One small step towards spaceflight in the UK as government publishes environmental guidance
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
The first-ever launch into space from British soil is now one step closer, with the government today (10 February 2021) publishing its environmental guidance for the spaceflight regulator.
A newly established consultation will also set out how the regulator, which will oversee all launch and space activity from the UK, should meet environmental objectives - helping ensure space travel fits Elon Musk Hints at When People Could Invest in Starlink Shares
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
In December, SpaceX won $885.5 million from the US Federal Communications Commission to support the company's Starlink satellite network.
Multibillionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told Twitter users on Tuesday when Starlink, a worldwide broadband network created by a constellation of satellites, could launch an initial public offering.
The tech mogul said that it will launch an IPO when Fabricating fully functional drones
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
From Star Trek's replicators to Richie Rich's wishing machine, popular culture has a long history of parading flashy machines that can instantly output any item to a user's delight.
While 3D printers have now made it possible to produce a range of objects that include product models, jewelry, and novelty toys, we still lack the ability to fabricate more complex devices that are essentially A new way to look for life-sustaining planets
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
It is now possible to capture images of planets that could potentially sustain life around nearby stars, thanks to advances reported by an international team of astronomers in the journal Nature Communications.
Using a newly developed system for mid-infrared exoplanet imaging, in combination with a very long observation time, the study's authors say they can now use ground-based telescopes AFRL Officers transfer to US Space Force in historic ceremony
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
Joining more than 2,400 Airmen across the nation, 13 Air Force Research Laboratory officers took the oath of office Feb. 1, transferring from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Space Force, in an induction ceremony held at Kirtland Air Force Base.
Col. Eric Felt, director of the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, presided over the ceremony. Distinguished guests, Maj. Gen. William "Neil" McCaslan NASA grants renewal and funding for deep space health protections
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
After a favorable program review in December 2020, NASA has exercised its option to renew the Houston-based Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) until 2028. TRISH works closely with NASA's Human Research Program in advancing innovations in biomedical research to protect astronauts on deep space missions.
The Institute will receive additional funding up to $134.6 millio ACTIVATE begins second year of Marine Cloud Study
Thursday, 11 February 2021 06:11
A NASA airborne study has returned to the field for a second year of science flights to advance the accuracy of short- and long-term climate models. The Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) began the third of six planned flight campaigns - two campaigns each year beginning in 2020 and ending in 2022 - in late January at NASA's Langley Research Ce Industry questions U.S. government support for commercial remote sensing
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 23:53
WASHINGTON — About 270 of the 620 remote sensing satellites in orbit are privately owned with about 200 of these belong to U.S. companies, according to the Aerospace Corp. Only about 50 are owned by the U.S.
DoD space agency launching experiments in preparation for 2022 satellite deployments
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 22:17
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s space agency this year will launch a series of experiments — including satellites with laser links and missile-tracking sensors — as is prepares to begin deploying a network of satellites in low-Earth orbit in 2022.
Teaching an old spacecraft new tricks to continue exploring the moon
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 21:17
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has far exceeded its planned mission duration, revealing that the Moon holds surprises: ice deposits that could be used to support future lunar exploration, the coldest places in the solar system in permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles, and that it is an active world that is shrinking, generating moonquakes and changing in front of our eyes.
Scientist proposes a new timeline for Mars terrains
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 21:17
Lynk to soon begin tests of cellular connectivity using first satellite
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 20:19
WASHINGTON — Lynk will start testing cellular connectivity services with its first small satellite in the near future as it plans to begin commercial service early next year.
During a panel discussion at the SmallSat Symposium Feb. 11, Margo Deckard, co-founder and chief operating officer of Lynk, said tests it performed last year demonstrated its ability to transmit text messages from spacecraft in low Earth orbit to unmodified cellphones on the ground, a capability it says can bridge a gap in connectivity.
Netherlands in white
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:55
Image:
As this Copernicus Sentinel-3 image captured today shows, the Netherlands remains pretty much snow-covered thanks to days of sub-zero temperatures following the country’s first major snowstorm in a decade. Researcher uses machine learning to classify stellar objects from TESS data
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 14:29
A game of chess has 20 possible opening moves. Imagine being asked to start a game with tens of millions of openings instead. That was the task assigned to Adam Friedman, a 2020 summer intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Here's the best place for explorers to harvest ice on Mars
Wednesday, 10 February 2021 13:32
Water ice, especially any located in the sub-surface, has long been a focal point of Mars exploration efforts. Reasons abound as to why—from the need to grow plants to the need to create more rocket fuel to blast off the planet for a round trip. Most of that effort has focused on the poles of the planet, where most of the water ice has been found.
Unfortunately, these extreme latitudes are also difficult locations for manned missions, due to their slack of sunlight and extremely low temperatures. Now, a team from the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) have mapped the density of water ice in a large chunk of the lower northern hemisphere, in an effort to help narrow down potential human landing sites at more welcoming latitudes.