What if Titan Dragonfly had a fusion engine?
Thursday, 11 May 2023 17:32
In a little over four years, NASA's Dragonfly mission will launch into space and begin its long journey towards Titan, Saturn's largest moon. As part of the New Frontiers program, this quadcopter will explore Titan's atmosphere, surface, and methane lakes for possible indications of life (aka. biosignatures).
This will commence in 2034, with a science phase lasting for three years and three and a half months. The robotic explorer will rely on a nuclear battery—a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermal Generator (MMRTG)—to ensure its longevity.
But what if Dragonfly were equipped with a next-generation fusion power system? In a recent mission study paper, a team of researchers from Princeton Satellite Systems demonstrated how a direct fusion drive (DFD) could greatly enhance a mission to Titan. This New Jersey-based aerospace company is developing fusion systems that rely on the Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC).
This research could lead to compact fusion reactors that could lead to rapid transits, longer-duration missions, and miniature nuclear reactors here on Earth.
The answer to solving the digital divide is hybrid connectivity infrastructures
Thursday, 11 May 2023 14:12
Satellite and terrestrial communications infrastructures must evolve to democratize access to connectivity worldwide. As a fundamental need in today’s technology-driven society, hybrid network infrastructures can democratize access to connectivity for American citizens and the nearly three billion people in the world who remain unconnected.
Foust Forward | Big opportunities for big science with big rockets
Thursday, 11 May 2023 13:21
Attendees of this year’s Space Symposium were understandably distracted by what was going on a thousand miles from Colorado Springs.
China’s spaceplane conducted proximity and capture maneuvers with subsatellite, data suggests
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:49
China’s secretive spaceplane may have performed multiple recaptures of an object it released into orbit during its recently completed second flight as part of on-orbit testing.
SpaceX set to launch Vast's commercial space station and inaugural human spaceflight mission
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
Vast has revealed that SpaceX is slated to launch Vast Haven-1, anticipated to be the world's premier commercial space station. The launch, targeted for no earlier than August 2025, will be swiftly followed by two manned spaceflight missions to the station. A Falcon 9 rocket will propel Haven-1 into low-Earth orbit, where it will function as a fully independent space station before eventually jo Supernal and Inmarsat partner on Advanced Air Mobility vehicle connectivity
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
Supernal and Inmarsat announced a partnership to define the application of satellite connectivity in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Together, the companies will conduct testing and data sharing to optimize hardware and network systems, which will lead to the safe and efficient integration of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles into the airspace.
During vehicle testing, Sup Another step away from the farm: meat grown from immortal stem cells
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
To make it possible for cellular agriculture-the process of growing meat in bioreactors-to feed millions of people, several technical challenges will have to be overcome. Muscle cells from chicken, fish, cows, and other food sources will have to be grown to produce millions of metric tons per year. Toward this goal, researchers at Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) develope Sidus Space expands global ground site network with new ATLAS contract
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
Sidus Space (NASDAQ: SIDU) has selected ATLAS Space Operations (ATLAS) to expand ground station services. The agreement is set to significantly increase the global network of ground stations for the LizzieSat constellation and further solidify Sidus Space's position as a leader in Space and Defense-as-a-Service solutions.
ATLAS Space Operations provides Ground Software as a Service (GSaaS) Spire and OroraTech to demo wildfire detection from space for Canadian Space Agency
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded a contract to Spire Global's newly acquired subsidiary, ExactEarth Ltd., for preparatory work on its WildFireSat mission. The mission aims to monitor all active wildfires in Canada from space on a daily basis to support wildfire management, provide Canadians with more precise information on smoke and air quality conditions, and more accurately measure Element-ary, My Dear WATSON
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
When it comes to searching for clues about Mars' geologic past and present, SHERLOC and WATSON are on the case! SHERLOC stands for Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals, and WATSON stands for Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering. SHERLOC and WATSON both sit at the end of Perseverance's robotic arm, and their names pay homag Scientists to explore lunar construction materials, tech
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
The Beijing Institute of Technology recently received 500 milligrams of the lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e 5 mission.
BIT's research team will study the material characteristics of these samples and related manufacturing technology, with the building of a future lunar research station in mind.
Shen Jun, a professor with the School of Mechanical Engineering at BIT, noted th Researchers measure the light emitted by a sub-Neptune planet's atmosphere for the first time
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
For more than a decade, astronomers have been trying to get a closer look at GJ 1214b, an exoplanet 40 light-years away from Earth. Their biggest obstacle is a thick layer of haze that blankets the planet, shielding it from the probing eyes of space telescopes and stymying efforts to study its atmosphere.
NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) solved that issue. The telescope's infra Webb takes closest look yet at mysterious planet
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has observed a distant planet outside our solar system - and unlike anything in it - to reveal what is likely a highly reflective world with a steamy atmosphere. It's the closest look yet at the mysterious world, a "mini-Neptune" that was largely impenetrable to previous observations.
And while the planet, called GJ 1214 b, is too hot to harbor liquid-wate Testing a theory of supermassive black holes with 100 newly described 'blazars'
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
More than a hundred blazars - distant and active galaxies with a central supermassive black hole that drives powerful jets - have been newly characterized by Penn State researchers from a catalog of previously unclassified high-energy cosmic emissions. The new blazars, which are dim relative to more typical blazars, have allowed the researchers to test a controversial theory of blazar emissions, Plateau observatory ready to advance knowledge of universe
Thursday, 11 May 2023 10:06
China's Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory, one of the world's most advanced cosmic ray observatories, passed national appraisal on Wednesday. The facility will help scientists uncover the origins of high-energy cosmic rays and expand humanity's knowledge of the universe.
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles consisting mainly of protons and atomic nuclei that travel through space