Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 14, 2023
Earth Planning Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - A blue hue inches over the horizon illuminating a sea of rocks scattered across the landscape like the scales of a fish. Among the sea, alone in the vastness, a rover sleeps. The time is now 9:25, in a "time zone" defined for itself. The waking rover receives instructions from a tiny speck of light, far away and slowly creeping towards the other si

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
In the hush of a Norwegian fjord, under the spectral glow of a waning crescent Moon, ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Samantha Cristoforetti have started their journey into lunar geology. The astronauts have been meticulously prepared for their first field expedition, equipped with digitally enhanced toolkits and bracing for the rigors of ESA's PANGAEA course. Adorned in state-of-the-art

Paris (ESA) Jul 14, 2023
If you think it's only possible to be held in orbit around a physical 'thing' with a large mass - a planet or a star, say - you'd be wrong. It is in fact possible to orbit around an invisible point, an oasis of forces, infinitesimal in size. ESA's Euclid mission was launched on 1 July 2023 to uncover the secrets of the dark universe. Its destination? Like many astronomy missions before it, Lagra

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
The US-based small satellite launch service provider, Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), has recently signed a deal with Japan's Synspective, an Earth imaging company, for two dedicated Electron launch missions. With this development, Synspective's contracted missions with Rocket Lab have now been extended to a total of six, reflecting the strong and evolving collaboration between the two ente

Beijing (XNA) Jul 14, 2023
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), a leading Chinese space contractor has revealed plans to create an expansive remote-sensing satellite network by the end of this decade. The announcement, made on Thursday, is an impressive testament to the ongoing advancements in China's space exploration and surveillance capabilities. Managed by CASIC Space Engineering Development

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
The rapidly expanding realm of information technology is ever-dependent on unobstructed access to space-based data and communication networks, bringing the need for technical mechanisms that can safeguard, repair, reinforce, or develop essential space infrastructures to the forefront. Ensuring new satellites can be placed and activated in orbit within a matter of hours or days is of prime

The University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX (SPX) Jul 14, 2023 Stars beam brightly out of the darkness of space thanks to fusion, atoms melding together and releasing energy. But what if there's another way to power a star? A team of three astrophysicists - Katherine Freese at The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Cosmin Ilie and Jillian Paulin '23 at Colgate University - analyzed images from the James

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
The first successful orbital mission of a methane-fueled rocket has been accomplished by China, a significant breakthrough in the utilization of low-cost and environmentally friendly liquid propellants for carrier rockets. The rocket, known as ZQ 2 or Rosefinch 2, launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in China's northwestern Gobi Desert on Wednesday morning. The Beijing

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 14, 2023
California-based Rocket Lab plans to launch seven miniature satellites that will gather data on Earth's atmosphere to improve weather forecasting, replace a decommissioned technology spacecraft and send twin navigation satellites into space. This mission, which Rocket Lab calls Baby Come Back, will involve a launch on an Electron rocket as early as Friday from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula

Tokyo (AFP) July 14, 2023
A Japanese rocket engine exploded during a test on Friday, an official said, in the latest blow to the country's space agency. The Epsilon S - an improved version of the Epsilon rocket that failed to launch in October - blew up "roughly 50 seconds after ignition", science and technology ministry official Naoya Takegami told AFP. The testing site in the northern prefecture of Akita was