Crew-7 astronauts depart ISS after nearly 200 days in space
Monday, 11 March 2024 16:38
After a slightly extended stay on board the International Space Station, four astronauts from four international space agencies climbed aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance and began their return trip to Earth.
Crew-7 is made up of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.
The quartet that launched from Kennedy Space Center back on Aug. 26, 2023 arrived to the ISS one day later to begin their 197-day stay, the second longest among the now eight completed SpaceX Crew Dragon trips so far to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Only Crew-2 in 2021 bested their stay, and by just one day.
They departed the station at 11:20 a.m. EDT and now have a more than 18-hour ride home. Depending on the weather, they are slated to splash down at one of seven target locations off the coast of Florida in either the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday around 5:50 a.m. EDT with live coverage beginning on NASA TV at 4:30 a.m.
DoD unveils investment strategy for its Office of Strategic Capital
Monday, 11 March 2024 16:25
Buy Before Build: SSC’s Commercial Space Office seeks to disrupt business as usual
Monday, 11 March 2024 15:51
SAIC scores $444 million contract to upgrade data systems at U.S. space launch sites
Monday, 11 March 2024 14:09
Astra Space goes private as it recovers from Space Coast launch failures
Monday, 11 March 2024 13:40
The value of publicly traded Astra Space has been falling since it shelved a rocket design that only went for 2 for 7 on launches, including two highly visible failures from the Space Coast. Now the company is going private.
Once valued at more than $2.1 billion, the Alameda, California-based company closed at about $20 a share on the Nasdaq Stock Market in February 2021, months before its first orbital success with its Rocket 3 design. It has since made a steady drop in value. including the threat of delisting from Nasdaq last year and the potential for bankruptcy looming.
The deal announced Thursday calls for a group that includes company cofounder and CEO Chris Kemp and cofounder and CTO Adam London to buy back company shares for $0.50 per share. The stock was trading at $0.55 on Friday morning. The closing price was $0.86 per share on Wednesday.
The takeover transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.
The company managed to reach orbit in November 2021 during a demonstration flight for the Space Force from Alaska and that led to its first launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in March 2022.
Webb & Hubble confirm Universe’s expansion rate
Monday, 11 March 2024 13:00
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NGC 5468 – Cepheid host galaxy Joining forces on the complexities of clouds and aerosols
Monday, 11 March 2024 12:30
In just a few months, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite will be lofted into orbit to fill in a piece of the complex climate puzzle – that piece being how clouds and aerosols, small particles such as dust suspended in the air, affect Earth’s energy balance.
With the climate crisis upon us, this information is needed more urgently than ever – so much so, that the science of clouds and aerosols has been prioritised by the European Commission and ESA as part of their new Earth System Science Initiative.
Hera and its CubeSats at Didymos system
Monday, 11 March 2024 12:17
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Hera and its CubeSats at Didymos system 
Contract for new Galileo atomic clock tech signed
Monday, 11 March 2024 11:55
ESA, on behalf of the European Commission, has signed a €12 million contract with Leonardo S.p.A (Italy) and Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica to design and develop a new ultra-precise atomic clock technology for Galileo.
Webinar – Beyond Earth: Blueprint for Small Medium Business (SMB) Innovation
Monday, 11 March 2024 10:18
NASA to accept astronaut applications through April 2
Sunday, 10 March 2024 22:43
NASA will accept applications through April 2 for future Artemis astronauts who could go to the moon and beyond. The opening of the application period concurred with 10 new astronaut graduates completing an initial two years of training.
The space agency said that to apply to become an astronaut, applicants must be U.S. citizens with two years of work in toward a doctoral after already Refined approach to tracking maneuvers of space targets enhances accuracy
Sunday, 10 March 2024 22:43
Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology have made significant strides in tracking non-cooperative space targets through maneuvering, unveiling a novel methodology that substantially boosts tracking accuracy. Their study, focusing on maneuvering trajectories, introduces a dual-model approach for real-time and precise tracking, marking a leap in space surveillance capabilities.
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