NASA Study Traces Decade of Ammonia Air Pollution in Africa
Sunday, 21 November 2021 06:52
A new NASA-led study is the first to document changing atmospheric ammonia (NH3) concentrations in Africa over an extended period. Ammonia is an air pollutant which can lead to heart and lung related illness. When present in excess in an ecosystem, it can make soil more acidic and hinder plant growth.
Ammonia is emitted naturally from soils and vegetation fires, but agricultural activities Pangea Aerospace tests aerospike engine
Saturday, 20 November 2021 21:42
A European small launch vehicle startup has successfully tested a small version of an aerospike engine powered by methane and liquid oxygen it plans to scale up for use in an orbital vehicle.
Astra’s Rocket 3.3 reaches orbit on fourth attempt
Saturday, 20 November 2021 05:45
Astra Space’s Rocket 3.3 successfully reached orbit on a Nov. 20 launch, the fourth orbital launch attempt by the small launch vehicle startup.
ESA ministers approve strategy to work on terrestrial and space safety issues
Friday, 19 November 2021 23:49
The member states of the European Space Agency have endorsed a strategy to support work on terrestrial and space safety issues while also planning for future space exploration projects.
NASA seeks ideas for a nuclear reactor on the moon
Friday, 19 November 2021 20:44
NASA considers innovative business model for $500 million Earth Science campaign
Friday, 19 November 2021 19:39
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is soliciting information on how private sector innovation could help researchers make the most of a $500 million budget to obtain data on Earth’s changing surface.
Telesat goes public in a boost for LEO constellation funding talks
Friday, 19 November 2021 19:04
Satellite operator Telesat started trading as a public company Nov. 19 in the U.S. and Canada, boosting talks with export-credit agencies about funding the rest of its $5 billion Lightspeed broadband constellation.
French satellite startup Kinéis gets regulatory nod for U.S. expansion
Friday, 19 November 2021 18:48
French startup Kinéis secured regulatory approval Nov. 18 to connect internet of things devices in the United States to its planned nanosatellite constellation.
LightSail 2 has been flying for 30 months now, paving the way for future solar sail missions
Friday, 19 November 2021 14:20
The Ariane 6 countdown: Q&A with ArianeGroup civil program manager Franck Huiban
Friday, 19 November 2021 13:51
SpaceNews spoke with Franck Huiban, who leads ArianeGroup’s Ariane 6 program, about how it is adapting Ariane 6 for this fast-evolving market as the pandemic throws a wrench into the works.
Japanese space tourists arrive at launch site ahead of ISS trip
Friday, 19 November 2021 13:41
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa arrived at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday for training ahead of his flight to the International Space Station on a Russian-operated spacecraft.
Maezawa's mission—set for departure on December 8—will be the first to take space tourists to the ISS in over a decade.
The 45-year-old tycoon is the founder of Japan's largest online fashion mall and the country's 30th richest man, according to Forbes.
He will travel to the ISS for a 12-day mission with his assistant Yozo Hirano where Maezawa plans to document his journey for his YouTube channel.
They will travel to the orbital station in a Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.
The trio arrived at the Russia-leased cosmodrome on Friday "to complete pre-launch training", said Russia's space agency Roscosmos which has organised the flight together with US company Space Adventures.
Maezawa will be the first space tourist to travel to the ISS with Roscosmos since Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, in 2009.
Maezawa's mission rounds off a year that has seen several space journeys completed by non-professional astronauts and more players emerging in the market.
Rocky roads through Lanzarote
Friday, 19 November 2021 13:36
Image:
Take away the clouds, bulk up the humans with suits and add an orange-red filter and this could be an image from a future mission to Mars.
The actual site, the Corona lava tube in Lanzarote, Spain, is closer than one might think to the Red Planet.
That’s why participants of ESA’s Pangaea course came here this week for the third session of their planetary geology training.
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, ESA engineer Robin Eccleston and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins are this year’s students learning from geologists how to best explore the Moon and Mars right here on Earth.
Before ending up in
Week in images: 15 - 19 November 2021
Friday, 19 November 2021 13:10
Week in images: 15 - 19 November 2021
Discover our week through the lens
Japan, Australia condemn Russia for ‘irresponsible’ anti-satellite missile test
Friday, 19 November 2021 12:47
Japan and Australia have joined international condemnation of Russia for testing an anti-satellite weapon Nov. 15 that created over 1,500 pieces of debris in low Earth orbit.
IMM21: inflight call with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
Friday, 19 November 2021 12:30
Video:
00:14:30
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer talks to ESA ministers in charge of space from the International Space Station.