'Space waves' offer new clues to space weather
Thursday, 04 May 2023 20:20More accurate space-weather predictions and safer satellite navigation through radiation belts could someday result from new insights into "space waves," researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University reported.
The group's latest research, published on May 4, 2023, by the journal Nature Communications, shows that seasonal and daily variations in the Earth's magnetic tilt, toward or away from the sun, can trigger changes in large-wavelength space waves.
Debate rages about future of New Horizons
Thursday, 04 May 2023 19:32NASA and the science team for a spacecraft in the outer reaches of the solar system are locked in a dispute about the future of that mission and the science it can perform.
Lockheed Martin announces reorganization of its space business
Thursday, 04 May 2023 19:17Lockheed Martin announced May 4 it is consolidating several businesses focused on space into three sectors: Commercial civil space, national security space, and strategic and missile defense.
Prep in the pool for Europe's next astronauts
Thursday, 04 May 2023 16:35A new cohort of astronauts at the European Space Agency's training center in Cologne, Germany, can expect to see time in both the pool and the classroom as they get ready to head into orbit.
Trainees dive into the water to emulate the experience of working in zero gravity, as well as studying a variety of subjects from medicine to geology.
The aim of the curriculum is to prepare the group for service on the International Space Station (ISS) and later on a potential mission to the moon.
"The biggest challenge is to learn so many different things in a very short period of time," British astronaut Rosemary Coogan, 31, told AFP in an interview.
Africa eyes potential bounty from space
Thursday, 04 May 2023 16:34After decades on the sidelines, African countries are venturing into the space industry, hoping to reap rewards in agriculture, disaster prevention and security.
Ivory Coast, which recently hosted a "NewSpace Africa" conference organized by the African Union, has announced the creation of a space agency and plans to build the country's first nanosatellite by 2024.
In April, Kenya's first working satellite was put into orbit by a SpaceX rocket launched from the United States.
The two countries follow African pioneers South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt—a trailblazer which owned the first African satellite sent into space in 1998.
ESA oversees in-orbit cybersecurity demonstration
Thursday, 04 May 2023 14:12NOAA's GOES-U satellite completes solar array deployment test
Thursday, 04 May 2023 12:19GOES-U, the fourth and final satellite in NOAA's GOES-R Series, recently completed a successful test deployment of its solar array to ensure it will function properly in space.
This critical test verified that the satellite's large, five-panel solar array—which is folded up when the satellite is launched—will properly deploy when GOES-U reaches geostationary orbit. During this test, engineers unfurled the five panels on rails that simulated the zero-gravity environment of space. Each solar panel is approximately 13 feet tall by 4.5 feet wide and weighs approximately 45 pounds.
Once GOES-U reaches orbit, the deployed solar panels will form a single solar array wing that will rotate once per day to continuously point its photovoltaic (solar) cells toward the sun. The photovoltaic cells will convert energy from the sun into electricity to power the entire satellite, including the instruments, computers, data processors, sensors, and telecommunications equipment. The solar array will generate more than 5,000 watts of power for the satellite. This is equivalent to the power needed to run a central air conditioning system in your home.
Meteosat Third Generation's first stunning image
Thursday, 04 May 2023 11:00Europe’s latest weather satellite, the Meteosat Third Generation Imager, has just delivered its first image of Earth. What does this satellite do exactly? And what does this mean for weather forecasting? Learn more about the Meteosat Third Generation and how this new generation of satellites is set to revolutionise weather forecasting in Europe.
The Meteosat Third Generation image can be downloaded here.
CesiumAstro to supply communications payloads for Space Development Agency satellites
Thursday, 04 May 2023 10:23CesiumAstro, a company that specializes in communications technologies for satellites and aircraft, will supply electronic phased-array payloads for seven U.S.
Aerovironment awarded $10M JPL to co-design and develop two helicopters for Mars Sample Return mission
Thursday, 04 May 2023 09:49AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) has been awarded a $10 million contract by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to co-design and co-develop conceptual designs and engineering development units of Mars Sample Recovery Helicopter flight systems. Future efforts could include detailed design, build, and test of qualification and flight hardware. The helicopters build upon the Ingenuity Ma
SpaceX lights up night skies with early Thursday Falcon 9 launch
Thursday, 04 May 2023 09:49SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 56 Starlink satellites early Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Falcon 9 lifted off at the scheduled 3:31 a.m. EDT launch time, with no need for a backup launch. The 56 Starlink Internet satellites were launched from Space Launch Complex 40 and carried to low-Earth orbit.
Innovative NASA alloy used for 3D printed rocket
Thursday, 04 May 2023 09:49In March, the Relativity Space Terran 1 rocket lit up the night sky as it launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the first launch of a test rocket made entirely from 3D-printed parts, measuring 100 feet tall and 7.5 feet wide. A form of additive manufacturing, 3D printing is a key technology for enhancing capabilities and reducing cost. Terran 1 included nine addit
First pair of Terran Orbital developed spacecraft now operating in GEO orbit
Thursday, 04 May 2023 09:49Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, has announced mission success for the first pair of Terran Orbital-developed spacecraft operating in or around the geosynchronous orbit (GEO) belt. The two spacecraft were built for Lockheed Martin and successfully completed their on-orbit demonstrat
Cosmology: On the trail of a mysterious force in space
Thursday, 04 May 2023 09:49When Edwin Hubble observed distant galaxies in the 1920s, he made the groundbreaking discovery that the universe is expanding. It was not until 1998, however, that scientists observing Type Ia supernovae further discovered that the universe is not just expanding but has begun a phase of accelerating expansion. "To explain this acceleration, we need a source," says Joe Mohr, astrophysicist
Scientists find link between photosynthesis and 'fifth state of matter'
Thursday, 04 May 2023 09:49Inside a lab, scientists marvel at a strange state that forms when they cool down atoms to nearly absolute zero. Outside their window, trees gather sunlight and turn them into new leaves. The two seem unrelated-but a new study from the University of Chicago suggests that these processes aren't so different as they might appear on the surface. The study, published in PRX Energy on April 28,