Sydney, Australia (SPX) Nov 16, 2024
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the country's primary space contractor, is preparing for the inaugural flights of two new carrier rocket models in the coming months. Ma Tao, deputy head of spacecraft operations at CASC, announced that the first launch of the Long March 8A is planned for January 2025 at the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center in Wench

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 17, 2024
In a provocative recent article published in Nature, astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch proposes that the ongoing quest to detect life on Mars may need a complete rethinking. His comment underscores that while NASA's Viking landers were groundbreaking for their time, the experimental approach taken might have inadvertently hindered the detection of Martian life by using methods unsuitable for it

Washington (AFP) Nov 16, 2024
Should NASA return to the Moon, or go straight to Mars? Maintain its focus on climate science, or pivot away? President-elect Donald Trump's second term, alongside SpaceX CEO and new consigliere Elon Musk, could mark a Big Bang for the US space program. The brash billionaire duo share a knack for disruption and a hunger for making history - qualities tailor-made for space exploration.

Week in images: 11-15 November 2024

Discover our week through the lens

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 15, 2024
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST), in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), successfully completed the development of a spaceflight-ready robotics suite designed for satellite servicing on October 8. Supported by DARPA funding, NRL created the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) Integrated

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 15, 2024
Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE American: GSAT), a leader in next-generation mobile satellite and communications services, announced that its Mexican subsidiary, Mobile Satellite Services Mexico S. De R.L. DE C.V., has been declared the winner of Auction #13 (Licitacion No. IFT-13) by Mexico's Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT). This auction pertains to the Complementary Terrestrial Service fo

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 15, 2024
Quadsat has announced a partnership with CUSP Technologies to expand its satellite network emulation services across Africa. This collaboration is part of Quadsat's newly introduced global Service Partner Network, designed to offer customers around the world streamlined access to its advanced drone-based satellite emulation technology. CUSP Technologies,

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 14, 2024
Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) announced that its venture capital unit, Booz Allen Ventures, LLC, has made a strategic investment in Starfish Space, a company pioneering satellite servicing technology, including life extension and end-of-life disposal services. This investment is aimed at reinforcing the sustainability and resilience of space infrastructure for both government and commercial mi

Beijing (AFP) Nov 15, 2024
China is expected to push forward in its quest to build the first lunar base on Friday, launching an in-space experiment to test whether the station's bricks could be made from the Moon's own soil. Brick samples will blast off aboard a cargo rocket heading for China's Tiangong space station, part of Beijing's mission to put humans on the Moon by 2030 and build a permanent base there by 2035.