UAE to launch probe targeting asteroid between Mars, Jupiter
Tuesday, 05 October 2021 08:55
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The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday announced plans to send a probe to land on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter to collect data on the origins of the universe, the latest project in the oil-rich federation's ambitious space program.
The project targets a 2028 launch with a landing in 2033, a five-year journey in which the spacecraft will travel some 3.6 billion kilometers (2.2 billion miles).
The UAE's Space Agency said it will partner with the Laboratory for Atmospheric Science and Physics at the University of Colorado on the project. It declined to immediately offer a cost for the effort.
The project comes after the Emirates successfully put its Amal, or "Hope," probe in orbit around Mars in February. The car-size Amal cost $200 million to build and launch. That excludes operating costs at Mars.
The Emirates plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2024. The country, which is home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, also has set the ambitious goal to build a human colony on Mars by 2117.
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Russian crew docks at ISS to film first movie in space (Update)
Tuesday, 05 October 2021 08:44 Write a comment
A Russian actress and director blasted off to the International Space Station on Tuesday in a historic bid to best the United States to film the first movie in orbit.
The Russian crew is set to beat a Hollywood project that was announced last year by "Mission Impossible" star Tom Cruise together with NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Actress Yulia Peresild, 37, and film director Klim Shipenko, 38, took off from the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan at the expected time of 0855 GMT, with docking scheduled for 1212 GMT.
"Launch as planned," the head of the Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Twitter.
Led by veteran cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, the film crew will travel in a Soyuz MS-19 spaceship for a 12-day mission at the ISS to film scenes for "The Challenge".
A live broadcast on Russian TV showed the Soyuz spacecraft ascending into a cloudless sky.
Russian crew arrives at space station to film first movie in orbit
Tuesday, 05 October 2021 08:44 Write a comment
A Russian actress and director blasted off to the International Space Station on Tuesday in a historic bid to best the United States to film the first movie in orbit.
The Russian crew is set to beat a Hollywood project that was announced last year by "Mission Impossible" star Tom Cruise together with NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Actress Yulia Peresild, 37, and film director Klim Shipenko, 38, took off from the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan at the expected time of 0855 GMT, with docking scheduled for 1212 GMT.
"Launch as planned," the head of the Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Twitter.
Led by veteran cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, the film crew will travel in a Soyuz MS-19 spaceship for a 12-day mission at the ISS to film scenes for "The Challenge".
A live broadcast on Russian TV showed the Soyuz spacecraft ascending into a cloudless sky.
HySpecIQ turns to BridgeComm for optical downlinks
Tuesday, 05 October 2021 02:46 Write a comment
Hyperspectral analytics company HySpecIQ and optical communications specialist BridgeComm announced an agreement to integrate BridgeComm's high-speed optical downlink with HySpecIQ satellites destined for low Earth orbit.
World View revives plans for stratospheric balloon passenger flights
Monday, 04 October 2021 23:12 Write a comment
World View, a company founded to carry people into the stratosphere to give them space-like views of the Earth, is reviving those plans, putting it into competition with two of its co-founders.
Voyager Space acquires propulsion company Valley Tech Systems
Monday, 04 October 2021 19:54 Write a comment
Voyager Space announced Oct. 4 it has acquired Valley Tech Systems, a company that developed a solid-fueled propulsion system for long-range missiles, as well as signal processing and geolocation technologies for military surveillance aircraft.
International Space Station in 2021
Monday, 04 October 2021 18:47 Write a comment
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International Space Station in 2021 Thomas Pesquet takes commanding role on Space Station
Monday, 04 October 2021 18:38 Write a comment
Today ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet became commander of the International Space Station, taking over from Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and fellow Crew-2 member Akihiko Hoshide. Thomas will hold this role until shortly before Crew-2 return to Earth in November.
Science of Psyche: Unique asteroid holds clues to early solar system
Monday, 04 October 2021 15:54 Write a comment
Set to launch next year, NASA's Psyche mission marks the first time the agency has set out to explore an asteroid richer in metal than rock or ice.
More than 150 years have passed since novelist Jules Verne wrote "Journey to the Center of the Earth," but reality has yet to catch up with that science fiction adventure. While humans can't bore a path to our planet's metallic core, NASA has its sights set on visiting a giant asteroid that may be the frozen remains of the molten core of a bygone world.
Russia film crew set to blast off to make 1st movie in space
Monday, 04 October 2021 15:46 Write a comment
NGA renews Maxar contract for satellite imagery
Monday, 04 October 2021 15:16 Write a comment
Maxar Technologies won a $44 million contract option from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to continue to provide U.S. government agencies with access to unclassified high-resolution commercial imagery from Maxar and other commercial data providers.
Destiny | Space Station 360 (in French with English subtitles available)
Monday, 04 October 2021 14:30 Write a comment
Video:
00:02:06
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet takes you on a tour of the International Space Station like no other. Filmed with a 360 camera, the Space Station 360 series lets you explore for yourself alongside Thomas’s explanation – episode seven is NASA’s Destiny laboratory.
The International Space Station’s fourth module, Destiny, was waunched on 7 February 2001 on Space Shuttle Atlantis. The American module is the heart of the non-Russian part of the Station and allows experiments to be performed in many disciplines, from biology to physics, including a rack for burning liquids in weightlessness and the European Microgravity Science
Enhanced Proton M Launch System – New Features
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:23 Write a comment
In 2021 the enhanced Proton M launch system celebrates the 20th anniversary since the start of its operation. Since then, 100+ missions have been completed with the last 21 launches being successful (no issues reported by customers).
First Copernicus satellite exceeds design working life
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:20 Write a comment
This week marks seven years since the very first satellite that ESA built for the European Union’s Copernicus programme started delivering data to monitor the environment. The Sentinel-1A satellite has shed new light on our changing world and has been key to supplying a wealth of radar imagery to aid disaster response. While this remarkable satellite may have been designed for an operational life of seven years, it is still going strong and fully expected to be in service for several years to come.
First Russian film in space an 'experiment': director
Monday, 04 October 2021 13:07 Write a comment
Russian film director Klim Shipenko said Monday the first movie in orbit would be an "experiment," on the eve of his journey into space hoping to beat a rival Hollywood project.
The 38-year-old director and one of Russia's most famous actresses, Yulia Peresild, 37, are due to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 0855 GMT on Tuesday to shoot scenes for upcoming Russian movie "The Challenge".
Russia's space agency Roscosmos is sending them into orbit with experienced cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, 49. Cosmonauts on board the International Space Station are expected to appear in cameo roles in the film.
The 12-day mission was announced in September 2020, four months after a Hollywood project involving "Mission Impossible" actor Tom Cruise was revealed.
"We are doing an experiment," Shipenko told reporters.
"There is nobody to get advice from. There is not a single cameraman who could answer how to work with light from a porthole," he told an online news conference.
On top of directing, he will also be handling the cameras, lighting, sound and make-up.
Shipenko conceded that "some things will work out and some things will not".