Washington DC (SPX) Feb 01, 2024
NASA is wrapping up the initial phase of its Fission Surface Power Project, which focused on developing concept designs for a small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactor that could be used during a future demonstration on the Moon and to inform future designs for Mars. NASA awarded three $5 million contracts in 2022, tasking each commercial partner with developing an initial desi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 01, 2024
In a significant advancement in the field of exoplanetary science, astronomers have unveiled the discovery of a new 'super-Earth', TOI-715 b, orbiting within the habitable zone of a red dwarf star. This discovery, made possible by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), has ignited interest in the astronomical community due to its potential implications in the ongoing search for life b

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 01, 2024
In a significant stride for X-ray astronomy, the German eROSITA consortium has unveiled data from the first all-sky survey by the eROSITA telescope, stationed on the Spectrum-RG (SRG) satellite. This landmark release, encapsulating around 900,000 distinct X-ray sources, forms the largest X-ray catalogue to date. The consortium also issued a series of scientific papers today, spanning topics from

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 31, 2024
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY), a leader in geospatial intelligence and global monitoring, has achieved a significant milestone by advancing to the third and final phase of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity's (IARPA) multi-year Space-based Machine Automated Recognition Technique (SMART) program. This progression underscores BlackSky's pivotal role in enhancing the capab

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 31, 2024
MetTel, a company recognized by Gartner for its leadership in Managed Network Services, is planning a private event in Washington, D.C., on February 7. The event, named "Space Age Communications: Bridging Network Gaps for Government Agencies," aims to present the capabilities of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites for government network connectivity. The need for dependable, efficient, and se

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 01, 2024
BAE Systems (LON: BA), a leader in defense and aerospace technology, has reached a pivotal phase in its development of an advanced military Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and a cutting-edge semiconductor. The company recently announced the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for its Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 Miniature Serial Interface (MSI) pr

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 01, 2024
Kongsberg NanoAvionics US, a leader in smallsat mission integration, has entered into a new partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a premier U.S. science and technology institution, for the development of a CubeSat mission aimed at enhancing our understanding of space radiation. The mission, designated the Experiment for Space Radiation Analysis (ESRA), will employ a 12U C

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Teams from ESA, France’s space agency CNES and ArianeGroup successfully completed  the disconnection and retraction of the Ariane 6 cryogenic systems on 30 January 2024.

These operations mark the start of dismantling the Ariane 6 test model to make way for its first launch. The combined test phase for Ariane 6 using propellants is now over and the European rocket is on track for its inaugural launch.

The test model that is on the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, stands 62 m high. It is exactly the same as the ‘production model’ Ariane 6 rockets

Black holes are like temperamental toddlers. They spill food all the time, but ESA’s XMM-Newton has caught a black hole in the act of ‘flipping over the table’ during an otherwise civilised meal.

This act prevents the galaxy surrounding the black hole from forming new stars, giving us insight into how black holes and galaxies co-evolve.

Controlling a single satellite in orbit is tough enough, but to oversee a pair of satellites as they fly in close formation around one another is likely to be extremely challenging. To simplify oversight of ESA’s coming double-satellite Proba-3 mission, its team is making sure controllers will obtain visualisations of the satellites’ relative positions in real time.