Chinese Shiyan-10 satellite reappears in new Molniya orbit months after launch anomaly
Friday, 15 April 2022 13:27
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Classified Chinese Shiyan-10 has been tracked operating in a specialized orbit, six months after an anomaly during launch appeared to leave it stranded in an initial transfer orbit.
Week in images: 11-15 April 2022
Friday, 15 April 2022 12:05 Write a comment
Week in images: 11-15 April 2022
Discover our week through the lens
Foust Forward | Don’t mess with Texas space startups
Friday, 15 April 2022 12:00 Write a comment
At South by Southwest in Austin, space had a surprisingly large presence, with parallel conference sessions and other events on a wide range of topics. That included panel sessions where companies argued that both Austin and Houston were growing hubs of the space economy.
Earth from Space: Scandinavian Peninsula
Friday, 15 April 2022 07:00 Write a comment
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission captured this impressive shot of the almost cloud-free Scandinavian Peninsula on 20 March.
NASA halts third attempt at SLS practice countdown
Thursday, 14 April 2022 20:36 Write a comment
NASA cut short a third attempt to load propellants onto the Space Launch System for a countdown rehearsal April 14 after encountering several problems, including a hydrogen leak.
The post NASA halts third attempt at SLS practice countdown appeared first on SpaceNews.
Fuel leak thwarts NASA's dress rehearsal for moon rocket
Thursday, 14 April 2022 20:22 Write a comment
NASA's latest attempt to fuel its huge moon rocket for a countdown test was thwarted Thursday by a hazardous hydrogen leak, the latest in a series of vexing equipment trouble.
Divide and conquer: Mars rovers could be superseded by swarms of two-wheeled robots
Thursday, 14 April 2022 20:12 Write a comment
Skoltech scientists have proposed a concept for a modular Mars exploration rover. Leveraging the power of cooperative robotics, the new system first described in an Acta Astronautica paper consists of four two-wheeled robots that can operate independently or combine in various constellations. According to the study, that approach will enable longer exploration missions that gather more information about the planet's history, potential habitability, and possible traces of surface water or prior life.
Since NASA's Pathfinder, the first successful Mars rover, landed on the Red Planet in 1997, researchers have used the same basic design: a six-wheeled autonomous exploratory vehicle carrying a set of scientific instruments on board. Nowadays, researchers suggest that a Mars mission could accomplish more in the same timespan if it consists of several variously equipped robots simultaneously carrying out separate tasks at different locations and occasionally coming together for more challenging tasks.
"This is basically an optimization problem: How do you maximize exploration time and distance covered without driving the cost of the mission through the roof?" Skoltech Ph.D.
Astranis eyes U.S. military customers for its small geostationary satellites
Thursday, 14 April 2022 19:32 Write a comment
Small GEO satellite operator Astranis sees an opportunity to break into the defense market as the military seeks to diversify its communications architecture
The post Astranis eyes U.S. military customers for its small geostationary satellites appeared first on SpaceNews.
Avanti sheds $550 million of debt to free up growth plan
Thursday, 14 April 2022 18:51 Write a comment
British satellite operator Avanti said April 13 it has cut its $810 million debt pile by two-thirds after investors agreed to swap debt for equity.
The post Avanti sheds $550 million of debt to free up growth plan appeared first on SpaceNews.
Plasma ejections from the sun could cause damage on Earth, scientists say
Thursday, 14 April 2022 17:53 Write a comment
An unusual magnetic storm from the sun will aim at the Earth soon, possibly beginning Thursday, and experts say it has the potential to cause some noticeable damage here on our planet.
Scientists say that the solar activity - called a geomagnetic storm - will produce a magnetic discharge and send it in the direction toward Earth. In other words, essentially, that means that increased Space domain awareness: A secret weapon against shadowy threats in orbit
Thursday, 14 April 2022 17:00 Write a comment
KBR, a Defense Department and NASA contractor with $6 billion in annual sales, paid $800 million in 2020 to acquire Centauri, a company focused on space sensors and satellite tracking. The acquisition gave KBR an entry into the business of “space domain awareness,” a military term for the capability to track objects in space and predict potential threats.
Kepler validates intersatellite data-relay terminal
Thursday, 14 April 2022 16:05 Write a comment
Kepler Communications has successfully tested inter-satellite links with a terminal designed to tap into the Aether data-relay constellation it plans to start deploying early next year, an executive for the Canadian company said.
CAPSTONE cubesat ready for cislunar mission
Thursday, 14 April 2022 13:31 Write a comment
NASA’s intention to replant bootprints on the moon is getting a kick-start by the launch of a microwave oven-sized smallsat, the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, called CAPSTONE for short.
Op-ed | How Russia’s war with Ukraine jams NASA
Thursday, 14 April 2022 13:00 Write a comment
Three decades ago, NASA embraced international cooperation as a rationale for the International Space Station. Now, the same argument that saved the station at the end of the last Cold War may produce its demise at the start of a new one.
Capella unveils automated tasking products
Thursday, 14 April 2022 12:00 Write a comment
Capella Space unveiled three products April 14 that automate tasking of the company’s constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.
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