London, UK (SPX) Jan 01, 2022
Northern hemisphere stargazers can look forward to what could be 2022's best meteor shower on 3-4 January. Observers enjoying dark skies could see 50 or more meteors an hour that night, as the Quadrantids shower reaches its peak. Meteors are the result of small particles entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, typically around 40 km per second for the Quadrantids. The pieces of debr

Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) Jan 01, 2022
Astronomers have managed to link the properties of the inner planets of our solar system with our cosmic history: with the emergence of ring structures in the swirling disk of gas and dust in which these planets were formed. The rings are associated with basic physical properties such as the transition from an outer region where ice can form where water can only exist as water vapor. The astrono

The Biden administration formally supports extending operations of the International Space Station through the end of the decade, an announcement that is neither surprising nor addresses how to get all the station’s partners, notably Russia, to agree on the station’s future.

Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT) has won NASA funding for thermal control solutions that enable vehicles and other equipment to survive harsh lunar environments without an active power source.

SpaceNews

Over about the next two weeks, NASA will provide broadcast coverage, media briefings, and other updates on major deployment milestones for the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.

Video: 00:03:04

This real-time video shows the separation of the James Webb Space Telescope from the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and the subsequent solar array deployment.

Webb’s launch on an ESA-provided Ariane 5 rocket was performed by Arianespace on behalf of ESA from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 12:20:07 GMT (13:20:07 CET) on 25 December 2021.

Webb separation from the Ariane 5 occurred at 12:47:14 GMT (13:47:14 CET) with solar array deployment starting 69 seconds later.

Thanks to Ariane 5’s highly precise launch trajectory Webb’s solar array was able to deploy soon after separation from the Ariane 5, capturing sunlight to

Firefly Aerospace is pausing preparations for its next Alpha launch, originally scheduled for early 2022, after the government asked its largest shareholder to divest its stake for national security reasons.

SpaceNews

Moscow (AFP) Dec 24, 2021
President Vladimir Putin said Friday the Russian military successfully fired a simultaneous salvo of its Zircon hypersonic missiles, calling it "a big event" for the country. As world powers race to develop advanced weaponry, Russia has carried out a number of successful tests of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. This was however the first time that Russian authorities reported a su

Moscow (Sputnik) Dec 30, 2021
The accusations come amid the Chinese complaint filed in the UN in December, describing how in October and July, two Starlink satellites caused the Chinese space station to adopt "preventive collision avoidance control" procedures to "ensure the safety and lives of in-orbit astronauts". Elon Musk has responded to multiple claims that his company's Starlink satellites take up too much space

Washington (AFP) Dec 30, 2021
From the Mars Ingenuity helicopter's first powered flight on another world to the launch of the James Webb telescope that will peer into the earliest epoch of the Universe, 2021 was a huge year for humanity's space endeavors. Beyond the science milestones, billionaires battled to reach the final frontier first, an all-civilian crew went into orbit, and Star Trek's William Shatner waxed profo