Copernical Team
SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission aiming for history with first private spacewalk
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, a daring multiday orbital expedition that will feature the first-ever spacewalk by private citizens, is targeting liftoff early Tuesday, though weather could play spoilsport.
A four-member crew, led by Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Iscaacman, is also aiming to fly deeper into space than any other manned mission in more than half a century, reaching a peak altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers).
"SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, September 10 at 3:38 am ET (0738 GMT) for Falcon 9's launch of Polaris Dawn to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida," SpaceX said in a news release.
Juice confirms that Earth is habitable
During its flyby of Earth on 20 August, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) found ingredients for life in Earth’s atmosphere.
Satellites enable accurate monitoring of groundwater use with OPENet
Droughts across the Western U.S. have sparked a growing interest in developing groundwater management strategies. Farmers and water managers have long relied on groundwater meters to measure the amount of water used for irrigation, but these meters are not widely available. To address this, researchers at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) investigated whether OpenET, a satellite-based platform
Satellites unlock new insights into aerosol layer heights over oceans
A new study has shown that NASA's PACE satellite, equipped with the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), can precisely measure the height of aerosol layers above ocean surfaces. This capability is essential for improving our understanding of how aerosols influence weather patterns and climate and is a major advancement in atmospheric correction techniques used in satellite-based ocean color monitoring.
NASA begins monitoring polar heat emissions in far-infrared spectrum
NASA's latest climate-focused mission has commenced its study of far-infrared radiation emitted by the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The data collected by the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experiment (PREFIRE) will play a critical role in predicting the impact of climate change on Earth's ice, oceans, and weather, aiding global efforts to prepare for environmental shifts. PREFIR
SATIM partners with Capella Space to enhance AI-driven object detection in SAR imagery
Capella Space Corp., a prominent provider of high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, has announced that SATIM, a leader in automatic object detection and classification software, is now a Capella Space Certified Analytics Partner. This partnership allows SATIM to utilize Capella's vast imagery archive to boost its advanced analytics capabilities, delivering enhanced actionable in
Gilat secures $12M in orders for SkyEdge VSAT Platforms
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE: GILT), a global leader in satellite networking technologies and services, has announced that it secured over $12 million in orders from a prominent satellite operator. These orders are aimed at enhancing the operator's global satellite communication (SATCOM) network using Gilat's SkyEdge family of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) platforms. The del
UAlbany physicists highlight ongoing progress in dark matter search
Physicists at the University at Albany celebrated the latest advancements in the search for direct evidence of dark matter on Monday, as new findings from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) project were presented at two scientific conferences. Dark matter is thought to be a massive, yet unseen, component of the universe's structure. The LUX-ZEPLIN detector, known as the most sensitive dark matter detecto
NASA's carbon nanotube technology aids search for life on exoplanets
NASA's development of a carbon nanotube material is poised to significantly enhance the search for exoplanets, some of which may harbor life. Originally devised in 2007 by a team led by John Hagopian and Stephanie Getty at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, this carbon nanotube technology is now being refined for potential use on NASA's upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). HWO will be t
Major leap for nuclear clock paves way for ultraprecise timekeeping
The world keeps time with the ticks of atomic clocks, but a new type of clock under development - a nuclear clock - could revolutionize how we measure time and probe fundamental physics. An international research team led by scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder, has demonstrated key element