Astroscale secures major contract for UK Active Debris Removal mission
Friday, 13 September 2024 14:47
Astroscale UK, the British arm of Astroscale Holdings Inc., has been awarded a GBP 1.95 million contract by the UK Space Agency to further develop its Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC) spacecraft. The COSMIC mission aims to remove two inactive UK satellites from orbit as part of a national Active Debris Removal (ADR) effort.
This phase of the mission will con NASA Taps BlackSky for High-Frequency Satellite Imaging to Boost Earth Science Research
Friday, 13 September 2024 14:47
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has been chosen by NASA to supply high-frequency, time-diverse satellite imaging data for Earth observation projects under NASA's Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program (CSDAP). This contract, which could reach a total value of $476 million, will run through November 2028 for participating contractors.
"Adding BlackSky's space-based intelligence Week in images: 09-13 September 2024
Friday, 13 September 2024 12:10
Week in images: 09-13 September 2024
Discover our week through the lens
The satellite industry cannot ignore the huge potential of D2D services
Friday, 13 September 2024 12:00
SpaceX launches its 60th Space Coast mission for the year
Friday, 13 September 2024 11:10
SpaceX passed 60 launches for the year from the Space Coast early Thursday with a Falcon 9 mission taking a set of five satellites to space.
The rocket flying the BlueBird 1-5 mission launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 4:52 a.m.
Its first-stage booster flew for the 13th time and brought a sonic boom to parts of Central Florida with a return touchdown back at Canaveral's Landing Zone 1 eight minutes after liftoff.
The payload is the first five of a new constellation of satellites for Midland, Texas-based AST SpaceMobile, part of a space-based cellular broadband network in low-Earth orbit to be accessible by everyday smartphones for both commercial and government use.
Beta test users will be for AT&T and Verizon with an eventual coverage area across the U.S. and in select global markets.
SpaceX is honing in on breaking its 2023 record for launches from either Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral. It managed 68 last year.
So far in 2024, it has flown 60 of the 64 total launches among all Space Coast launch pads, with the other four coming from United Launch Alliance.
Aging, overworked and underfunded: NASA faces a dire future, according to experts
Friday, 13 September 2024 11:10
Aging infrastructure, short-term thinking, and ambitions that far outstrip its funding are just a few of the problems threatening the future of America's vaunted civil space agency, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
In a report commissioned by Congress, experts said that a number of the agency's technological resources are suffering, including the Deep Space Network—an international collection of giant radio antennas that is overseen by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.
Report authors warned that NASA has, for too long, prioritized near-term missions at the cost of long-term investments in its infrastructure, workforce and technology.
"The inevitable consequence of such a strategy is to erode those essential capabilities that led to the organization's greatness in the first place and that underpin its future potential," the report said.
The choice facing the agency is stark, lead author Norman Augustine said Tuesday: Either the U.S. must increase funding for NASA, or the agency must cut some missions.
"For NASA, this is not a time for business as usual," said Augustine, a former executive at Lockheed Martin.
Want to walk in space? It might cost you more than money
Friday, 13 September 2024 11:01
A tech billionaire has become the first layperson to perform a space walk. Hundreds of miles above Earth, Jared Isaacman took part in an intricate performance of science and engineering that often comes with some serious health risks, even for professional astronauts.
Elon Musk's SpaceX partnered with Isaacman to bring the Polaris Dawn mission to life, which featured a five-day flight to 460 miles above the planet. From bulges in the hatch seal to an unresponsive button for accessing the ship, there were a few glitches during the trek. But the "risky venture," as SpaceX's vice president of build and flight reliability Bill Gerstenmaier put it, could have gone significantly worse.
"You have to embrace the suck," European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano told NPR.
"At one point during the spacewalk, you're going to be hot, you're going to be cold, your hands are going to hurt," he continued.
During a space walk in 2013, Parmitano's cooling system suffered a major malfunction—his helmet was filling with water, creeping up his skin and over his head because of the capillary pressure at zero G.
Fly over Mercury with BepiColombo
Friday, 13 September 2024 09:30
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See Mercury in a whole new light, through the ‘eyes’ of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft, as it sped past Mercury during its latest encounter on 4 September 2024.
During the flyby, BepiColombo’s three monitoring cameras (M-CAMs) captured detailed images of the planet’s cratered surface. Within these images, Mercury scientists identified various geological features that BepiColombo will study in more detail once in orbit around the planet.
One such feature, shown in this video, is the newly named Stoddart crater. The name ‘Stoddart’ – after artist Margaret Olrog Stoddart (1865–1934) – was recently assigned following a request from the M-CAM
BepiColombo’s fourth Mercury flyby: the movie
Friday, 13 September 2024 08:30
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00:01:25
Watch the closest flyby of a planet ever, as the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft sped past Mercury during its latest encounter on 4 September 2024.
This flyby marked BepiColombo’s closest approach to Mercury yet, and for the first time, the spacecraft had a clear view of Mercury’s south pole.
This timelapse is made up of 128 different images captured by all three of BepiColombo’s monitoring cameras, M-CAM 1, 2 and 3. We see the planet move in and out of the fields of view of M-CAM 2 and 3, before M-CAM 1 sees the planet receding into the distance at the end
Earth from Space: Adriatic bloom
Friday, 13 September 2024 07:00
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This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures algal bloom swirls in the north Adriatic Sea, along the coast of Italy. SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew complete first private spacewalk
Thursday, 12 September 2024 20:41
A pioneering private crew made history Thursday with the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts, marking a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry.
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, led by fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman, launched early Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, journeying deeper into the cosmos than any humans in the past 50 years, since t Continued success at NASA in jeopardy due to budget strains, aging infrastructure, and short-term focus
Thursday, 12 September 2024 20:41
NASA's contributions to technological innovation and its ability to inspire future STEM leaders are at risk due to critical issues related to infrastructure, budgetary mismatches, and a focus on short-term goals, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Commissioned by Congress as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the report highlight Reusable spacecraft returns to Earth after 268-day mission
Thursday, 12 September 2024 20:41
China's reusable experimental spacecraft successfully returned to Earth on Friday, following a 268-day orbital mission, as announced by the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This marks a significant step in the development of China's reusable spacecraft technologies, paving the way for more affordable and efficient space travel between Earth and outer space, according to a statement from the laun Mars Cloud Atlas offers key insights into atmospheric dynamics
Thursday, 12 September 2024 20:41
Researchers and cloud enthusiasts now have a new resource to explore unique cloud formations on Mars. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Berlin has developed a comprehensive 20-year database of cloud and storm images, providing scientists with deeper insights into Martian atmospheric features. The "Mars Cloud Atlas" is now available to the public at https://hrscteam.dlr.de/public/data.php. Dan