Week in images: 24-28 April 2023

Discover our week through the lens

Arlington VA (SPX) Apr 28, 2023
Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) has announced the launch of RAIVEN, a revolutionary electro-optical intelligent-sensing capability, which will enable pilots to have faster and more precise threat identification. RAIVEN can identify objects optically and spectrally simultaneously in real-time - a single electro-optical/infrared, or EO/IR, system has never been able to do this before.

Hefei, China (XNA) Apr 27, 2023
China is planning to promote its space science development on five major themes, including research on habitable planets, and biological and physical sciences in space, a senior Chinese space expert said Tuesday. China is making a national plan suggesting the deployment of more scientific satellites in the country's space program to yield leading breakthroughs globally on themes such as th

Beijing (XNA) Apr 26, 2023
Monday marked China's eighth Space Day, a day to celebrate the country's achievements in space exploration and research, and ponder how to carry forward the spirit of space exploration for the benefit of humankind. China designated April 24 as Space Day in 2016 to mark the launch of the country's first satellite, Dongfanghong 1 on the same day in 1970. As the backbone of the air spac

Hefei, China (XNA) Apr 27, 2023
China will develop a satellite constellation named Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, to provide communications, navigation and remote-sensing services for deep space exploration, according to a senior Chinese space expert. Speaking at the First International Deep Space Exploration Conference held in Hefei, the capital of east China's Anhui Province, Wu Yanhua, chief designer of the major project

Nottingham UK (SPX) Apr 27, 2023
The recent leak of Pentagon documents included the suggestion that China is developing sophisticated cyber attacks for the purpose of disrupting military communication satellites. While this is unconfirmed, it is certainly possible, as many sovereign nations and private companies have considered how to protect from signal interference. Nearly every aspect of our lives is enabled by satelli

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 26, 2023
A weird asteroid has just gotten a little weirder. We have known for a while that asteroid 3200 Phaethon acts like a comet. It brightens and forms a tail when it's near the Sun, and it is the source of the annual Geminid meteor shower, even though comets are responsible for most meteor showers. Scientists had blamed Phaethon's comet-like behavior on dust escaping from the asteroid as it's

Image: Captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 8 April 2023, this image shows Los Angeles and part of the hinterland in Southern California.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) is currently training five astronaut candidates for future missions to the International Space Station and beyond. Their training programme consists of three phases: The first phase is basic training, which covers medical exams, fitness assessments, and space programmes and systems. The second phase, the pre-assignment training, is advanced training in specific areas such as systems training, vehicle training, robotics and EVA-training. The third phase is mission-specific training, which is tailored to the tasks and experiments that astronauts will perform during their mission. ESA's astronaut training programme also includes training for exploration of

Cape Canaveral FL (UPI) Apr 28, 2023
As sea levels rise, NASA managers and engineers at Kennedy Space Center in Florida are keeping a wary eye on potential damage to critical launch structures and other buildings not far from the Atlantic Ocean. More than a decade ago, the ocean started to encroach on federally protected beaches, penetrating to within some 2,000 feet of critical infrastructure. Now, with more intense hurrican