Kennedy Space Center, United States (AFP) Sept 16, 2021
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying four space tourists blasted off Wednesday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first mission to orbit the globe with an all-civilian crew. A huge fireball illuminated the sky as the rocket's nine engines began to pull away from Earth at 8:02 pm (0002 GMT Thursday). Around 12 minutes later, the Dragon capsule separated from the rocket's

Notre Dame IN (SPX) Sep 15, 2021
The explosion of wireless applications enabled by advanced radio technologies has placed access to a key natural resource, the radio frequency spectrum, at a premium. In the United States and around the world, radio frequencies are allocated to a variety of services such as mobile broadband, broadcasting and navigation (GPS) that are now mainstream and widely used. But the increasing deman

Video: 00:03:01

Verifying that a satellite will resist the sheer noise of the rocket launching it into orbit is a very important test that every mission must successfully pass.

“Typically satellites are tested inside purpose-built reverberant chambers, such as ESTEC’s own Large European Acoustic Facility sometimes described as the largest and most powerful sound system in Europe,” explains ESA test facility expert Steffen Scharfenberg, overseeing the test campaign together with ESA mechanical engineer Ivan Ngan. A very powerful noise generation system produces a uniform noise field thanks to the reverberation on the thick concrete walls of the chamber.

ESA has

Image: Solar cell system

World governments agreed in the late 1980s to protect Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out ozone-depleting substances emitted by human activities, under the Montreal Protocol. The phase out of these substances has not only helped protect the ozone layer for future generations but has also protected human health and ecosystems by limiting the harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching Earth. On 16 September, the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, we take a closer look at this year’s ozone hole.

China is preparing to launch its second space station cargo mission just as its Shenzhou-12 astronauts are set to return to Earth.

Image: To the Moon!

ESA confirmed a contract signature yesterday with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) to be the main customer for their Lunar Pathfinder satellite launching in 2024 that will provide communications services around the Moon.