Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 09, 2021
An award-winning composite material that has proven effective against radiation in nuclear submarines will be sent to the orbital outpost for further testing this year, the Russian space agency said on Monday. "Space is known for its elevated radiation levels... The invention has already been tested in nuclear subs. If the space experiment proves to be equally successful the material will

Beijing (XNA) Feb 08, 2021
China conducted a land-based, midcourse missile interception test on Thursday-the fifth land-based, anti-ballistic missile test the country has publicly announced. The Defense Ministry said in a brief statement late on Thursday that the test had achieved its goals, and the operation was defensive in nature, not targeting any other country. Before the latest operation, China had succe

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 08, 2021
As commercial space companies increase the cadence of successful rocket launches, access to space is becoming more routine for both government and commercial interests. But even with regular launches, modern rockets impose mass and volume limits on the payloads they deliver to orbit. This size constraint hinders developing and deploying large-scale, dynamic space systems that can adapt to change

Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 08, 2021
While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has disavowed an interest in militarizing space, several members of the alliance, including the US, UK, and France, have oriented themselves toward conflict in the space domain in recent years. The North Atlantic alliance has selected the French city of Toulouse to host its new higher education center for military space affairs. NAT

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
Betelgeuse is normally one of the brightest, most recognizable stars of the winter sky, marking the left shoulder of the constellation Orion. But lately, it has been behaving strangely: an unprecedentedly large drop in its brightness has been observed in early 2020 (Figure 1), which has prompted speculation that Betelgeuse may be about to explode. To find out more, an international team of

Boston MA (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
Astronomers may have found our galaxy's first example of an unusual kind of stellar explosion. This discovery, made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, adds to the understanding of how some stars shatter and seed the universe with elements critical for life on Earth. This intriguing object, located near the center of the Milky Way, is a supernova remnant called Sagittarius A East, or Sg

Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
The "planet-hunting" mission PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) of the European Space Agency (ESA) is a space-based observatory to find and study extrasolar planetary systems with emphasis on the properties of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars. It is scheduled to launch in 2026. Mid-January RUAG Space, a leading supplier to the space indust

Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 09, 2021
Areas featuring subsurface frozen water ice that could benefit future human explorers have been identified in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars, a new paper led by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Gareth A. Morgan says. Through the integration of orbital datasets from several NASA spacecraft - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Global Surveyor - in concert with new

New Delhi (Sputnik) Feb 10, 2021
"Gaganyaan" - India's first human spaceflight programme - is due to take off in December 2021. Four of its astronauts are currently undergoing rigorous 11-month training in Russia. From lip-smacking upma and poha for breakfast to biryani for lunch, and korma with chapatis for dinner, Indian scientists have prepared a special menu of popular Indian dishes to tickle the tastebuds of Indian a

Sparks NV (SPX) Feb 10, 2021
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the global aerospace and national security company owned by Eren and Fatih Ozmen, is a step closer to landing the world's first commercial spaceplane on U.S. soil. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) awarded the re-entry site license to Cape Canaveral Spaceport Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) in Florida at requ