Copernical Team
Chinese booster rocket makes uncontrolled return to Earth
A Chinese booster rocket made an uncontrolled return to Earth on Saturday, leading US officials to chide Beijing for not sharing information about the potentially hazardous object's descent.
US Space Command "can confirm the People's Republic of China (PRC) Long March 5B (CZ-5B) re-entered over the Indian Ocean at approx 10:45 am MDT on 7/30," the US military unit said on Twitter.
"We refer you to the #PRC for further details on the reentry's technical aspects such as potential debris dispersal+ impact location," it said.
In a statement posted to its official WeChat profile, the China Manned Space Agency later gave coordinates for an impact area in the Sulu Sea, about 35 miles (57 kilometers) off the east coast of the Philippines' Palawan Island.
"Most of its devices were ablated and destroyed during re-entry," the agency said of the booster rocket, which was used last Sunday to launch the second of three modules China needed to complete its new Tiangong space station.
Russian space chief: no date yet for space station pullout
The head of Russia's space agency said Friday that the country has not set a date for pulling out of the International Space Station and that the timing would depend on the orbiting outpost's condition.
Week in images: 25-29 July 2022
Week in images: 25-29 July 2022
Discover our week through the lens
China launches six new satellites
China on Wednesday sent six new satellites into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
The satellites, including a new space technology test satellite and a test satellite for probing atmospheric density, were launched by a Lijian-1 carrier rocket at 12:12 p.m. Beijing Time and entered the orbit successfully.
The Lijian-1 solid-propellant rocket was indepe Lockheed Martin to support severe weather and climate monitoring for NOAA
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to further refine concepts for a critical instrument and the spacecraft bus for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) GeoXO weather satellites, the next generation after the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites - R (GOES-R) series. These future satellites will Spire Global awarded NOAA contract to deliver space weather data
Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) ("Spire" or "the Company"), a leading global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, has announced that it has been awarded a Commercial Weather Data Pilot (CWDP) space weather contract as part of the Commercial Data Program (CDP) issued by the National Oceanographic and Oceanic Administration (NOAA). Spire will provide near real-time radio occ NASA awards contracts for NOAA GeoXO Spacecraft Phase A Study
On behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA has selected two firms for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) Spacecraft Phase A Study. These contracted firms will help meet the objectives of NOAA's GeoXO Program.
The firms selected are Lockheed Martin Space of Littleton, Colorado, and Maxar Space LLC of Palo Alto, California. The total value of e Low-speed wind tunnel test provides important data
Before NASA's quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft can take to the skies, plenty of testing needs to happen to ensure a safe first flight. One part of this safety check is to analyze data collected for the X-59's flight control system through low-speed wind tunnel tests.
The X-59 is central to NASA's Quesst mission to expand supersonic flight and provide regulators with data to help change exist Airbus to deliver connectivity services using its leading Zephyr High Altitude Platform Station
Airbus has launched a connectivity services business through the creation of a dedicated HAPS Services Business based around Zephyr, Airbus' leading HAPS technology platform. This will help enable it to industrialise rapidly and begin serving a substantial total addressable market, providing low-latency connectivity services from the stratosphere for telecommunications and Earth observation appl Researchers 3D print sensors for satellites
MIT scientists have created the first completely digitally manufactured plasma sensors for orbiting spacecraft. These plasma sensors, also known as retarding potential analyzers (RPAs), are used by satellites to determine the chemical composition and ion energy distribution of the atmosphere.
The 3D-printed and laser-cut hardware performed as well as state-of-the-art semiconductor plasma s