Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology have developed an innovative method for designing satellite mega constellations aimed at enhancing low Earth orbit (LEO) observations. This new approach divides the constellation into two types of satellites: basic satellites and accompanying satellites, forming groups that are evenly distributed around the globe. The design method focuses

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
AST SpaceMobile has announced that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted the company an initial license for space-based operations in the United States. This approval allows AST SpaceMobile to launch and operate V, S, and UHF frequencies for gateway, feeder link, and telemetry, tracking, and control operations for the first five commercial BlueBird satellites. This F

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
Muon Space, a leading provider of space systems, has successfully completed a $56.7 million Series B funding round led by Activate Capital. The round also saw participation from Acme Capital, Costanoa Ventures, Radical Ventures, and Congruent Ventures. This new funding will accelerate the development of Muon's Halo Platform and expand the company's capabilities to serve its growing customer base

London, UK (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
The University of Leicester has completed the construction of an advanced x-ray telescope, which is set to be integrated into a spacecraft to enhance our understanding of solar winds and their effects on Earth's magnetosphere. The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), part of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission, is a wide-field X-ray telescope designed to spectrally ma

Paris, France (SPX) Aug 05, 2024
Airbus has been selected by the French Space Agency (CNES) to design and build two state-of-the-art microwave radiometers. These instruments are part of the French contribution to the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS), specifically for the C2OMODO mission (Convective Core Observations through MicrOwave Derivatives in the trOpics). AOS is a major international collaborative effort involving

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
When a robotic rover lands on another world, scientists have a limited amount of time to collect data from the troves of explorable material, because of short mission durations and the length of time to complete complex experiments. That's why researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are investigating the use of machine learning to assist in the rapid analy

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
Magdrive, a startup specializing in advanced electrical propulsion systems, has announced a partnership with D-Orbit, a leader in space logistics, to test the Magdrive Rogue propulsion thruster. The in-orbit demonstration mission is scheduled for June 2025 and was unveiled at the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah. "We are very excited to show the industry the potential of our Magdr

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
Ascending Node Technologies (ANT), a leader in collaborative mission management solutions, has announced the launch of its Spaceline 3D mission visualization software. This software supports continuous flight planning simulations for NASA's $20 million Aspera small-sat UV astrophysics mission, set to explore nearby galaxies from low Earth orbit beginning in 2026. Spaceline is an affordable

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
A significant study has revealed that red dwarf stars can produce stellar flares with far-ultraviolet (far-UV) radiation levels much higher than previously thought. This discovery indicates that the intense UV radiation from these flares could considerably affect the habitability of planets orbiting red dwarf stars. This research, led by current and former astronomers from the University of Hawa

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
New research suggests that Venus, often considered Earth's hostile twin, may share a geological history with our planet. Scientists have identified that Venus' extensive plateaus, called tesserae, might have formed through processes similar to those that created Earth's earliest continents billions of years ago. Led by Associate Professor Fabio Capitanio from the Monash University Sc