores. On a July evening in 1997, Jennifer Trosper drove home from work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory holding a picture of the Martian surface to her steering wheel. Earlier that day, the agency's Pathfinder mission had landed on Mars encased in protective NASA prepares for Space Launch System rocket services contract
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
As NASA prepares for the first integrated flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft to the Moon this summer as part of Artemis, the agency is moving toward a services contract model for long-term SLS hardware production and operations to reduce costs.
"SLS is not just a NASA investment, it has been a national investment. Through this contract approach, we CAA launches consultation on UK space launch from Cornwall
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a consultation for the public and businesses to have their say on the assessment of environmental effects made by both Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall ahead of the proposed launch in Newquay.
To launch, Spaceport Cornwall must have a spaceport operator licence and Virgin Orbit must be issued a launch operator licence by the Civil Aviat NASA's VIPER prototype motors through Moon-like obstacle course
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
It faced the quicksand-like soil in the "sink tank," climbed the "tilt bed," and conquered boulders and craters. NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) prototype recently endured the most realistic tests to-date of its ability to drive through the most difficult terrain during its mission to the Moon's South Pole.
Engineers tested the latest VIPER mobility engineeri NASA details plans to bring back Mars rock samples
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
NASA plans to bring 30 Martian rock samples back to Earth in 2033, the agency said Wednesday - and is sending two small helicopters to help the mission.
The Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021, has so far collected 11 samples as part of its hunt for signatures of ancient life.
But bringing them back for detailed lab study on Earth is proving to be a highly complex Sol 3544: Bye-Bye Bolivar
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
We have come to the end of our detour to image the "Bolivar" butte and are starting back to the MSAR (Mount Sharp Ascent Route). This plan provides the last chance to image Bolivar from this vantage point, with the aim of characterizing, so Mastcam is taking one final large mosaic of the butte, before we move on and it is blocked from our sight.
We cannot drive up the side of Bolivar (alth Small but Mighty on Sol 3545
Thursday, 28 July 2022 11:25
Today's team planned a single-sol plan. Our greatest challenge was fitting in all the fantastic science observations and drive distance required during the ~3.5 hours of Mars time available before we need to communicate back to Earth for tomorrow's planning.
Often during single-sol plans we include contact science where we use our arm instruments to take a close look at the structure and c