US set to announce nuclear fusion breakthrough
Tuesday, 13 December 2022 11:15
The US Department of Energy said Sunday it would announce a "major scientific breakthrough" this week, after media reported a federal laboratory had recently achieved a major milestone in nuclear fusion research.
The Financial Times reported Sunday that scientists in the California-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) had achieved a "net energy gain" from an experimental fusio Scientists find new hints that dark matter could be made up of dark photons
Tuesday, 13 December 2022 11:15
Dark matter could be made up of ultralight dark photons that heated up our universe: this is a new scenario proposed in a study recently published in the scientific journal "Physical Review Letters". This hypothesis, the authors say, is in excellent agreement with observations made by the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph (COS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope, which takes measurements of the "cosmi FAST reveals unprecedented details of the Milky Way
Tuesday, 13 December 2022 11:15
Many bright stars gather in the night sky and form a Milky Way across the sky. It is our home galaxy in the vast universe, however, the structure and composition of the Milky Way are mysterious yet. The vast interstellar space between the billions of stars is not empty, but filled with tenuous interstellar medium.
The diffuse hydrogen gas radiates a spectral line with a frequency of around United Nations General Assembly approves ASAT test ban resolution
Tuesday, 13 December 2022 09:50
The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for a halt to one type of anti-satellite (ASAT) testing, a largely symbolic move intended to support broader space sustainability initiatives.
The post United Nations General Assembly approves ASAT test ban resolution appeared first on SpaceNews.
Artemis I: liftoff to splashdown
Tuesday, 13 December 2022 09:12
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The uncrewed Artemis I test flight saw Orion travel around the Moon and farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans and return them to Earth. Artemis is the international lunar exploration programme that is taking humankind to the Moon. This first mission provided a first test of both NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion moonship that was propelled by the European Service Module’s 33 engines beyond the Moon and into deep space. Future European Service Modules will provide electricity, propulsion and cabin thermal control for astronauts on lunar missions as well as breathable atmosphere
MTG-I1 rolled out and good to go
Tuesday, 13 December 2022 08:40
With liftoff set for today at 21:30 CET, the Ariane 5 rocket carrying the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager, MTG-I1, satellite is poised patiently on the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana while the final checks are being carried out. Once in geostationary orbit, 36,000 km above the equator, this new satellite is set to herald a new era for meteorology.
Poland's only cosmonaut, who circled Earth in 1978, has died
Tuesday, 13 December 2022 08:37
Poland's only cosmonaut, Gen. Miroslaw Hermaszewski, who circled the Earth in a Soviet spacecraft in 1978, has died. He was 81.
The retired air force pilot's death on Monday was announced via Twitter by his son-in-law, European Parliament member Ryszard Czarnecki. He later told Polish media outlets that Hermaszewski died at a hospital in Warsaw of complications from a surgery he had undergone in the morning.
"On behalf of the family, I'm confirming the very sad news about the death of Gen. Miroslaw Hermaszewski," Czarnecki tweeted, calling him a "great pilot, good husband and father, and much beloved grandfather."
Hermaszewski became a national hero thanks to his trip to space. For nine days in June and July of 1978, Hermaszewski and Soviet cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk circled the Earth in the Soyuz 30 spaceship that docked at the Salyut 6 orbital space station. They went around the globe 126 times.
In an 2018 interview with the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Hermaszewski said his biggest fear during the flight was that their spacecraft would be struck by a meteor. His and Klimuk's senses were sharpened, catching even the smallest sound, he said.
Elon’s Twitter dilemma
Monday, 12 December 2022 21:50
Elon Musk used Twitter to communicate SpaceX's ascent to the top of the space industry. What happens to Musk's space ambitions now that he owns Twitter?
The post Elon’s Twitter dilemma appeared first on SpaceNews.
Proposal for picogram-scale probes to explore nearby stars
Monday, 12 December 2022 21:02
In a forward-looking article, George Church, Ph.D., from Harvard University and the Wyss Institute, proposes the use of picogram to nanogram-scale probes that can land, replicate, and produce a communications module at the destination to explore nearby stars. The new article is published in a special issue on "Interstellar Objects in Astrobiology" of Astrobiology.
"One design is a highly reflective light sail, traveling a long straight line toward the gravitational well of a destination star, and the photo-deflected to the closest non-luminous mass—ideally a planet or moon with exposed liquid water," states Dr. Church.
"Most living cells on Earth are picogram-scale and yet perform functions, such as replication from only simple chemical inputs, impossible for all current human-made machines," notes Dr. Church. He considers factors such as acceleration and deceleration, and how to build communications devices using some form of electromagnetic radiation. Environments suitable for microbial replication require appropriate temperature, chemicals, and energy sources.
"Clearly, a considerable amount of work remains for improving the theory, design, and testing aspects of this proposal, some of which can be done on Earth or within our home solar system," concludes Dr.
Op-ed | Space Force faces key questions ahead of next launch services procurement
Monday, 12 December 2022 21:00
The commercial launch market is undergoing a revolution, with providers finding increasing demand outpacing supply.
The post Op-ed | Space Force faces key questions ahead of next launch services procurement appeared first on SpaceNews.
Space station solutions for Artemis missions to the moon and beyond
Monday, 12 December 2022 20:44
Getting a spacecraft to the moon or Mars is quite literally rocket science. While rocket science helps deliver the spacecraft to the moon, other areas of science are needed to sustain life and enable activities during trips to the moon and while on the lunar surface.
NASA launches Lunar Flashlight; follow the mission in real time
Monday, 12 December 2022 20:43
NASA's Lunar Flashlight has communicated with mission controllers and confirmed it is healthy after launching Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2:38 a.m. EST (Saturday, Dec. 10, at 11:38 p.m. PST) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About 53 minutes after launch, the small satellite, or SmallSat, was released from its dispenser to begin a four-month journey to the moon to seek out surface water ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar South Pole.
ThinkOrbital designing platform for in-space manufacturing, debris removal
Monday, 12 December 2022 20:40
ThinkOrbital, a space infrastructure startup, is designing an orbital platform aimed at commercial businesses, military and government agencies that want to manufacture products in orbit or recycle debris.
The post ThinkOrbital designing platform for in-space manufacturing, debris removal appeared first on SpaceNews.
Without more data, a black hole's origins can be "spun" in any direction
Monday, 12 December 2022 20:32
Clues to a black hole's origins can be found in the way it spins. This is especially true for binaries, in which two black holes circle close together before merging. The spin and tilt of the respective black holes just before they merge can reveal whether the invisible giants arose from a quiet galactic disk or a more dynamic cluster of stars.
Astronomers are hoping to tease out which of Precious Payload partners with Maritime Launch
Monday, 12 December 2022 20:32
Precious Payload is excited to announce a partnership with Maritime Launch Services Inc. (NEO: MAXQ, OTCQB: MAXQF), the owner and operator of Canada's first orbital launch complex, to market satellite delivery services to payload developers through its Launch.ctrl online marketplace.
Maritime Launch is developing Spaceport Nova Scotia and will serve small satellite market clients including