SpaceX postpones test flight of Starship, world's biggest rocket
Monday, 17 April 2023 12:36
SpaceX on Monday postponed the first test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, designed to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars and beyond.
Liftoff of the giant rocket was called off just minutes ahead of the scheduled launch time because of a pressurization issue in the booster stage, SpaceX officials said.
SpaceX said the launch will be delayed for at least 48 hours.
Starship had been scheduled to blast off at 8:20 am Central Time (1320 GMT) from Starbase, the SpaceX spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas.
The US space agency NASA has picked the Starship spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the Moon in late 2025—a mission known as Artemis III—for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972.
SpaceX scrubs test flight of Starship, world's biggest rocket
Monday, 17 April 2023 12:36
A frozen valve forced a postponement on Monday of the first test flight of SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, designed to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Liftoff of the gigantic rocket was called off less than 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled launch because of a pressurization issue in the first-stage booster, SpaceX said.
The private space company continued with the countdown in what it called a "wet dress rehearsal," stopping the clock with 10 seconds to go, just before the massive engines on the booster were to have been ignited.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said a frozen pressure valve forced a scrub of the launch, which had been planned for 8:20 am Central Time (1320 GMT) from Starbase, the SpaceX spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas.
On National Security | Satellite imaging industry responds to demand for intelligence fusion
Monday, 17 April 2023 11:00
The war in Ukraine has shown the power of commercial satellites to deliver crucial intelligence to the world. The satellite imagery industry is trying to build on that momentum and […]
Orbit Fab raises $28.5 million
Monday, 17 April 2023 10:05
Orbit Fab, a startup developing in-space satellite refueling services, has raised $28.5 million to accelerate work on its first missions.
Tiny magnetic episodes may have large consequences on the Sun
Monday, 17 April 2023 07:30
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ESA’s Solar Orbiter may have taken another step towards solving the eighty-year-old mystery of why the Sun’s outer atmosphere is so hot.
On 3 March 2022, just a few months into Solar Orbiter’s nominal mission, the spacecraft’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) returned data showing for the first time that a magnetic phenomenon called reconnection was taking place persistently on tiny scales.
At that time, the spacecraft was about halfway between the Earth and the Sun. This enabled coordinated observations with NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) missions. The data from the three missions was
ESA developing Space-Based Solar Power plant plans
Monday, 17 April 2023 04:34
ESA has signed contracts for two parallel concept studies for commercial-scale Space-Based Solar Power plants, representing a crucial step in the Agency’s new SOLARIS initiative – maturing the feasibility of gathering solar energy from space for terrestrial clean energy needs.
ESA developing concepts for commercial-scale Space-Based Solar Power plants
Monday, 17 April 2023 04:34
ESA has signed contracts for two parallel concept studies for commercial-scale Space-Based Solar Power plants, representing a crucial step in the Agency’s new SOLARIS initiative – maturing the feasibility of gathering solar energy from space for terrestrial clean energy needs.
SpaceX Starship, world's biggest rocket, set for first test flight
Monday, 17 April 2023 03:28
SpaceX is counting down to the first test flight on Monday of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, designed to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars and beyond.
The giant rocket is scheduled to blast off from Starbase, the SpaceX spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas, at 8:00 am Central Time (1300 GMT).
Fallback times are scheduled for later in the week if Monday's launch attempt is de How to rapidly produce high-volume satellite structures
Monday, 17 April 2023 01:30
With more than 600 satellites in orbit the OneWeb constellation is set to provide global broadband coverage by year-end. The structure panels of all 650 OneWeb satellites were developed and […]
Juice sends first 'selfies' from space
Sunday, 16 April 2023 11:01
ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has taken its first monitoring camera images showing part of the spacecraft with Earth as a stunning backdrop.
The mission launched on an Ariane 5 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou on 14 April 14:14 CEST and the images were captured in the hours afterwards.
Juice has two monitoring cameras located on the 'body' of the spacecraft to record var China rocket launch sends debris into sea near Taiwan: Taipei authorities
Sunday, 16 April 2023 11:01
China said Sunday it had launched a satellite into orbit, with authorities in Taiwan saying rocket debris had fallen into the sea where Beijing announced a no-sail zone this week.
Maritime authorities in China's eastern Fujian province this week banned ships from an area north of Taiwan from 9:00 am (0100 GMT) to 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) on Sunday due to "possible falling rocket wreckage".
Ta SFL announces launch of nine satellites supporting four microspace missions
Sunday, 16 April 2023 11:01
Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) has announced the launch and successful deployment of nine satellites at 06:48 am UTC on 15 April 2023 (11:48 pm PDT, 14 April 2023). Launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the SpaceX Transporter-7 ride-sharing mission carried SFL-designed microspace platforms into orbit for four different repeat customers.
The Transporter-7 launch included: DEWA launches DEWA SAT-2 to better manage UAE utilities
Sunday, 16 April 2023 11:01
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has successfully launched its second nanosatellite DEWA SAT-2 aboard the Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. The nanosatellite was designed and developed by Emiratis at DEWA's Research and Development Centre, in collaboration with NanoAvionics in Lithuania.
DEWA SAT-2, a 6U nanosatellite, features a hig TrustPoint launches first commercially-funded, purpose-built PNT microsat
Sunday, 16 April 2023 11:01
TrustPoint, an aerospace startup providing next-generation GNSS products and services, has reported the launch of its first satellite. The satellite, named "It's About Time", will allow TrustPoint to mature and demonstrate core technologies as they progress towards delivering GPS-independent global time and positioning services.
"This launch marks a pivotal moment for aerospace innovation, ispace Mission 1 completing key milestones after launch
Sunday, 16 April 2023 11:01
ispace reports that its HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander has completed all planned orbital control maneuvers, completing Success 8 of the Mission 1 Milestones.
The Mission 1 Lander performed the final orbital control maneuver in accordance with the mission operation plan, at 10:08 (JST), on April 13, 2023, under the direction of ispace engineers at the HAKUTO-R Mission Control Center in Nih