UCF joins project to develop composites for spacecraft, NASA missions
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 07:48
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Sometimes big things come in small packages, and the new thin but strong materials the University of Central Florida is helping NASA develop are no exception.
These materials, known as thin-ply composites, are as thin as carpenter's measuring tape but strong enough to support satellite payloads, such as solar sails for solar-powered space travel, or serve as supports for large spacecraft. Mastcam-Z's First 360-Degree Panorama
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NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover got its first high-definition look around its new home in Jezero Crater on Feb. 21, after rotating its mast, or "head," 360 degrees, allowing the rover's Mastcam-Z instrument to capture its first panorama after touching down on the Red Planet on Feb 18. It was the rover's second panorama ever, as the rover's Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, also located on the SwRI scientist captures evidence of dynamic seasonal activity on a Martian sand dune
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A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientist examined 11 Mars years of image data to understand the seasonal processes that create linear gullies on the slopes of the megadune in the Russell crater on Mars.
In early spring images, captured by two different cameras on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, SwRI's Dr. Cynthia Dinwiddie noticed airborne plumes of dusty material associated with t Suspected breach plugged in Russian ISS module as air leak hunt continues
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Cosmonauts have patched up several areas suspected of hiding a breach in the Russian segment of the International Space Station as they continue their frantic search for a mystery air leak.
Dmitry Belkin, a senior press officer at the Russian state space agency Roscosmos, said the crew identified several potential sources of the leak in the Zvezda service module on Tuesday.
"The crew Paragon delivers key life support system to ISS
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Paragon Space Development Corporation (Paragon) is excited to announce that its latest life support technology was launched aboard Northrop Grumman's 15th commercial resupply services mission (NG CRS-15) which arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday. Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft successfully launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Saturday, February 20th with o Cancer survivor to join first all-private spaceflight on SpaceX's Dragon
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A physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will join the first all-private space mission in a fundraising effort for the Memphis-based charitable facility.
The mission, called Inspiration4, is scheduled for launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida as early as October for four private citizens. They plan to orbit the Earth for several days aboard a Crew Dragon cap ENPULSION to provide microthrusters for MethaneSAT Mission
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ENPULSION, the market leader in small satellite propulsion, has announced that it will provide the propulsion technology for Blue Canyon Technologies' Microsat in support of the MethaneSAT mission. Blue Canyon Technologies is a small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider.
ENPULSION will provide its ENPULSION MICRO R3 thruster, a scaled version of their technology, which targ Maxar to supply TTEthernet network platform for NASA's Gateway
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TTTech Aerospace has been selected by Maxar Technologies to provide the TTEthernet network platform for the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) for NASA's Gateway. The PPE will provide power, maneuvering, attitude control and communications for the lunar orbiting outpost. Gateway is a foundational part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 SES Government Solutions to provide new portable maritime solution
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SES Government Solutions (SES GS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, has announced the award of a new portable maritime solution task order against the single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) low-latency High Throughput Satellite (HTS) services. The solution leverages the O3b MEO satellite constellation operating 8,000k Microchip announces space-qualified COTS-based radiation-hardened power converters
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As reliance on communication and weather satellites grows and space research expands in scope and mission, new technology is required to help speed spaceflight system design and production. Microchip Technology Inc. has announced the expansion of its SA50-120 power converter family with nine new units based on its Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) technology. This technology provides developers wi Satellite designed and built by MSU students sent to space station
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Culminating years of work, a small satellite designed and built by Montana State University launched Feb. 20 aboard a cargo resupply rocket bound for the International Space Station.
The bread loaf-sized satellite, called by the acronym IT-SPINS, will dock at the space station until later this spring, then be propelled into orbit and commence a more than six-month mission of measuring the DoD focus on climate could shape future investments in weather satellites
Tuesday, 23 February 2021 22:20 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last month directed the Pentagon to develop plans to prepare for the impact of climate change and extreme weather. The new guidance is intended to shape policies and budgets over the next several years, including investments in satellites for weather monitoring.
Parker Solar Probe offers stunning view of Venus
Tuesday, 23 February 2021 21:49
Apollo rock samples capture key moments in the Moon's early history, study find
Tuesday, 23 February 2021 21:27 Write a comment
Volcanic rock samples collected during NASA's Apollo missions bear the isotopic signature of key events in the early evolution of the Moon, a new analysis found. Those events include the formation of the Moon's iron core, as well as the crystallization of the lunar magma ocean—the sea of molten rock thought to have covered the Moon for around 100 million years after the it formed.
The analysis, published in the journal Science Advances, used a technique called secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to study volcanic glasses returned from the Apollo 15 and 17 missions, which are thought to represent some of the most primitive volcanic material on the Moon. The study looked specifically at sulfur isotope composition, which can reveal details about the chemical evolution of lavas from generation, transport and eruption.
"For many years it appeared as though the lunar basaltic rock samples analyzed had a very limited variation in sulfur isotope ratios," said Alberto Saal, a geology professor at Brown University and study co-author. "That would suggest that the interior of the Moon has a basically homogeneous sulfur isotopic composition.
U.S. to support international effort to set rules of behavior in space
Tuesday, 23 February 2021 18:18 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The United States and allies are drafting language in support of an international effort to adopt rules of behavior in space, U.S. Space Command’s Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt told SpaceNews.
Burt is the commander of U.S.