Pixxel signs partnership with Rio Tinto for hyperspectral imagery
Friday, 14 January 2022 11:39
Indian hyperspectral imaging startup Pixxel has announced a partnership with mining company Rio Tinto, giving that company early access to data from satellites scheduled to launch early this year.
NASA leasing bill transformed into voting rights legislation
Friday, 14 January 2022 11:09
NASA’s ability to lease property at its facilities to companies or other organizations remains in limbo after a bill meant to reauthorize it was transformed in the House into voting rights legislation.
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Rolling stones on Mars Earth from Space: Kangerlussuaq Glacier
Friday, 14 January 2022 08:00
The Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of Greenland’s largest tidewater outlet glaciers, is pictured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission. Meaning ‘large fjord’ in Greenlandic, the Kangerlussuaq Glacier flows into the head of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord, the second largest fjord in east Greenland.
Virgin Orbit successfully launches 7 satellites into orbit
Friday, 14 January 2022 07:57A Virgin Orbit rocket released from a jet flying off the California coast carried seven small satellites into space on Thursday as the company kicked off a year in which it plans to ramp up the pace of launches, including two originating from Britain.
Virgin Orbit's modified Boeing 747 took off from Mojave Air & Space Port in the Southern California desert, flew out over the Pacific Ocean and dropped the LauncherOne rocket from its left wing.
The 70-foot-long (21.3-meter) booster ignited at an altitude of about 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) and hurtled skyward. The company later confirmed that all of the satellites were successfully deployed into the proper orbit.
"Another fantastic day for the Virgin Orbit team, and a big step forward for our customers," the company tweeted.
The payload included satellites for the U.S. Defense Department, the Polish company SatRevolution and the international company Spire Global.
It was Virgin Orbit's third launch carrying satellites for customers. Two previous launches carried multiple satellites into orbit in January and June 2021. The company's first launch, a demonstration flight, failed in May 2020.
Virgin Orbit, founded in 2017 by British billionaire Richard Branson, went public last month. The company is targeting the market for launching small satellites.
Virgin Orbit air drops rocket carrying 7 satellites
Friday, 14 January 2022 07:05
Virgin Orbit kicked off an ambitious launch schedule for 2022 on Thursday by sending seven small satellites into space aboard a rocket launched from a jet high above the Pacific Ocean.
The LauncherOne rocket ignited around 2:53 p.m. PST from under the wing of the company's Cosmic Girl, a modified 747, about an hour after it took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California.
" Swedish Security Police Warn of Space Wars With China, Russia
Friday, 14 January 2022 07:05
Previously, the fictitious "Russian threat" mentioned by numerous agencies and security services, coupled with a media narrative of an "assertive" and "aggressive" Moscow has been cited as the reason for a plethora of military measures, including a historic hike of the military budget unseen since the Cold War-era and a re-establishment of units.
More countries see space as a possible aren Brown, Raymond warn of impacts to Air Force, Space Force if new budget is not approved
Friday, 14 January 2022 07:05
The Air Force's and Space Force's highest ranking officers issued grim warnings to Congress Jan. 12, telling a House subcommittee that failing to approve a new spending plan for the current fiscal year would directly harm readiness, inhibit modernization and diminish the services' capacity to confront emerging security threats.
Rolling over the current Air Force budget for another year, a HawkEye 360 awarded $15.5M contract with Air Force Research Laboratory
Friday, 14 January 2022 07:05
HawkEye 360 Inc., the world's leading commercial provider of space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, has announced it has been awarded a three year, $15.5 million Experimental Purpose Agreement (EPA) contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate. Through the agreement, HawkEye 360 will provide radio frequency analytics research, development, and SpaceX launches 105 satellites from Florida
Friday, 14 January 2022 05:26
SpaceX successfully launched 105 satellites from Florida on Thursday morning as part of its rideshare program, which it uses to release satellites for dozens of customers in a single mission.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off into blue sky on the Transporter-3 mission as planned at 10:25 a.m. EST from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station near Kennedy Space Center.
"Alrig Using High Temperature Composites For Sustainable Space Travel
Friday, 14 January 2022 05:26
On the ground, sound waves travel at around 340 metres per second. An aircraft is Supersonic when it exceeds the speed of sound. Hypersonic speed is more than five times the speed of sound - or 'Mach 5' - which is just over 6,000 kilometres per hour.
At Mach 5 and above, friction caused by molecules flowing over the hypersonic aircraft can generate temperatures in excess of 2000 Celsius. S Kleos' Patrol Mission satellites to launch in April
Friday, 14 January 2022 05:26
Kleos Space S.A, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a- service (DaaS) company, announces the Kleos Patrol Mission (KSF2) satellites, planned to launch in
January 2022, have been remanifested to launch on the SpaceX Transporter-4 mission scheduled for April 2022.
Kleos is partnering with launch services provider Spaceflight Inc. to deploy its Patrol Mission (KSF2) Sols 3355-2256: Closer to the Prow
Friday, 14 January 2022 05:26
The "bump" planned on Sol 3354 to move the rover closer to "The Prow" outcrop was successful, placing the front wheels very close to the base of the outcrop. From this new position, the arm can reach the top of the outcrop, so APXS will be placed on a couple of upper outcrop targets named "Angasima" and "Kamuda" on Sol 3355. Unfortunately, MAHLI had an issue reading data from their memory a coup Researchers propose new explanation for Moon's half-century magnetic mystery
Friday, 14 January 2022 05:26
Rocks returned to Earth during NASA's Apollo program from 1968 to 1972 have provided volumes of information about the Moon's history, but they've also been the source of an enduring mystery. Analysis of the rocks revealed that some seemed to have formed in the presence of a strong magnetic field - one that rivaled Earth's in strength. But it wasn't clear how a Moon-sized body could have generate 'Slushy' magma ocean led to formation of the Moon's crust
Friday, 14 January 2022 05:26
Scientists have shown how the freezing of a 'slushy' ocean of magma may be responsible for the composition of the Moon's crust.
The scientists, from the University of Cambridge and the Ecole normale superieure de Lyon, have proposed a new model of crystallisation, where crystals remained suspended in liquid magma over hundreds of millions of years as the lunar 'slush' froze and solidified.