ABL, Astra, Relativity selected to compete for U.S. Space Force responsive launch contracts
Monday, 09 August 2021 22:41
ABL Space Systems Corp, Astra Space and Relativity Space will join a pool of launch providers that are eligible to compete for missions awarded under the U.S. Space Force Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4.
Simplification is key to space industry growth
Monday, 09 August 2021 20:01
The space industry needs to significantly simplify services for customers outside the sector to unlock its next phase of growth, space executives told the Small Satellite Conference Aug. 9.
Op-ed | Congress should support rapid procurement of advanced missile warning satellites
Monday, 09 August 2021 20:00
Congress should fully support the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared missile warning satellite program
In-Space Missions wins contract for British military smallsat
Monday, 09 August 2021 18:38
British smallsat developer In-Space Missions has won a contract from the U.K. Ministry of Defence to build a satellite to test optical communications.
NASA Invites Media to New OSIRIS-REx, Asteroid Bennu Study Briefing
Monday, 09 August 2021 18:18
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 11, to discuss an important finding from NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. Space Force developing “freight train to space” for smallsats
Monday, 09 August 2021 17:37
The U.S. Space Force plans to demonstrate later this year two approaches to provide rides to space for small satellites and hosted payloads, including a version of a common adapter equipped with a propulsion system.
Space ISAC invites firms to join Small Satellite Community of Interest
Monday, 09 August 2021 17:30
SAN FRANCISCO — The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or Space ISAC, is eager to share information about cyber threats and other potential security vulnerabilities with the small satellite industry. In April the Space ISAC established a Small Satellite Community of Interest “to develop and deliver risk-mitigation strategies to members and government partners to better […]
DoD experiment flying to International Space Station to collect data for missile-tracking sensors
Monday, 09 August 2021 15:17
A Northrop Grumman spacecraft scheduled to launch Aug. 10 on a resupply mission to the International Space Station will carry a Space Development Agency experiment.
NASA rover has been exploring surface sediments, not lake deposits, for last eight years: study
Monday, 09 August 2021 14:10
U.S. military doubles down on GPS despite vulnerabilities
Monday, 09 August 2021 13:00
Space weapons meant to target U.S. satellites are a growing concern for the U.S. military. Especially worrisome are electronic jamming devices designed to interfere with GPS signals.
China is working on a lander for human moon missions
Monday, 09 August 2021 11:16
China’s main spacecraft maker is developing a human landing system for lunar missions as part of a national strategy, according to a report.
University of Michigan graduate named to lead Taiwan’s space agency
Monday, 09 August 2021 11:03
In an inauguration speech, the new NSPO chief said he will try to “build a more comprehensive infrastructure for space technology in Taiwan and to develop the space industry and its supply chain.
Image: Crater trio
Monday, 09 August 2021 11:00
This image was taken on 22 March 2021 in the Lunae Planum region [16.74°N, 300.9°E] of Mars by the CaSSIS camera on the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).
This region is known to be covered by large lava deposits probably from the nearby Tharsis Montes volcanoes. In this image three medium-sized impact craters take center stage, with many smaller impacts pockmarking the scene. Zooming into the larger craters it is possible to see layers in the inner rim that could represent the successive accumulation of lava flows in this area.
TGO's full science mission began in 2018. The spacecraft is not only returning spectacular images, but also providing the best ever inventory of the planet's atmospheric gases, and mapping the planet's surface for water-rich locations. It will also provide data relay services for the second ExoMars mission comprising the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok platform, when it arrives on Mars in 2023.
Explore further
SpaceX to acquire Swarm Technologies
Monday, 09 August 2021 10:18
SpaceX has quietly agreed to acquire Swarm Technologies, a company that operates a smallsat constellation providing internet-of-things services.
Army award-winning research to transform Soldier-robot communication
Monday, 09 August 2021 06:33
Army researchers developed ground-breaking technology that will enhance how Soldiers and robots communicate and carry out tasks in tactical environments.
This research sets out to develop a natural language understanding, or NLU, pipeline for robots that would be easily ported over to any computational system or agent and incrementally tames the variation that we see in natural language, s