French startup demonstrates iodine propulsion in potential boost for space debris mitigation efforts
Thursday, 21 January 2021 13:19
HELSINKI — French startup ThrustMe has performed the first on-orbit tests of an innovative iodine-fueled electric propulsion system, proving its ability to change a CubeSat’s orbit.
SpaceX to send TU Dresden satellite into space
Thursday, 21 January 2021 12:57
TU Dresden's SOMP2b satellite will be lifted into orbit by SpaceX on January 22, 2021. It will be used to investigate new nanomaterials under the extreme conditions of space, to test systems for converting the sun's heat into electricity and to precisely measure the residual atmosphere around the satellite. SOMP2b will begin its journey around the Earth at an altitude of 500 km—slightly higher than the ISS space station. It will orbit the Earth in a special polar, sun-synchronous orbit, always flying over the TU Dresden ground station at approximately the same time of day and sending measurement data.
SOMP2b is a follow-up satellite to SOMP2, a nanosatellite jointly developed by students, Ph.D. candidates and scientists from TU Dresden's Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering. SOMP2b stands for Student On-Orbit Measurement Project 2b. It is 20 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm in size and weighs a little less than 2 kilograms.
ESA and EU mend relations
Thursday, 21 January 2021 12:26
WASHINGTON — After fraying relations in recent years, officials with the European Union and European Space Agency say they’re committed to rebuilding a more cooperative relationship on space programs.
Nanosatellite thruster emits pure ions
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Boston MA (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
A 3D-printed thruster that emits a stream of pure ions could be a low-cost, extremely efficient propulsion source for miniature satellites.
The nanosatellite thruster created by MIT researchers is the first of its kind to be entirely additively manufactured, using a combination of 3D printing and hydrothermal growth of zinc oxide nanowires. It is also the first thruster of this type to pro
A 3D-printed thruster that emits a stream of pure ions could be a low-cost, extremely efficient propulsion source for miniature satellites.
The nanosatellite thruster created by MIT researchers is the first of its kind to be entirely additively manufactured, using a combination of 3D printing and hydrothermal growth of zinc oxide nanowires. It is also the first thruster of this type to pro NASA may limit its presence in Russia over shrinking cooperation on ISS
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 22, 2021
NASA may cut its presence in Russia over the shrinking cooperation on the International Space Station, sources in the space and rocket industry told Sputnik.
NASA currently has a central office in Moscow as well as its missions in the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center in Zvyozdny Gorodok, in the Mission Control Center in the Moscow Region and in the Institute of Medical a
NASA may cut its presence in Russia over the shrinking cooperation on the International Space Station, sources in the space and rocket industry told Sputnik.
NASA currently has a central office in Moscow as well as its missions in the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center in Zvyozdny Gorodok, in the Mission Control Center in the Moscow Region and in the Institute of Medical a Framework agreement facilitates future slot bookings by ESA
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Bremen, Germany (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus have agreed on service orders for two independent payload missions to be launched to the Bartolomeo payload hosting facility on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
The first payload mission is ESA's Exobiology Platform (EXPO). This facility carries a set of radiation experiments aimed at better understanding the e
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus have agreed on service orders for two independent payload missions to be launched to the Bartolomeo payload hosting facility on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
The first payload mission is ESA's Exobiology Platform (EXPO). This facility carries a set of radiation experiments aimed at better understanding the e Six things to know about NASA's Mars helicopter on its way to Mars
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 22, 2021
Ingenuity, a technology experiment, is preparing to attempt the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet.
When NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying a small but mighty passenger: Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter.
The helicopter, which weighs about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) on Earth and has a fuselage about the size of a tissue box, start
Ingenuity, a technology experiment, is preparing to attempt the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet.
When NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying a small but mighty passenger: Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter.
The helicopter, which weighs about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) on Earth and has a fuselage about the size of a tissue box, start Satellite-powered app to spot loneliness in hotspots in UK cities
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
London, UK (SPX) Jan 19, 2021
The satellite-enabled Care View application tackles social isolation and loneliness in urban areas by enlisting the help of an army of professional volunteers across a city, including police officers, postal workers and charity workers, who register on the app when they see signs people may be experiencing social isolation. The app provides a digital tool to help volunteers find people in need o
The satellite-enabled Care View application tackles social isolation and loneliness in urban areas by enlisting the help of an army of professional volunteers across a city, including police officers, postal workers and charity workers, who register on the app when they see signs people may be experiencing social isolation. The app provides a digital tool to help volunteers find people in need o GEM 63XL rocket motors will help launch ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Promontory UT (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
Northrop Grumman has conducted a validation ground test of an extended length 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63XL) in Promontory. This variation of the company's GEM 63 strap-on booster was developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to provide additional lift capability to the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
"This new motor optimizes our best-in-class technologies and le
Northrop Grumman has conducted a validation ground test of an extended length 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63XL) in Promontory. This variation of the company's GEM 63 strap-on booster was developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to provide additional lift capability to the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
"This new motor optimizes our best-in-class technologies and le A Hot Spot on Jupiter
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
This composite image shows a hot spot in Jupiter's atmosphere. In the image on the left, taken on Sept. 16, 2020 by the Gemini North Telescope, the hot spot appears bright in the infrared at a wavelength of 5 microns.
The inset image on the right was taken by the JunoCam visible-light imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, also on Sept. 16, during Juno's 29th close pass by Jupiter. Here, th
This composite image shows a hot spot in Jupiter's atmosphere. In the image on the left, taken on Sept. 16, 2020 by the Gemini North Telescope, the hot spot appears bright in the infrared at a wavelength of 5 microns.
The inset image on the right was taken by the JunoCam visible-light imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, also on Sept. 16, during Juno's 29th close pass by Jupiter. Here, th Solar system formation in two steps
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Oxford UK (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
An international team of researchers from the University of Oxford, LMU Munich, ETH Zurich, BGI Bayreuth, and the University of Zurich discovered that a two-step formation process of the early Solar System can explain the chronology and split in volatile and isotope content of the inner and outer Solar System.
Their findings will be published in Science (Friday 22 January 2021; under embar
An international team of researchers from the University of Oxford, LMU Munich, ETH Zurich, BGI Bayreuth, and the University of Zurich discovered that a two-step formation process of the early Solar System can explain the chronology and split in volatile and isotope content of the inner and outer Solar System.
Their findings will be published in Science (Friday 22 January 2021; under embar China's first solar probe to be lofted in 2022
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Nanjing (XNA) Jan 22, 2021
China's first solar probe, Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), is scheduled to be launched into space in the first half of 2022, marking the country's first-ever mission to "touch" the sun.
The satellite will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit 720 km above Earth to keep a close tab on the sun 24 hours a day. Measuring about 1,000 kg in total mass, the satellite is expected to o
China's first solar probe, Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), is scheduled to be launched into space in the first half of 2022, marking the country's first-ever mission to "touch" the sun.
The satellite will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit 720 km above Earth to keep a close tab on the sun 24 hours a day. Measuring about 1,000 kg in total mass, the satellite is expected to o European Commission awards launch contracts for next generation of Galileo satellites
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Brussels, Belgium (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
This week the European Commission has awarded two contracts for 12 Satellites (6 satellites each) for a total of EUR euro 1.47 billion, to ThalesAleniaSpace (Italy) and Airbus Defence and Space (Germany) following an open competition.
With this, the Commission is initiating the launch of the 2nd Generation of Galileo, the European satellite positioning system. The aim is to keep Galileo a
This week the European Commission has awarded two contracts for 12 Satellites (6 satellites each) for a total of EUR euro 1.47 billion, to ThalesAleniaSpace (Italy) and Airbus Defence and Space (Germany) following an open competition.
With this, the Commission is initiating the launch of the 2nd Generation of Galileo, the European satellite positioning system. The aim is to keep Galileo a 3D printing to pave the way for Moon colonization
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Jan 22, 2021
A research team from the Skoltech Center for Design, Manufacturing, and Materials (CDMM) comprising 2nd year Ph.D. student Maxim Isachenkov, Senior Research Scientist Svyatoslav Chugunov, Professor Iskander Akhatov, and Professor Igor Shishkovsky has prepared an extensive review on the use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies (also known as 3-D-printing) in crewed lunar exploration.
A research team from the Skoltech Center for Design, Manufacturing, and Materials (CDMM) comprising 2nd year Ph.D. student Maxim Isachenkov, Senior Research Scientist Svyatoslav Chugunov, Professor Iskander Akhatov, and Professor Igor Shishkovsky has prepared an extensive review on the use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies (also known as 3-D-printing) in crewed lunar exploration. Using ancient fossils and gravitational-wave science to predict earth's future
Thursday, 21 January 2021 09:58
Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Jan 20, 2021
A group of international scientists, including an Australian astrophysicist, has used knowhow from gravitational wave astronomy (used to find black holes in space) to study ancient marine fossils as a predictor of climate change.
The research, published in the journal Climate of the Past, is a unique collaboration between palaeontologists, astrophysicists and mathematicians - to improve th
A group of international scientists, including an Australian astrophysicist, has used knowhow from gravitational wave astronomy (used to find black holes in space) to study ancient marine fossils as a predictor of climate change.
The research, published in the journal Climate of the Past, is a unique collaboration between palaeontologists, astrophysicists and mathematicians - to improve th