SpaceX Inspiration4 lifts off on first all-civilian orbital mission
Thursday, 16 September 2021 14:00
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The SpaceX mission Inspiration4 - the first all-private orbital spaceflight - lifted off from Florida on Wednesday night, carrying four civilians led by philanthropist and pilot Jared Isaacman.
The Falcon 9 rocket carried the Crew Dragon capsule into a mostly clear night sky as planned at 8:02 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
"The Inspiration 4 have lif Chinese astronauts complete three-month space mission
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Three Chinese astronauts have completed the country's longest crewed mission and started their journey home on Thursday after 90 days at the Tiangong space station conducting spacewalks and scientific experiments.
"The Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft has successfully separated from the space station's core module," state broadcaster CCTV said Thursday.
The mission was part of China's heavi NASA Lab studies sleepiness and use of automated systems
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Drowsy driving accounts for a large proportion of car crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. So, you might think self-driving cars would fix that. After all, computers just don't get sleepy.
But today's vehicles are only partially automated, requiring the human driver to stay alert, monitor the road, and take over at a moment's notice. A new study conduct A gem of a lab will bring the world of quantum physics into the light
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The novel design for a next-generation diamond sensor with capabilities that range from producing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of single molecules to detecting slight anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field to guide aircraft that lack access to global positioning systems (GPS) will be developed by a collaboration of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Phy Affordable housing in outer space: Scientists develop cosmic concrete from space dust and astronaut blood
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Transporting a single brick to Mars can cost more than a million British pounds - making the future construction of a Martian colony seem prohibitively expensive. Scientists at The University of Manchester have now developed a way to potentially overcome this problem, by creating a concrete-like material made of extra-terrestrial dust along with the blood, sweat and tears of astronauts.
In 'Many will follow': SpaceX sends all-civilian crew into orbit
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying four space tourists blasted off Wednesday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first mission to orbit the globe with an all-civilian crew.
A huge fireball illuminated the sky as the rocket's nine engines began to pull away from Earth at 8:02 pm (0002 GMT Thursday).
Around 12 minutes later, the Dragon capsule separated from the rocket's Notre Dame to lead $25 million SpectrumX project; first NSF Spectrum Innovation Initiative Center
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The explosion of wireless applications enabled by advanced radio technologies has placed access to a key natural resource, the radio frequency spectrum, at a premium.
In the United States and around the world, radio frequencies are allocated to a variety of services such as mobile broadband, broadcasting and navigation (GPS) that are now mainstream and widely used. But the increasing deman Quest airlock | Space Station 360 (in French with English subtitles available)
Thursday, 16 September 2021 12:30 Write a comment
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00:01:34
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet takes you on a tour of the International Space Station like no other. Filmed with a 360 camera, the Space Station 360 series lets you explore for yourself alongside Thomas’s explanation – episode four is NASA’s Quest airlock.
The Quest airlock is the Station’s smallest module, but it is vital for going on spacewalks. This is where the astronauts suit up into their spacesuits, prepare for the spacewalk and enter the airlock to go outside for maintenance, installing new equipment or science experiments.
Follow Thomas: https://blogs.esa.int/exploration/it/category/astronauts/thomas-pesquet/
The video is in French, to activate the English
Image: Combined tests start for Ariane 6 at Europe's Spaceport
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Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana is performing the first combined test in preparation for the inaugural flight of Ariane 6, Europe's new generation launch vehicle.
This test confirms the operations and electrical and mechanical equipment required for integration of the upper part of the launch vehicle. The procedures are carried out in conditions representative of a launch campaign. A major step of this test involves the closure of the Ariane 6 fairing around the payload.
Preparations started in May 2021 with a de-risking campaign of the mechanical operations.
The fairing, built by Ruag Space in Switzerland, stands 20 m high and 5.4 m in diameter. It protects payloads from the thermal, acoustic and aerodynamic stresses on the ascent to space.
This combined test was performed using a new integration dock, composed of a large white frame, with two mobile platforms adjustable to any level and accessible by fixed stairs and platforms, developed by the French space agency, CNES.
The assembly building has two halls: one for integration of the fairing and another where the payload is stowed in the fairing.
Soundblasting a satellite – time-lapse of testing
Thursday, 16 September 2021 11:50 Write a comment
Video:
00:03:01
Verifying that a satellite will resist the sheer noise of the rocket launching it into orbit is a very important test that every mission must successfully pass.
“Typically satellites are tested inside purpose-built reverberant chambers, such as ESTEC’s own Large European Acoustic Facility sometimes described as the largest and most powerful sound system in Europe,” explains ESA test facility expert Steffen Scharfenberg, overseeing the test campaign together with ESA mechanical engineer Ivan Ngan. A very powerful noise generation system produces a uniform noise field thanks to the reverberation on the thick concrete walls of the chamber.
ESA has
ESA to be anchor customer on commercial lunar satellite
Thursday, 16 September 2021 11:22 Write a comment
The European Space Agency has signed a contract with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) to be the anchor customer on a commercial lunar communications satellite that company is developing.
Solar cell system
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Solar cell system What’s going on with the ozone?
Thursday, 16 September 2021 10:10 Write a comment
World governments agreed in the late 1980s to protect Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out ozone-depleting substances emitted by human activities, under the Montreal Protocol. The phase out of these substances has not only helped protect the ozone layer for future generations but has also protected human health and ecosystems by limiting the harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching Earth. On 16 September, the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, we take a closer look at this year’s ozone hole.
On National Security | Small businesses doing big things in DoD space programs
Thursday, 16 September 2021 09:00
China rolls out cargo mission rocket as Shenzhou-12 astronauts leave space station
Thursday, 16 September 2021 07:46 Write a comment
China is preparing to launch its second space station cargo mission just as its Shenzhou-12 astronauts are set to return to Earth.