Copernical Team
NASA Collaborates with Industry to Advance Space Communications
The Communications Services Project (CSP) is leading NASA's efforts to usher in a new era of space communications. Through strategic partnerships with the commercial sector, CSP is focused on delivering commercial space relay communications services for NASA missions operating near Earth. With an ambitious target to integrate these services into the Near Space Network by 2030, CSP has allocated Terran Orbital Debuts Advanced SmallSat GEO Solution for Satellite Communications
Terran Orbital Corporation has made a significant move into the geosynchronous orbit (GEO) small satellite market with its unveiling of the SmallSat GEO solution, designed for satellites weighing over 500kg. This cutting-edge solution will be showcased at the upcoming SATELLITE 2024 trade show from March 18-21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C., featuring an immersive From Beyond Beyond, Voyager 1's unexpected message sparks hope and intrigue
Since November 2023, NASA's Voyager 1 has been emitting a consistent radio signal back to Earth, albeit one devoid of decipherable data. This enigmatic signal has been traced back to an anomaly within the spacecraft's flight data subsystem (FDS), a key onboard computer tasked with the compilation and transmission of vital scientific and engineering data.
On March 3, a deviation in the FDS' Earth from Space: Vienna, Austria
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The historic centre of Vienna, Austria’s capital city, is featured in this image captured on 23 June 2023. SpaceX comes close to completing test flight of mega rocket but loses spacecraft near end
SpaceX came close to completing an hourlong test flight of its mega rocket on its third try Thursday, but the spacecraft was lost as it descended back to Earth.
The company said it lost contact with Starship as it neared its goal, a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The first-stage booster also ended up in pieces, breaking apart much earlier in the flight over the Gulf of Mexico after launching from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border.
"The ship has been lost. So no splashdown today," said SpaceX's Dan Huot. "But again, it's incredible to see how much further we got this time around.
Supporting rapid disaster response through space
ESA has launched a new partnership with industry through a project called SMART-CONNECT. The project aims to mitigate the challenges presented when traditional communication channels are disrupted during times of crisis, through facilitating the efficient and timely exchange of secure information between first responders and disaster control centres.
SpaceX mega rocket makes successful test flight but lost in descent
Starship, the world's most powerful rocket, flew further and faster than ever before during its third test launch Thursday, although it was eventually lost as it re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said.
Lift-off from the company's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas came at 8:25 am local time (1325 GMT) and was carried live on a webcast watched by millions on social media platform X.
NASA Armstrong updates 1960s concept to study giant planets
NASA researchers are looking at the possibility of using a wingless, unpowered aircraft design from the 1960s to gather atmospheric data on other planets—doing the same work as small satellites but potentially better and more economically.
John Bodylski, a principal investigator at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, hypothesized a lifting body aircraft design NASA tested decades ago could meet the requirements for an atmospheric probe that can collect measurements of giant planets, like Uranus. The design relies on the aircraft's shape for lift, rather than wings.
NASA lights 'beacon' on moon with autonomous navigation system test
SpaceX's 3rd Starship launch makes it to space without exploding, but is lost on reentry
SpaceX's powerful Starship and Super Heavy rocket completed a more successful third orbital test flight from Texas on Thursday morning with no explosive endings on the way up that marred the first two test flights in 2023.
The way down, though, still saw more destructive ends as the first-stage booster came in at more than 600 mph hitting the Gulf of Mexico and the upper stage spacecraft broke up on reentry halfway around the Earth. The overall mission, though, was considered a success by SpaceX officials.
"This is the furthest that we've gotten in our test flight, but the further we fly, the more data that we can get and that's ultimately the measure of success here," said SpaceX commentator and quality systems engineering manager Kate Tice. "I think today has been a huge success, given where we were, we'd gone, and how much further we've gotten with both the booster and Starship itself."
The Federal Aviation Administration announced late Wednesday it had granted SpaceX a license for the Orbital Flight Test 3, and the 396-foot-tall rocket took flight at 9:25 a.m.