...the who's who,
and the what's what 
of the space industry

Space Careers

news Space News
If the world were coming to an end, what would be the most ethical way to rebuild humanity off-planet?
Credit: NASA

Last week, scientists announced that for the first time on record, Antarctic ice has failed to "substantially recover" over winter, in a "once in 7.5-million-year event." Climate change is the most likely culprit.

Petra Heil, a sea ice physicist from the Australian Antarctic Division, told the ABC it could tip the world into a new state. "That would be quite concerning to the sustainability of human conditions on Earth, I suspect."

And in March, a senior United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council the risk of nuclear weapons being used today is higher than at any time since the end of the Cold War.

Both warnings speak to concerns about Earth's security. Will our planet be able to support human life in the future? And if not, will humanity have another chance at survival in space?

'Billionauts' and how to choose who goes

Over the past few years, we've witnessed the rise of the "billionaut." The ultra-wealthy are engaged in a private space race costing billions of dollars, while regular citizens often condemn the wasted resources and contribution to global carbon emissions.

New Hyde Park NY (SPX) Aug 03, 2023
Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. (iRocket) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) West to develop engines and stage technology for their next-generation fully reusable Shockwave launch vehicle. Members from AFRL's Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards AFB, California, and iRocket, a privately-owned corporation, agreed
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Aug 03, 2023
Hisdesat, the Spanish government satellite operator, has announced that the first satellite in the SPAINSAT NG programme, SpainSat NG-I, will be ready for launch in summer of 2024 after confirming that the programme is making good progress. The US company Space X will be in charge of launching the Spanish satellite into orbit with a Falcon 9 launcher, from its base at Cape Canaveral or from NASA
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Aug 03, 2023
In May 2023, the HYDIS2 consortium, composed of 19 partners and more than 20 subcontractors across 14 European countries, submitted a proposal for a concept architecture and technology maturation study of an endo-atmospheric interceptor against new high-end emerging threats, in the framework of the European Defence Fund 2023 work programme. On the 12th of July 2023, following a positive evaluati
San Francisco CA (SPX) Aug 03, 2023
Asteroid Institute has launched a publicly available Precovery service that can both confirm and refine the orbits of asteroids by rapidly searching through a collection of astronomical data that has been curated and hosted on Google Cloud. The service, which runs on the Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping (ADAM) platform and its unified observational dataset, can provide results in a matter
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 03, 2023
Earth's oldest craters could give scientists critical information about the structure of the early Earth and the composition of bodies in the solar system as well as help to interpret crater records on other planets. But geologists can't find them, and they might never be able to, according to a new study. The study was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, AGU's journal for
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 03, 2023
Working together without direct human input, three rovers each the size of a carry-on bag will map the lunar surface in 3D, using cameras and ground-penetrating radar. NASA is sending a trio of miniature rovers to the Moon to see how well they can cooperate with one another without direct input from mission controllers back on Earth. A teamwork-minded experiment to demonstrate new technolo
Hindmarsh, Australia (SPX) Aug 03, 2023
Southern Launch and the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation will begin work on Australia's first permanent commercial sub-orbital space launch facility after planning consent was granted for the Koonibba Test Range. Southern Launch CEO Lloyd Damp says, 'The development of permanent, world-class facilities at the Koonibba Test Range will put Australia on the map as a space-faring nati

"Hoping for Frost" Sol 3906

Thursday, 03 August 2023 12:33
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 01, 2023
Earth planning: Tuesday, August 1, 2023: Today we wrapped a single-sol plan for sol 3906. Our planning for this sol was primarily constrained by power. We had attempted to conduct a frost experiment over the weekend which failed, and so we are striving to save power to be able to attempt the experiment again on Wednesday's plan. The blog post for that weekend's plan gives an excellent descriptio
Vladivostok, Russia (XNA) Aug 03, 2023
Russia's first lunar station in nearly 50 years, Luna-25, will fly to the Moon in the early morning of Aug 11, local media reported on Thursday. According to Russia's RIA Novosti, the launch date is set for Aug 11 when the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the Fregat upper stage and the automatic station will lift off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, located in the Amur Oblast, at 2:10 a.m. Moscow time
Westminster CO (SPX) Aug 02, 2023
Maxar Technologies, provider of comprehensive space solutions and secure, precise, geospatial intelligence, has announced that the Galaxy 37/Horizons-4 satellite built for Intelsat is performing as expected after launch. The spacecraft was manufactured by Maxar in Palo Alto, California, and launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Shortly aft

China launches Fengyun-3 satellite

Thursday, 03 August 2023 12:33
Jiuquan (XNA) Aug 03, 2023
China on Thursday launched a satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China. The Fengyun-3 06 satellite was launched at 11:47 am (Beijing Time) by a Long March-4C carrier rocket and successfully entered the planned orbit. The launch marked the 481st flight mission of the Long March series carrier rockets. span class="BDL">Source: Xinhua News A
Stanford CA (SPX) Aug 03, 2023
Dunes, the mounds of sand formed by the wind that vary from ripples on the beach to towering behemoths in the desert, are incarnations of surface processes, climate change, and the surrounding atmosphere. For decades, scientists have puzzled over why they form different patterns. Now, Stanford researchers have found a way to interpret the meaning of these patterns. Their results, published
Los Angeles (AFP) Aug 2, 2023
More than half a century after he materialized on far-flung planets as Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, William Shatner has beamed into a distant land in a demonstration of hologram technology. The "Star Trek" actor was a guest speaker at an advertising conference in Sydney, Australia, where his lifelike image appeared in a box like a giant action figure - despite his being

Counting wildfires across the globe

Thursday, 03 August 2023 10:50
Worldwide fires from ESA’s World Fire Atlas

In recent weeks, devastating wildfires have spread in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia and Canada, causing human casualties as well as massive environmental and economic damage.

While wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems, scientists have warned that they are becoming more frequent and more widespread. In response, an upgraded version of ESA’s World Fire Atlas is now available providing a detailed analysis of wildfires across the globe.

Page 779 of 2019