Oxford UK (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
An international team of researchers from the University of Oxford, LMU Munich, ETH Zurich, BGI Bayreuth, and the University of Zurich discovered that a two-step formation process of the early Solar System can explain the chronology and split in volatile and isotope content of the inner and outer Solar System. Their findings will be published in Science (Friday 22 January 2021; under embar

Nanjing (XNA) Jan 22, 2021
China's first solar probe, Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), is scheduled to be launched into space in the first half of 2022, marking the country's first-ever mission to "touch" the sun. The satellite will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit 720 km above Earth to keep a close tab on the sun 24 hours a day. Measuring about 1,000 kg in total mass, the satellite is expected to o

Moscow, Russia (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
A research team from the Skoltech Center for Design, Manufacturing, and Materials (CDMM) comprising 2nd year Ph.D. student Maxim Isachenkov, Senior Research Scientist Svyatoslav Chugunov, Professor Iskander Akhatov, and Professor Igor Shishkovsky has prepared an extensive review on the use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies (also known as 3-D-printing) in crewed lunar exploration.

Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Jan 20, 2021
A group of international scientists, including an Australian astrophysicist, has used knowhow from gravitational wave astronomy (used to find black holes in space) to study ancient marine fossils as a predictor of climate change. The research, published in the journal Climate of the Past, is a unique collaboration between palaeontologists, astrophysicists and mathematicians - to improve th

Bath UK (SPX) Jan 20, 2021
For the first time, scientists have successfully used satellite cameras coupled with deep learning to count animals in complex geographical landscapes, taking conservationists an important step forward in monitoring populations of endangered species. For this research, the satellite Worldview 3 used high-resolution imagery to capture African elephants moving through forests and grasslands.

For the first time ever, a telecommunications satellite has used an iodine propellant to change its orbit around Earth.

The small but potentially disruptive innovation could help to clear the skies of space junk, by enabling tiny satellites to self-destruct cheaply and easily at the end of their missions, by steering themselves into the atmosphere where they would burn up.

Video: 00:03:23

This week's edition of the Earth from Space programme features a Copernicus Sentinel-2 image of Sardinia, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

See also Sardinia, Italy to download the image.

WASHINGTON — Google announced Jan. 21 it is shutting down Loon, a venture to provide wireless connectivity by balloon that has been seen as both complementary to and competitive with satellite networks.

In a blog post, Astro Teller, head of X, the advanced projects or “moonshot factory” division of Google parent company Alphabet, announced that Loon will wind down operations in the next several months.

WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman announced Jan. 21 it completed a static firing of the strap-on solid booster it developed for United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket. 

The test fire of the extended length 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63XL) took place on Thursday at the company’s facility in Promontory, Utah.

WASHINGTON — As many as 116 graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy this year will join the U.S. Space Force. That is an increase from last year when 86 graduates went to the space service.