Russian film crew says shooting in space a 'huge challenge'
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:56Their movie props floated around and they used Velcro to keep objects in place but Russia's first film crew in space said they were delighted with the result and had "shot everything we planned". Yulia Peresild, one of Russia's most glamorous actresses, and film director Klim Shipenko returned to Earth on Sunday after spending 12 days on the International Space Station (ISS) shooting the fir
White House declines comment on China hypersonic missile test
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:56White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday declined to comment on a report claiming that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August. "I'm not going to comment on the specific report," Psaki said when asked if she could confirm the report that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile this summer that surprised US officials. Psaki reiterated Defense Secre
Uncovering the secrets of ultra-low frequency gravitational waves
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:56New methods of detecting ultra-low frequency gravitational waves can be combined with other, less sensitive measurements to deliver fresh insights into the early development of our universe, according to researchers at the University of Birmingham. Gravitational waves - ripples in the fabric of Einstein's spacetime - that cross the universe at the speed of light have all sorts of wavelengt
Hear sounds from Mars captured by Perseverance Rover
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:56Thanks to two microphones aboard NASA's Perseverance rover, the mission has recorded nearly five hours of Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm. These sounds allow scientists and engineers to experience the Red Planet in new ways - and everyone is invited to listen in. "It's like you're really standing there," said Bapti
Researchers call for armchair astronomers to help find unknown hidden worlds
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:56Astronomers at Queen's University Belfast have launched a new online initiative, calling for volunteers to come forward and help to search for extrasolar planets. The online citizen project, hosted by Zooniverse.org, Planet Hunters Next-Generation Transit Search (NGTS), is enlisting the help of the public to examine five years' worth of digital footage showing some of the brightest stars i
Astronomers see white dwarf switch on and off
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:56White dwarfs are what most stars become after burning off the hydrogen that fuels them. Now our astronomers have seen one of these galactic objects switching on and off for the first time. Researchers used a planet-hunting satellite to observe the unique phenomenon in a white dwarf about 1,400 light years from Earth. This particular white dwarf is known to be accreting, or feeding, f
Dwarf galaxy catches globular cluster
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:56Astronomers already knew that our own Milky Way grew by taking in smaller galaxies. But now a team of Italian-Dutch researchers have shown that a small galaxy neighbouring the Milky Way has in turn absorbed an even smaller galaxy from its vicinity. The researchers will publish their findings on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. According to the prevailing theory, large galaxies such
Ten years of Soyuz at Europe’s Spaceport
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 09:31On 21 October 2011, the first pair of Galileo navigation satellites was launched by a Russian-built Soyuz rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Opened-out ‘FlatSat’ for CubeSat testing
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 08:30ESA’s latest CubeSat mission is destined to never leave the ground. Instead it is doing its duty as an opened-out ‘FlatSat’ – with its interlinked subsystems spread out across a table at the Agency’s Data Systems and Microelectronics Laboratory at its ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands.
Calm above the storm
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 06:38Auroras make for great Halloween décor over Earth, though ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet snapped these green smoky swirls of plasma from the International Space Station in August. Also pictured are the Soyuz MS-18 “Yuri Gagarin” (left) and the new Nauka module (right).
The Station saw quite some aurora activity that month, caused by solar particles colliding with Earth’s atmosphere and producing a stunning light show.
Fast forward to October and space is quite busy.
On 9 October the Sun ejected a violent mass of fast-moving plasma into space that arrived at Earth a few days later. The coronal mass ejection (CME)
Boeing aims for unmanned Starliner test flight in first half of 2022
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 06:04Boeing is aiming for a test flight of its unmanned CST-100 Starliner capsule in the first half of next year and a potential launch of its crewed spacecraft at the end of 2022, company officials said Tuesday.
The CST-100 had been scheduled to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 3 but the flight was aborted just hours before launch because of problems with propulsion system valves.
Boeing officials told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday that they were still conducting testing of the valves but they may heve become stuck because of moisture or condensation.
"Normal environment humidity was likely the source of that moisture in the valves," Michelle Parker, Boeing Space and Launch chief engineer, said.
NASA supports Boeing as Starliner valve investigation continues
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 00:08NASA continues to stand behind Boeing as the company works to resolve a valve problem with its CST-100 Starliner that will push back operational missions of the commercial crew vehicle into 2023.
LeoLabs to construct radars in Western Australia
Tuesday, 19 October 2021 23:00LeoLabs announced plans Oct. 19 to construct two phased-array radars in Western Australia, the sixth site for the Silicon Valley startup’s global space-tracking network.
Industry panel: U.S. space systems need protection against cyber attacks
Tuesday, 19 October 2021 19:06The U.S. government does not technically consider space systems “critical infrastructure,” which is slowing down efforts to protect networks from cyber attacks, experts said.
Cloudy timelapse over Baja California
Tuesday, 19 October 2021 19:00Timelapse video made during ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s second mission to the International Space Station, “Alpha”. The camera is setup to take pictures at intervals of two a second, and the pictures are then edited into this video that plays at 25 pictures a second. The video is around 12 times faster than real speed.
Thomas shared this video on social media with the caption:
“Soar over Earth for timelapse Tuesday: clouds, clouds, Baja California, and more clouds. There are often many clouds covering our planet!”
Over 200 experiments are planned during Thomas’ time in space, with 40 European ones