Blue Origin reveals its orbital maneuvering vehicle: Blue Ring
Thursday, 19 October 2023 18:24
The Jeff Bezos-founded aerospace company, Blue Origin, recently announced its new and upcoming Swiss army knife-style spacecraft platform, Blue Ring, which comes after very little public discussion by Blue Origin regarding this project. For example, a January 2023 story broke when Blue Origin briefly announced a job posting for Blue Ring Senior Program Manager on its Careers page, but the job was pulled less than 24 hours later. Overall, Blue Origin has been quite mum about Blue Ring.
While the most recent announcement was brief, it conveyed how the goal of Blue Ring will be to provide a multitude of services, including logistics, refueling, and transportation, and is slated to be part of a new Blue Origin business unit called In-Space Systems.
Growing plants in space
Thursday, 19 October 2023 16:30
As NASA plans missions to the moon and Mars, a key factor is figuring out how to feed crew members during their weeks, months, and even years in space.
Astronauts on the International Space Station primarily eat prepackaged food, which requires regular resupply and can degrade in quality and nutrition. Researchers are exploring the idea of crews growing some of their food during a mission, testing various crops and equipment to figure out how to do this without a lot of extra hardware or power.
Picking the right plants
The first step in this research is identifying which plants to test. NASA started a project in 2015 with the Fairchild Botanical Garden in Miami called "Growing Beyond Earth." The program has recruited hundreds of middle and high school science classes across the U.S. to grow different seeds in a habitat similar to one on the space station.
A patch for the stars
Thursday, 19 October 2023 14:19
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Marcus Wandt in Axiom Space flightsuit Webb pinpoints a high-speed jet stream on Jupiter
Thursday, 19 October 2023 14:00
Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) have discovered a high-speed jet stream sitting over Jupiter’s equator, above the main cloud decks.
In annual report to Congress, Pentagon highlights China’s ‘refusal to engage’
Thursday, 19 October 2023 13:18
Ariane 6 joint update report, 19 October 2023
Thursday, 19 October 2023 13:00
The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force consists of top management of ESA, as the overall Ariane 6 procuring entity and launch system architect, of the French space agency CNES, as the launch base prime contractor, of ArianeGroup as the launcher system prime contractor and of Arianespace as the launch service provider. This group reports regularly on progress being made towards inaugural flight of the new Ariane 6 launcher.
Information session on the outcome of ESA’s 317th Council
Thursday, 19 October 2023 12:00
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00:48:00
ESA Member States met for the 317th session of the ESA Council on 18 and 19 October.
Watch the replay of the information session in which ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Council Chair Renato Krpoun share the outcome of the meeting. They give an update to media on plans for ESA to cooperate with the UN’s Environment Programme on the use of Earth observation data and technology for the environment, as well as providing assistance to Poland for its national Earth observation project. They also share the latest plans for a Space Summit to be held
Copernicus operations resilience: Inuvik wildfires
Thursday, 19 October 2023 12:00
Copernicus operations resilience: Inuvik wildfires
Chinese satellite cluster utilizes InSAR technology for advanced terrain mapping
Thursday, 19 October 2023 09:33
China's PIESAT-1, a unique constellation of remote-sensing satellites arranged in a wheel-like formation, has successfully acquired high-precision topographic data using multi-baseline interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technology. This achievement marks China's first in-orbit application of this advanced mapping system, according to an announcement made by the Aerospace Informatio Star trackers emerge as new tool for high-precision space debris detection
Thursday, 19 October 2023 09:33
Neuraspace, a trailblazer in space traffic management (STM), has entered into a collaborative effort with Arcsec, a well-known supplier of star trackers. The alliance aims to employ Arcsec's star trackers in the detection and analysis of space debris, a move expected to bring a sea change in how space debris is managed.
The collaboration will facilitate Neuraspace in furnishing its clients Space Development Agency partners with SpiderOak for OrbitSecure
Thursday, 19 October 2023 09:33
Space cybersecurity firm SpiderOak has secured an Other Transactional Authority agreement with the Space Development Agency (SDA). The contract aims to explore the integration of SpiderOak's OrbitSecure software suite into the Space Force's Rapid Resilient Command and Control initiative. This partnership aspires to bolster the cybersecurity of command and control systems as the Space Force conti Rocket Lab Moves Into System Integration Phase for NASA's Mars Mission
Thursday, 19 October 2023 09:33
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has entered a crucial phase in its collaboration with NASA on the ESCAPADE mission, a project aiming to study Mars' hybrid magnetosphere. The company announced that the twin spacecraft for the mission have moved into the system integration phase, aligning with a launch scheduled for 2024.
Spearheaded by Dr. Rob Lillis at the University of California, Berkeley's Space S Planetary Scientist Alan Stern Joins Virgin Galactic for Research Mission
Thursday, 19 October 2023 09:33
Dr. Alan Stern, a leading planetary scientist and the Associate Vice President of Southwest Research Institute's (SwRI) Space Science Division, will fly aboard the VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic's commercial spaceship, on November 2. The upcoming flight is not just a personal milestone for Stern but is set as a precursor to a NASA-funded Virgin Galactic suborbital flight, during which he will execut