California continues to burn
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 15:00
While wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape, a severe drought, coupled with extreme temperatures, have sustained several major fires for much of August. As of 14 September, more than 7000 wildfires have been recorded, burning over 900 000 hectares across the state.
Combined tests start for Ariane 6 at Europe’s Spaceport
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 13:45
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Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana is performing the first combined test in preparation for the inaugural flight of Ariane 6 Image: Space men at work
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 11:06
If you are spacewalking and you know it, raise your hand.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet (left) and JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide (right) performed a spacewalk on Sunday 12 September to prepare another section of the International Space Station for its solar panel upgrade.
The new solar arrays, called IROSA or ISS Roll-Out Solar Array, are being gradually installed over the existing arrays to boost the International Space Station's power system.
Thomas and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough prepared and installed two IROSA solar panels across three spacewalks in June. The arrays were taken from their storage area outside the Space Station and passed from spacewalker to spacewalker to the worksite. There the rolled arrays were secured, unfolded, connected and then unfurled.
Aki and Thomas prepared the P4 truss for its IROSA installation. This is the same area as where Thomas and Shane installed two IROSA's but closer to the main body of the Space Station, in an area called the 4A channel. Only one new solar array will be installed here, on a later spacewalk.
While Sunday's extravehicular activity or EVA was already the fourth spacewalk during Thomas' Alpha mission, it was his first with Aki and the first time a spacewalking pair did not feature a US or Russian astronaut.
Commercial spaceflight industry sees Inspiration4 as a pathfinder but not a model
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 11:06
SpaceX’s first fully commercial Crew Dragon mission is being closely watched by both NASA and other companies in the commercial human spaceflight sector, who see it as a pathfinder for future missions but not necessity a model for them.
‘Taiwan must secure a strategic position in space industry’s supply chain’: president
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 11:01
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Sept. 14 the country “must secure a strategic position in the space industry’s supply chain” by leveraging its competitive edge in semiconductor and precision engineering.
SpaceX's first tourists all set for 'camper van' trip to space
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
The weather seems cooperative and the passengers are raring to go: SpaceX's first space tourists were a picture of calm Tuesday as they prepared to blast off on a three-day mission to orbit the Earth.
"No jitters, excited to get going!" American billionaire Jared Isaacman told reporters when asked his state of mind at a press conference.
Behind him towered the giant Falcon 9 rocket, whic SpaceX's Inspiration4 civilian crew hopes mission will inspire world
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
When the first all-private orbital space mission is launched this week, it will be powered by philanthropist and ambitious businessman Jared Isaacman's vision of making the world a better place.
Isaacman, also a pilot and the mission commander, told UPI when he began assembling his civilian crew in February that he has a long history of tying flights and adventures to fundraising effort Visionary tech concepts could pioneer the future in Space
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
NASA missions make it seem like the future is now - rovers exploring Mars with cutting-edge gadgets, a spacecraft venturing home with an asteroid sample, and a complex space telescope peering at the early universe. So, what's the next big thing? What might space missions in 2050 and beyond set out to discover?
One small NASA program aims to see what could be possible. The NASA Innovative A MDA awarded contract for Japan's Martian Moons Exploration Mission
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
MDA Ltd. been awarded the full contract from Mitsubishi Electric in Japan to provide a Laser Rangefinder (LRF) altimeter for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission.
MDA will be providing two redundant flight units (laser range finder - LRF) altimeters and one engineering development unit (EDU) LRF altimeter.
Scheduled to launch in Japane Curtin research shines a light on Moon's oldest geologic imprints
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
New Curtin research has found the Moon may have been subjected to much greater impacts from asteroids and other bodies than previously thought, building on our understanding of the Moon's earliest geologic evolution.
Published in Nature Communications, the research provides a greater insight of how the oldest impact events on the Moon may have left near-invisible cratering imprints, offeri NASA selects five US companies to mature Artemis Lander concepts
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
NASA has selected five U.S. companies to help the agency enable a steady pace of crewed trips to the lunar surface under the agency's Artemis program. These companies will make advancements toward sustainable human landing system concepts, conduct risk-reduction activities, and provide feedback on NASA's requirements to cultivate industry capabilities for crewed lunar landing missions.
The Two Flight Engineers' stay extended in ISS
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
Two International Space Station crew members have had their stay onboard the orbiting lab extended to nearly a year. Meanwhile, space biology and life support maintenance kept the Expedition 65 crew busy on Tuesday.
With the plans for Russian spaceflight participants to visit the space station as part of the Soyuz MS-19 crew in October 2021, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Roscosmos cosm Dino-killing asteroid set the stage for evolution of modern snakes
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
For the majority of species living during the Cretaceous period, the asteroid responsible for Mexico's Chicxulub crater spelled doom. But for those that survived, the catastrophe offered opportunity.
According to a new study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs triggered a period of accelerated diversification among snakes. / India to revise FDI policy for space sector, says ISRO chief Sivan
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
India will soon come out with a new foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for the space sector, Indian Space research Organisation Chairman K. Sivan said on Monday.
In his address at the International Space Conference and Exhibition, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), on the theme 'Building NewSpace in India', Sivan, who is also Secretary of the Department of Space, said NASA provides laser for LISA mission
Wednesday, 15 September 2021 09:23
Finding the biggest collisions in the universe takes time, patience, and super steady lasers.
In May, NASA specialists working with industry partners delivered the first prototype laser for the European Space Agency-led Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or LISA, mission. This unique laser instrument is designed to detect the telltale ripples in gravitational fields caused by the mergers