Space Force briefing on military space race catches Jeff Bezos’ attention
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 21:38
U.S. Space Systems Command officials earlier this month gave an unclassified briefing to Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos on the power competition taking place in the space domain.
The post Space Force briefing on military space race catches Jeff Bezos’ attention appeared first on SpaceNews.
Starlink taking preorders for high-speed private jet broadband service
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 20:53
SpaceX started accepting preorders Tuesday from high-flying private jet owners willing to pay a hefty price to receive high-speed Starlink services in the air.
The post Starlink taking preorders for high-speed private jet broadband service appeared first on SpaceNews.
UK defense committee calls for thorough Eutelsat/OneWeb review
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 20:11
Eutelsat and OneWeb’s planned merger requires the “strictest possible scrutiny,” a cross-party group of British government officials said in a report warning the U.K has become a “third-rank” power in space post-Brexit.
The post UK defense committee calls for thorough Eutelsat/OneWeb review appeared first on SpaceNews.
Iconic 'Pillars of Creation' captured in new Webb image
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 17:42
The James Webb Space Telescope captured the iconic "Pillars of Creation," huge structures of gas and dust teeming with stars, NASA said Wednesday, and the image is as majestic as one could hope.
The twinkling of thousands of stars illuminates the telescope's first shot of the gigantic gold, copper and brown columns standing in the midst of the cosmos.
Ariane 6 first flight planned for fourth quarter of 2023
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 17:25
Ariane 6, the new heavy-lift launch system being developed by the European Space Agency, will make its inaugural flight as soon as the fourth quarter of 2023. Briefing media gathered at ESA’s Paris Bertrand headquarters on 19 October, Director General Joseph Aschbacher said sufficient progress had been made over the past several months to anticipate a Q4 2023 first flight, pending the realization of three key milestones before April next year.
Foust Forward | Hard choices facing commercial space stations
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 17:14
For all the optimism about the development of commercial space stations, the International Astronautical Congress also showed the lingering concern about the business case for such stations, be it for research, tourism or other space agencies.
Press Briefing on Ariane 6 progress and preparation
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 17:00
Video:
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Press briefing on Ariane 6 progress at ESA Bertrand HQ, 19 October 2022: (l-r at front) Stéphane Israël (Arianespace Chief Executive), André-Hubert Roussel (ArianeGroup Chief Executive), Philippe Baptiste (CNES Chairman and Chief Executive), Joseph Aschbacher (ESA Director General), Daniel Neuenschwander (ESA Director of Space Transportation Systems)
Ariane 6 first launch slips to late 2023
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 15:55
The European Space Agency has again delayed the first flight of Europe’s Ariane 6 launch vehicle, this time to late 2023, as the new vehicle makes slow progress to the launch pad.
The post Ariane 6 first launch slips to late 2023 appeared first on SpaceNews.
Webb takes a stunning, star-filled portrait of the Pillars of Creation
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 13:00
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape – the iconic Pillars of Creation – where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear – at times – semi-transparent in near-infrared light.
Zoom into Webb’s view of the Pillars of Creation
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 13:00
Video:
00:01:00
The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of colour in the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where young stars are forming – or have barely burst from their dusty cocoons as they continue to form.
Protostars are the scene-stealers in this Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image. These are the bright red orbs that sometimes appear with eight diffraction spikes. When knots with sufficient mass form
Algae could be instrumental in making human exploration of Mars possible
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 12:56
While the world is marveling over the first images and data now coming from NASA's Perseverance rover mission seeking signs of ancient microscopic life on Mars, a team of UNLV scientists is already hard at work on the next step: What if we could one day send humans to the Red Planet?
There's a lot to consider when sending people, though.
International Space Station experiments reveal risks for future human space flights
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 12:22
An international team of researchers has conducted a long-term experiment aboard the International Space Station to test the effect of space radiation on mouse embryonic stem cells. Their findings will contribute to helping scientists better assess the safety and risks related to space radiation for future human space flights.
The team published their findings in the journal Heliyon on August 18, 2022.
In their study, the team performed a direct quantitative measurement of the biological effect of space radiation by launching frozen mouse embryonic stem cells from the ground to the International Space Station, exposing them to space radiation for over four years, and quantifying the biological effect by examining chromosome aberrations.
Life may have thrived on early Mars, until it drove climate change that caused its demise
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 12:06
If there ever was life on Mars - and that's a huge "if" - conditions during the planet's infancy most likely would have supported it, according to a study led by University of Arizona researchers. Dry and extremely cold, with a tenuous atmosphere, today's Mars is extremely unlikely to sustain any form of life at the surface. But 4 billion years ago, Earth's smaller, red neighbor may have been mu The UK is about to have its first space launch
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 12:06
Virgin Orbit, a US company which provides launch services for satellites, has announced that the first orbital space mission from the UK will blast off from Cornwall. The rocket, which will carry nine satellites, along with a launch aircraft have been delivered by an RAF C-17 - a military, heavy-lift strategic transport plane.
This is primed to be a new phase for the UK and its involvement Relativity Space to operate major rocket engine test facilities at NASA
Wednesday, 19 October 2022 12:06
Relativity Space, the first company to 3D print rockets and build the largest metal 3D printers in the world, has detailed its plans to operate one of the largest rocket engine test facilities in the United States. Through an agreement with NASA, Relativity is significantly expanding its facilities and infrastructure at NASA's historic Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi.
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