SIMBA Chain awarded SpaceWERX Orbital Prime Contract
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:39SIMBA Chain announces it has been selected by SpaceWERX for a STTR Phase I in the amount of $250,000 to investigate how SIMBA's blockchain technology may enable In-space Service Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities being explored by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) through the Orbital Prime program. Orbit
Trimble's new agriculture displays provide next-generation performance and connectivity for in-field operations
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:39Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) has introduced its next-generation displays for precision agriculture applications-the Trimble GFX-1060 and GFX-1260 displays. Trimble's portfolio of innovative displays enables farmers to complete in-field operations quickly and efficiently while also mapping and monitoring field information in real time with precision. With a range of functionality and price points, farm
GMV joins UN Global Compact
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:39As a declaration of its firm commitment to innovation-led, progress-seeking sustainable development, technology multinational GMV has joined the United Nations Global Compact, a worldwide initiative. With this step, GMV takes up and assumes the legacy of one of its subsidiaries, which joined the Global Compact in 2014. The Global Compact is the world's leading corporate sustainability init
Orbital Sidekick selected as partner for Intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program (iPIPE)
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:39Orbital Sidekick (OSK), the first U.S. commercial company to deploy hyperspectral sensors in space, has been selected once again by the intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program (iPIPE) to serve as the company's technology partner. OSK will have an opportunity to advance its Global Hyperspectral Observation Satellite constellation known as GHOSt, which is set to launch in 2023. The hyperspectral im
China sends two satellites into space via offshore rocket launch
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 04:58China successfully launched two test satellites from a launch platform in the Yellow Sea on Friday. The CentiSpace-S5/S6 test satellites with LEO satellite navigation enhancement system were lifted off by a Long March-11 carrier rocket at 09:10 pm (Beijing Time) and they have entered the planned orbit successfully. The satellites will be used to monitor the performance of the global
Mengtian space lab fueled ahead of upcoming launch
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 04:58Propellant injection work on the Mengtian space lab, the second lab component of China's Tiangong space station, was conducted on Monday morning at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The agency said in a news release that the lab module has undergone ground tests at the center and will undergo checks of its functions along with
JPL's Venus Aerial Robotic Balloon Prototype Aces Test Flights
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 04:58A scaled-down version of the aerobot that could one day take to the Venusian skies successfully completed two Nevada test flights, marking a milestone for the project. The intense pressure, heat, and corrosive gases of Venus' surface are enough to disable even the most robust spacecraft in a matter of hours. But a few dozen miles overhead, the thick atmosphere is far more hospitable to rob
Cables, tie-wraps and no step
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 04:58The third (pictured) and fourth European Service Modules are currently in production at Airbus facilities in Bremen, Germany. They are a key element of the Orion spacecraft, the first to return humans to the Moon since the 1970s. These modules provide the spacecraft with propulsion, power and thermal control, and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen. The Orion spacecraft is compose
Intelsat announces successful launch of Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 satellites
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 04:58Intelsat, operator of the world's largest integrated satellite and terrestrial network and leading provider of inflight connectivity, announced the successful launch of Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34, geosynchronous communications satellites that will ensure service continuity to Intelsat's North American media customers. The Northrop Grumman-manufactured Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 satellites launched abo
Northrop Grumman-built commercial telecommunications satellites launched successfully
Tuesday, 11 October 2022 04:58The Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 C-band satellites built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) were successfully launched yesterday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The satellites, based on Northrop Grumman's flight proven GEOStar platform, were built for Intelsat and designed for 15 years of on-orbit life. "Our GEOStar-3 satellite bus is
SpaceX sunset launch from Canaveral completes Space Coast trio
Monday, 10 October 2022 17:05SpaceX was able to send up a Falcon 9 with a pair of satellites from Cape Canaveral on Saturday at sunset to complete a trio of launches for the Space Coast this week.
Tuesday saw an Atlas V lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station while Wednesday saw the liftoff of the Crew-5 mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center sending four passengers to the International Space Station.
SpaceX was in line to make it three launches in three days, but scrubbed the Thursday launch attempt, aborted with 30 seconds left on the countdown clock. But Saturday's liftoff in clear skies and a setting sun went off without a hitch.
The company opted to skip a Friday attempt to allow it more time for teams to look at the launch vehicle.
Liftoff took place at 7:05 p.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 carrying the Intelsat G-33/G-34 satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The first-stage booster made a record-tying 14th landing on SpaceX's droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch was SpaceX's 45th this calendar year from both Florida and California.
SpaceX deploys two of six C-band satellites Intelsat is launching this year
Monday, 10 October 2022 16:02SpaceX Oct. 8 successfully deployed the first two of seven satellites Intelsat needs to clear C-band spectrum in the United States, keeping the operator on course to launch all but one of them before the end of this year.
The moon is the perfect spot for humanity's offsite backup
Monday, 10 October 2022 15:54In a recent study, a collaborative team of researchers discuss the potential for future lunar settlers to establish a backup data storage system of human activity in the event of a global catastrophe on Earth that could be used to recover human civilization on a post-catastrophe planet. This comes as NASA's Artemis missions plan to send people back to the moon for the first time since 1972, coupled with current global events such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the War in Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin recently threatening nuclear war. Given the current state of world affairs, how important is it to establish a type of off-world data backup?
"The COVID-19 pandemic taught us how vulnerable our world is to large-scale disasters because of its growing interconnectivity," says Carson Ezell, who is an undergraduate at Harvard University, the Director of Space Futures Initiative, and lead author on the study.
Former SES CEO joins megaconstellation startup E-Space
Monday, 10 October 2022 14:53Former SES CEO Karim Michel Sabbagh has returned to the space industry to oversee strategy in Europe and the Middle East for E-Space, the connectivity startup plotting a network of hundreds of thousands of satellites.
Image: European Service Modules currently in production at Airbus facilities
Monday, 10 October 2022 14:24The third (pictured) and fourth European Service Modules are currently in production at Airbus facilities in Bremen, Germany. They are key elements of the Orion spacecraft, the first to return humans to the moon since the 1970s.
These modules provide the spacecraft with propulsion, power and thermal control, and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen. The Orion spacecraft is composed of a European Service Module, a Crew Module Adapter and a Crew Module. The latter two components are provided by NASA.
Powering flights to the moon is a collaborative effort. The components and hardware used in the European Service Modules are built and supplied by more than twenty different companies from ten different countries in Europe.
When ready for launch, each module will have a total mass of 13,500 kg, almost two-thirds of which is propellant (rocket fuel). More than 11 km of cables are needed to send commands and receive information from the many on-board sensors. As can be seen in the photo, tie-wraps (yellow) come in handy when it comes to keeping all these cables organized.