Blue Origin and Sierra Space announce plans for commercial space station
Monday, 25 October 2021 19:29
An industry group led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space, and including several other companies and organizations, announced plans Oct. 25 to cooperate on the development of a commercial space station.
Bezos' Blue Origin announces plans for private space station
Monday, 25 October 2021 18:37
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin on Monday announced it wants to launch a space station that will house up to 10 people in the second half of the decade, as the race to commercialize the cosmos heats up.
"Orbital Reef," described in a press statement as a mixed-use business park in space that will support microgravity research and manufacturing, is a joint venture with commercial space company Sierra Space and has the support of Boeing and Arizona State University.
"For over sixty years, NASA and other space agencies have developed orbital space flight and space habitation, setting us up for commercial business to take off in this decade," said Blue Origin executive Brent Sherwood.
"We will expand access, lower the cost, and provide all the services and amenities needed to normalize space flight.
NASA's uncrewed Artemis moon mission set to launch in February
Monday, 25 October 2021 14:57
NASA's uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to the moon is on track to launch in February, the U.S. space agency said.
The Orion spacecraft was secured this week atop the powerful Space Launch System rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, meaning the mission was entering its final phase of preparations.
For its flight next year, Orion will swing around the moon without astronauts on board.
It will be a critical test of the Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2024 and establish a sustained human presence there by 2028, part of the U.S. government's ambitious efforts to get people to Mars in the 2030s.
Artemis has been hit by delays, and even top NASA officials have conceded that the targets will be difficult to meet.
A specific launch date for Artemis 1 will be set after "wet dress rehearsal," a test set for early next year in which the liquid propellants are filled into the massive next-generation rocket, which at 98 meters stands taller than the Statue of Liberty.
The United States remains the only country to have put humans on Earth's nearest neighbor.
ABL Space Systems raises $200 million
Monday, 25 October 2021 14:38
Small launch vehicle developer ABL Space Systems has raised an additional $200 million, just seven months after a $170 million round.
Could this be a planet in another galaxy?
Monday, 25 October 2021 14:00
Using ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescopes, astronomers have made an important step in the quest to find a planet outside of the Milky Way.
ESA at IAC 2021
Monday, 25 October 2021 11:42
The 72nd International Astronautical Congress opens its doors on Monday 25 October at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates, for a week of intense interactions for the world space community. After one year online due to COVID-19 restrictions, the congress returns to an in-person event with the theme 'Inspire, innovate and discover for the benefit of humankind'.
Launching soon: Cosmic Kiss
Monday, 25 October 2021 11:00
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German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will soon begin his first mission to the International Space Station. As a member of Crew-3, he will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron.
Matthias selected the mission name “Cosmic Kiss” for his time in orbit as a declaration of love for space. He will spend around six months living and working in microgravity, where he will carry out many European and international experiments to advance space exploration and benefit lives on Earth.
Galileo Control Segment upgrade ready for next launch
Monday, 25 October 2021 10:58
A significant first for next month’s 11th Galileo launch: thanks to an upgrade of the world-spanning Galileo Control Segment, this will be the first launch where the satellites ‘ first steps into space will be overseen from an existing Galileo Control Centre, rather than requiring an external mission control site.
Airbus Ventures invests in Tokyo-based ispace
Monday, 25 October 2021 10:20
Airbus Ventures announced an investment Oct. 25 in ispace, the Toyko-based company preparing to send its first lander to the moon next year.
Mars helicopter Ingenuity approaches 14th flight
Monday, 25 October 2021 07:47
The Mars helicopter Ingenuity is ready for a short Martian flight as early as Saturday to test summer weather conditions that have arrived at its location on the Red Planet after two weeks of no communication because of blockage by the sun.
The flight, Ingenuity's 14th, is brief and simple by design. As weather at Jezero Crater gets warmer, the aircraft's rotors must turn faster to achi Keeping our eyes on New Horizons
Monday, 25 October 2021 07:47
New Horizons remains healthy and continues to send valuable data from the Kuiper Belt, even as it speeds farther and farther from Earth and the Sun. Our team has been extremely busy since I last wrote in the spring. One of the most important activities since then has been ground testing, uploading and flight-testing new software for our Alice ultraviolet spectrometer and our main (Command and Da Technologies and concepts for the satellite navigation systems of the future
Monday, 25 October 2021 07:47
Using the best navigation technologies to bring the greatest benefit to their users - this is the what the Galileo Competence Center at the German Aerospace Center is working towards. Together with DLR's institutes, facilities and partners, products are being developed to ensure the continuous improvement of the European Galileo satellite navigation system. The Galileo Competence Center is now o NASA Mission helps solve a mystery: why are some asteroid surfaces rocky?
Monday, 25 October 2021 07:47
Scientists thought Bennu's surface was like a sandy beach, abundant in fine sand and pebbles, which would have been perfect for collecting samples. Past telescope observations from Earth had suggested the presence of large swaths of fine-grained material smaller than a few centimeters called fine regolith.
But when NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission arrived at Bennu in late 2018, the mission saw a What happens when a meteor hits the atmosphere
Monday, 25 October 2021 07:47
In the heavens above, it's raining dirt. Every second, millions of pieces of dirt that are smaller than a grain of sand strike Earth's upper atmosphere. At about 100 kilometers altitude, bits of dust, mainly debris from asteroid collisions, zing through the sky vaporizing as they go 10 to 100 times the speed of a bullet. The bigger ones can make streaks in the sky, meteors that take our breath a Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin to develop commercial space module
Monday, 25 October 2021 07:47
Nanoracks, in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin, has formed a team to develop the first-ever free flying commercial space station. The space station, known as Starlab, will be a continuously crewed commercial platform, dedicated to conducting critical research, fostering industrial activity, and ensuring continued U.S. presence and leadership in low-Earth orbit. Starlab is exp