Rocket Lab launches 100th satellite
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 08:20Rocket Lab, a leading launch provider and space systems company, has successfully launched its 19th Electron mission and deployed six spacecraft to orbit for a range of government and commercial customers. The mission, named 'They Go Up So Fast,' also deployed Rocket Lab's latest in-house manufactured Photon spacecraft to build flight heritage ahead of the upcoming CAPSTONE mission to the Moon f
Pentagon wants new Command and Control System to counter hypersonic threats
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 08:20In 2017, Russia became the first country in the world to deploy nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, with their development begun after the US withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and started building a missile shield. Moscow sees the weapons as a guarantee against decapitation strikes. China also has a successful hypersonics programme. The US Missile Defence Agency (MDA), the a
RAF reportedly braced for 'Space War' over claims Russia tested 'anti-satellite weapons'
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 08:20The head of the UK Space Directorate, Air Vice-Marshal Harvey Smyth, expressed concern in December 2020 over Russia having allegedly conducted a new space test of anti-satellite weapons, without providing any evidence, claiming the "consequences of miscalculations and accidents have the potential to be catastrophic". Britain's Royal Air Force is facing an immediate need to "catch up with i
NASA will attempt first off-world flight in early April
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 07:57NASA is targeting early April for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet, the space agency said Tuesday.
Right now, the ultra-light aircraft remains fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18.
On Sunday, Perseverance dropped the debris shield that had protected Ingenuity during landing, and is currently making its way to the "airfield" where Ingenuity will attempt its flights.
Once there, it will have 30 Martian sols—equal to 31 Earth days—to carry out its mission.
"The best guess we have right now is April 8," for the first flight, said Bob Balaram, Mars Helicopter chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, though he added it could be sooner or later by a few days.
Balaram revealed for the first time that Ingenuity is carrying a small piece of cloth that covered one of the wings of the Wright brothers' first aircraft that achieved the first powered flight on Earth at Kitty Hawk in 1903, to pay tribute to the milestone.
Part of Wright brothers' 1st airplane on NASA's Mars chopper
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 07:34A piece of the Wright brothers' first airplane is on Mars.
NASA's experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the space agency revealed Tuesday.
NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter prepares for first flight
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41NASA is targeting no earlier than April 8 for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. Before the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft can attempt its first flight, however, both it and its team must meet a series of daunting milestones. Ingenuity remains attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover, which to
Pandora Mission Would Expand NASA's Capabilities in Probing Alien Worlds
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41In the quest for habitable planets beyond our own, NASA is studying a mission concept called Pandora, which could eventually help decode the atmospheric mysteries of distant worlds in our galaxy. One of four low-cost astrophysics missions selected for further concept development under NASA's new Pioneers program, Pandora would study approximately 20 stars and exoplanets - planets outside of our
Lockheed Martin and Omnispace explore space-based 5G Global Network
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Omnispace and Lockheed Martin have entered into a strategic interest agreement to explore jointly developing 5G capability from space. The proposed global 5G standards-based non-terrestrial network (NTN) would offer commercial, enterprise and government devices ubiquitous communications worldwide. This type of network has the potential to redefine mobile communications, benefiting users requirin
NanoAvionics expands into microsatellite market with MP42 bus
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Smallsat mission integrator NanoAvionics, which has gained recognition from the industry for its nanosatellite technology in recent years, aims to capture a share of the lucrative microsatellite segment with the first modular microsat bus in the industry, the "MP42". With 10,000 smallsats scheduled to be launched over the next 10 years, NanoAvionics expects to grow fivefold in size across its en
EUMETSAT and Arianespace confirm deal to launch of two Meteosat satellites with Ariane 6
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Today, at the occasion of the World Meteorological Day, EUMETSAT and Arianespace signed an update of their Launch Services Agreement for two Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites. Through this updated agreement, Arianespace is confirmed by EUMETSAT to launch the sounder satellite MTG-S1 and the imager satellite MTG-I2 with Ariane 6, the next generation of Ariane family of launchers. T
China's lunar rover travels 682 meters on far side of moon
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41The lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have been switched to dormant mode for the lunar night after working stably for a 28th lunar day, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. The lander was switched to dormant mode at 2 a.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), at 5:09 p.m. Saturday, said th
NASA's Mars helicopter may fly as early as April 8
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41NASA plans to fly its Mars helicopter Ingenuity on the Red Planet - the first powered aircraft flight on another planet - as early as April 8, space agency officials said Tuesday. But first, the helicopter must detach from the bottom of the rover Perseverance in Jezero Crater, where the robotic explorer landed Feb. 18, mission controllers said at a media briefing at the Jet Propulsion
Social networking algorithms help in study of space weather, substorms
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Scientists have revealed the global nature of magnetospheric substorms, the space weather phenomena responsible for the Northern Lights. The discovery was made possible by the same algorithms that help social networking sites match like-minded friends. Researchers amassed data on disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field collected by magnetometers positioned all over the Norther
Algorithms inspired by social networks reveal lifecycle of substorms
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Space weather often manifests as substorms, where a beautiful auroral display such as the Northern Lights is accompanied by an electrical current in space which has effects at earth that can interfere with and damage power distribution and electrical systems. Now, the lifecycle of these auroral substorms has been revealed using social media-inspired mathematical tools to analyse space weather ob
Astroscale confirms successful launch of ELSA-d satellite deorbiter
Tuesday, 23 March 2021 05:41Astroscale has confirmed the successful launch of its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale demonstration (ELSA-d) mission. This marks the start of the world's first commercial mission to prove the core technologies necessary for space debris docking and removal. ELSA-d, which consists of two satellites stacked together - a servicer designed to safely remove debris from orbit and a client sat