SpaceX plans to launch another SiriusXM satellite Sunday
Saturday, 05 June 2021 04:46
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Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to launch a communications satellite for SiriusXM on Sunday from Florida in what will be the first such mission since one of the broadcast company's spacecraft failed after launch in December.
The satellite, known as SXM-8, is prepared for liftoff aboard a Falcon 9 rocket during a nearly two-hour window starting at 12:25 a.m. EDT from Complex 40 at Cape Canavera Air Force: Using commercial rockets to deliver supplies not as far-fetched as it sounds
Friday, 04 June 2021 20:42 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — U.S. Air Force officials on June 4 expressed enthusiasm about the possibility that commercial space vehicles one day could be used to ship supplies around the world.
“This never really made sense in the past” but now it does, said Greg Spanjers, manager of the rocket cargo program, a new effort to investigate how the military might be able to transport massive loads of supplies aboard commercial rockets.
Virgin Galactic signs contract for suborbital research mission
Friday, 04 June 2021 17:21 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic has signed an agreement to fly a private researcher on a future suborbital flight, part of efforts diversify its business beyond space tourism.
Virgin Galactic announced June 3 that Kellie Gerardi, affiliated with the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), will fly on a future SpaceShipTwo dedicated research flight.
Seraphim Capital reportedly plotting public market debut
Friday, 04 June 2021 15:57 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Early-stage space investor Seraphim Capital reportedly plans to list shares on London’s stock exchange, following a growing number of its own investments to the public markets.
U.K.-based Seraphim has hired Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to work on an initial public offering (IPO) that would raise around $355 million, reported Sky News citing banking sources.
A European in space – Thomas Pesquet in May
Friday, 04 June 2021 14:36 Write a comment
With ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet in space for his first full month, let’s look at what he has been doing on the International Space Station in May.
Video: NASA's OSIRIS-REx celebrates perfect departure maneuver from asteroid Bennu
Friday, 04 June 2021 12:40 Write a comment
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is 328,000 miles, or 528,000 kilometers, away from the asteroid Bennu, having fired its engines on May 10 to initiate a return trip to Earth. The spacecraft is on track to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth on September 24, 2023.
Mission engineers had planned to do a small thruster firing last week to ensure the spacecraft stays on the correct path back to Earth. But, the May 10 departure maneuver was calculated and executed so precisely, the mission team decided not to do a clean-up maneuver last week.
The next possible maneuver adjustment could occur in 2022.
ExoMars rover twin begins Earth-based mission in Mars Terrain Simulator
Friday, 04 June 2021 12:37 Write a comment
The replica ExoMars rover that will be used in the Rover Operations Control Centre to support mission training and operations is fully assembled and has completed its first drive around the Mars Terrain Simulator at ALTEC, in Turin, Italy.
Juice rotation in the clean room
Friday, 04 June 2021 12:30 Write a comment
Video:
00:00:43
Rotating Juice in the clean room at ESA's technical heart in the Netherlands before transfer in the Large Space Simulator.
Juice will undergo environmental testing in ESTEC’s Large Space Simulator to replicate the extreme heating and cooling cycles that the spacecraft will experience on its way to Jupiter.
Once in the Jovian system the mission will spend at least three years making detailed observations of the giant gaseous planet Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
Week in images: 31 May - 04 June 2021
Friday, 04 June 2021 12:29 Write a comment
Week in images: 31 May - 04 June 2021
Discover our week through the lens
Rocket team to discern if our star count should go way up
Friday, 04 June 2021 12:20 Write a comment
The universe contains a mind-boggling number of stars—but scientists' best estimates may be an undercount. A NASA-funded sounding rocket is launching with an improved instrument to look for evidence of extra stars that may have been missed in stellar head counts.
The Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment-2, or CIBER-2, mission is the latest in a series of sounding rocket launches that began in 2009. Led by Michael Zemcov, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, CIBER-2's launch window opens at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on June 6, 2021.
Moon habitat blueprint at Venice Biennale
Friday, 04 June 2021 11:30 Write a comment
A detailed concept for a lunar habitat, created by one of the world’s leading architectural firms with ESA technical support, is currently on show at the Biennale in Venice. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, originator of many of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, worked with ESA on a semi-inflatable habitat design which could be part of a long-term vision for an international Moon settlement.
House bill would designate space as critical infrastructure
Friday, 04 June 2021 09:13 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — A new House bill would classify space as a critical infrastructure and require the federal government to establish guidelines to protect it.
The Space Infrastructure Act, to be introduced June 4 by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.
ExoMars rover twin begins Earth-based mission in ‘Mars Terrain Simulator'
Friday, 04 June 2021 09:00 Write a comment
The replica ExoMars rover that will be used in the Rover Operations Control Centre to support mission training and operations is fully assembled and has completed its first drive around the Mars Terrain Simulator at ALTEC, in Turin, Italy.
Earth from Space: Warsaw, Poland
Friday, 04 June 2021 07:00 Write a comment
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Warsaw – the capital and largest city of Poland.
No evidence mystery UFOs are alien spacecraft, report finds: NYTimes
Friday, 04 June 2021 05:15 Write a comment
There is no evidence that unexplained aerial phenomena spotted in recent years by US military personnel are aliens, an upcoming government report quoted by The New York Times Thursday said, but officials still can't explain the mysterious aircraft.
The newspaper, which cited senior administration officials briefed on the findings of the highly anticipated report, said they were able to confi