Probing deep space with Interstellar
Tuesday, 27 April 2021 01:00
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When the four-decades-old Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft entered interstellar space in 2012 and 2018, respectively, scientists celebrated. These plucky spacecraft had already traveled 120 times the distance from the Earth to the sun to reach the boundary of the heliosphere, the bubble encompassing our solar system that's affected by the solar wind. The Voyagers discovered the edge of the bubble but left scientists with many questions about how our Sun interacts with the local interstellar medium. The twin Voyagers' instruments provide limited data, leaving critical gaps in our understanding of this region.
Blue Origin protests NASA Human Landing System award
Monday, 26 April 2021 21:13 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Blue Origin filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office April 26 over NASA’s decision to select only SpaceX for its Human Landing System (HLS) program, arguing the agency “moved the goalposts” of the competition.
Startup and established IoT satellite operators exchange blows in regulatory battle
Monday, 26 April 2021 20:29 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — U.S.-based startup Swarm Technologies and 28-year old Orbcomm, both pursuing the fast-growing market for connecting Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to satellites, are locked in a regulatory tussle over plans to expand overseas.
Orbcomm is challenging a letter the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sent March 10, which aimed to clarify how it and Swarm would share spectrum in Very High Frequency (VHF) bands worldwide.
Delta 4 Heavy sends spy satellite to orbit in ULA’s first launch of 2021
Monday, 26 April 2021 20:08 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — United Launch Alliance launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite on a Delta 4 Heavy rocket April 26 at 1:47 p.m. Pacific from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
More patrols, fewer boaters for SpaceX splashdown Wednesday
Monday, 26 April 2021 19:18 Write a comment
The astronauts flying SpaceX back to Earth this week urged boaters to stay safe by staying away from their capsule's splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for Wednesday afternoon's planned splashdown off the Florida panhandle coast near Tallahassee—the company's second return of a crew.
More patrols, fewer boaters for SpaceX splashdown Saturday
Monday, 26 April 2021 19:18 Write a comment
The astronauts flying SpaceX back to Earth this week urged boaters to stay safe by staying away from their capsule's splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for Wednesday afternoon's planned splashdown off the Florida panhandle coast near Tallahassee—the company's second return of a crew.
German startup Isar Aerospace signs first launch contract
Monday, 26 April 2021 18:19 Write a comment
VALLETTA, Malta — Isar Aerospace, one of three German startups vying for ESA funding for smallsat launchers they each aim to debut next year, has won its first launch contract.
Airbus Defense and Space plans to launch a future Earth observation satellite on Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket, a two-stage rocket designed to deliver up to 700 kilograms of payload to sun-synchronous orbit.
False alarm: No space junk threat after all to SpaceX crew
Monday, 26 April 2021 17:31 Write a comment
Op-ed | A multicultural approach to space development
Monday, 26 April 2021 14:00 Write a comment
Mission Alpha launch timelapse
Monday, 26 April 2021 12:45 Write a comment
Video:
00:01:17
A timelapse from various angles of the launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon Endeavour leaving Earth from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
The rocket lifted off at 10:49 BST (11:49 CEST, 05:49 local time) on 23 April 2021 from Launchpad 39A in Cape Canaveral with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
On 24 April at 11:08 CEST the Crew-2 caught up with the International Space Station and docked with its Harmony module, marking the start of Thomas’ Alpha mission.
Thomas is the first
Space Force sees need for civilian agency to manage congestion
Monday, 26 April 2021 12:30 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is not too worried at this point that the growth of commercial space activity is creating safety issues. But things could change if space traffic and debris are not managed, said Gen.
NOAA's GOES-T completes solar array deployment test
Monday, 26 April 2021 10:54 Write a comment
On March 3, 2021, engineers completed a successful test deployment of the GOES-T solar array as part of a series of tests to prepare the satellite for a planned December 2021 launch.
This critical test verified that the satellite's large, five-panel solar array—which is folded up when the satellite is launched—will properly deploy when GOES-T reaches geostationary orbit. During this test, engineers unfurled the five panels on rails that simulated the zero-gravity environment of space. Each solar panel is approximately 13 feet tall by 4.5 feet wide and weighs approximately 45 pounds.
Once GOES-T reaches orbit, the deployed solar panels will form a single solar array wing that will rotate once per day to continuously point its photovoltaic (solar) cells toward the sun. These cells will convert solar energy into electricity to power the entire satellite, including the instruments, computers, data processors, sensors, and telecommunications equipment. The solar array will generate more than 5,000 watts of power for the satellite.
Ingenuity performs third Mars flight as final, most challenging tests await
Monday, 26 April 2021 10:11 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter performed its third flight on Mars April 25, setting it up for its final, and most challenging, tests.
Ingenuity took off from the Martian surface at 4:31 a.m. Eastern, going up to an altitude of five meters.
Copernicus Masters 2021 submissions open
Monday, 26 April 2021 09:30 Write a comment
The Copernicus Masters 2021 competition is now open for submissions. This international competition awards prizes to innovative solutions, developments and ideas for business and society that use satellite data from the Copernicus programme.
NASA investigates vegetation
Monday, 26 April 2021 08:37 Write a comment
From the vantage point of space, NASA's fleet of Earth-observing satellites joins with those of partner interagency and international agencies to investigate and illuminate connections between ecosystems that are continents apart, or right next door. With a global perspective, scientists can observe how factors like deforestation, climate change and disasters impact forests and other plant life