Lunar landers could spray instant landing pads as they arrive at the moon
Thursday, 30 September 2021 11:32
Space exploration requires all kinds of interesting solutions to complex problems. There is a branch of NASA designed to support the innovators trying to solve those problems—the Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC). They occasionally hand out grant funding to worthy projects trying to tackle some of these challenges. The results from one of those grants are now in, and they are intriguing. A team from Masten Space Systems, supported by Honeybee Robotics, Texas A&M, and the University of Central Florida, came up with a way a lunar lander could deposit its own landing pad on the way down.
Lunar dust poses a significant problem to any powered landers on the surface. The retrograde rockets needed to land on the moon's surface softly will also kick dust and rock up into the air, potentially damaging the lander itself or any surrounding human infrastructure.
Satellite servicing companies see different demand in LEO versus GEO
Thursday, 30 September 2021 08:57
Developers of satellite servicing technologies expect interest in refueling and life extension to come from customers in geostationary orbit and beyond, while low Earth orbit operators instead seek end-of-life disposal services.
China displays crewed moon landing mission elements
Thursday, 30 September 2021 08:52
China is showcasing a number of elements for future human lunar landing missions at a major airshow and stating that super heavy-lift rocket will be ready by 2028.
Lawmakers ask Air Force Secretary to ‘pause all actions’ on Space Command relocation
Thursday, 30 September 2021 08:00
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and other lawmakers are asking Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to suspend all activities related to the relocation of U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama.
Pandemic causes delay and cost increase for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope
Thursday, 30 September 2021 07:57
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope has passed its critical design review, but the impact of the pandemic will delay its launch by several months and increase its cost.
Aerosols released from Australian bushfires triggers algal blooms
Thursday, 30 September 2021 07:05
Australia’s deadly bushfires in the 2019-2020 season generated 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – triggering vast algal blooms in the Southern Ocean. Using satellite data, two new studies published in Nature prove how satellites can illuminate the complicated ways in which Earth is responding to climate change in an era of worsening wildfires.
The spectrum of gravitational waves
Thursday, 30 September 2021 07:00
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Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime produced by the acceleration of very massive objects, such as black holes coming together and merging. Different objects in space produce gravitational waves of different timescales, ranging from milliseconds to billions of years. Some of these waves can only be observed from space.
This is the goal of ESA’s future mission LISA, which will be the first space-based gravitational wave observatory.
LISA will study gravitational waves that are produced by merging stellar mass black holes, supermassive black holes and white dwarfs. It will also pick up the waves produced by compact objects, like neutron stars
Virgin Galactic says FAA has cleared it for further flights
Thursday, 30 September 2021 06:31
Cosmic kit
Thursday, 30 September 2021 06:00
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ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer wearing the SpaceX spacesuit FAA clears Virgin Galactic to resume SpaceShipTwo flights
Wednesday, 29 September 2021 22:47
The FAA said Sept. 29 that it completed its investigation into a problem on Virgin Galactic’s most recent SpaceShipTwo flight, allowing the company to resume flights of the suborbital spaceplane.
U.S. Space Command official calls for public-private effort to avert war in space
Wednesday, 29 September 2021 21:14
The U.S. needs better capabilities to monitor adversaries’ activities in space and has to quickly deploy satellite constellations that can survive in a conflict, said Maj. Gen. David Miller, of U.S.
FAA again delays final decision on Georgia spaceport permit
Wednesday, 29 September 2021 14:52
Capella expands staff focused on U.S. Goverment sales and service
Wednesday, 29 September 2021 13:55
Capella Space named Amy Hopkins, former Boeing Phantom Works Strategy Director, as its first vice president and general manager of U.S. Government Services.
The Moon in better sight
Wednesday, 29 September 2021 13:09
People with sight loss and sensory disabilities often experience problems seeking information online. ESA is bringing the Moon closer to them with a more accessible series of infographics.
Slingshot launches interactive tool to make the complexities of space more accessible
Wednesday, 29 September 2021 12:00
An interactive simulation of the space environment developed by Slingshot Aerospace for military satellite operators is now being offered commercially, the company announced Sept. 29.