SpaceX test fires Starship Super Heavy Booster's 31 Engines
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Space Coast FL (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
On Thursday afternoon, at around 3:14 p.m. CST (2114 GMT) , SpaceX conducted a critical milestone towards an orbital test with a full duration static fire test, by simultaneously igniting all 33 next-generation Raptor engines of Booster 7 from SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas at Boca Chica Beach, located on the Gulf Coast east of Brownsville.
When

NASA conducts first 2023 test of redesigned SLS rocket engine
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Stennis Space Center MS (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
NASA's newly redesigned RS-25 engine for future flights of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, underwent its first hot fire test of the year on Feb. 8 at the agency's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
The series of testing supports production of new RS-25 engines by lead SLS engine contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne. The new engines will help power future Artemis missions

NASA's ESCAPADE mission headed to Mars in 2024 on Blue Origin's New Glenn
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Space Coast FL (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
Blue Origin, LLC of Kent, Washington, has been contracted by NASA to launch the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission through their Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program.
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, thus far, has only conducted suborbital flights using its New Shepard rocket, known for sending celebrities and space to

CAPSTONE mission demonstrating utility and resilience at the Moon
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
The CAPSTONE spacecraft continues to operate at the Moon and the vehicle is happy and healthy. The mission has accomplished 4 mission objectives and is making progress on additional objectives. Two mission objectives were completed during the transfer to the Moon and both directly informed Artemis 1 secondary payloads with regard to radio and ground station performance.
The system has been

JUICE's final take-off before lift-off
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Toulouse, France (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
The Airbus-built JUICE spacecraft is set to embark on a pioneering mission to explore the Jupiter system and study its magnetic fields. The decade-long mission, managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), will search for signs of life-bearing conditions on the Jovian moons, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto.
These moons have long been of interest to scientists and researchers due to their pot

NASA's NuSTAR reveals hidden light shows on the Sun
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 10, 2023
Even on a sunny day, human eyes can't see all the light our nearest star gives off. A new image displays some of this hidden light, including the high-energy X-rays emitted by the hottest material in the Sun's atmosphere, as observed by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). While the observatory typically studies objects outside our solar system - like massive black holes and co

HETDEX reveals galaxy gold mine in first large survey
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Austin TX (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
Astronomers have barely scratched the surface of mapping the nearly endless stars and galaxies of the heavens. Using supercomputers, researchers with The University of Texas at Austin have has now revealed the locations of more than 200,000 new astronomical objects. Their goal is to map even more and use that knowledge to predict the ultimate fate of the universe.
The Hobby-Eberly Telescop

NASA turns to AI to design mission hardware
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
Spacecraft and mission hardware designed by an artificial intelligence may resemble bones left by some alien species, but they weigh less, tolerate higher structural loads, and require a fraction of the time parts designed by humans take to develop.
"They look somewhat alien and weird," Research Engineer Ryan McClelland said, "but once you see them in function, it really makes sense."

AST SpaceMobile announces collaboration with Zain KSA
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Midland TX (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS), has announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Zain KSA, a leading telecommunications operator in Saudi Arabia. The signing took place at the international LEAP 2023 Tech Conference in Riyadh.
The MoU would enable AST SpaceMobile and Zain KSA to collaborate towards new telecom solutions and satellite-based digital services in Saudi Arabia

MDA secures new contract to supply Ka-band multibeam antennas for Argentina's ARSAT-SG1 Satellite
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Brampton, Canada (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
MDA Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, has announced a new contract award to design, build and supply all of the Ka-band multibeam antennas for the ARSAT-SG1 satellite. ARSAT is Argentina's national telecommunications company and ARSAT-SG1 will provide high-speed internet as well as digital video and voice servi

Shenzhou XV astronauts take their first spacewalk
Friday, 10 February 2023 04:36
Beijing (XNA) Feb 10, 2023
Shenzhou XV mission crew members have just concluded their first spacewalk, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The agency said in a news release early on Friday morning that mission commander Major General Fei Junlong and Senior Colonel Zhang Lu completed a seven-hour spacewalk and returned to the Wentian science module at 12:16 am (Beijing Time). The third crew member, Senior Colonel D

Defense giants are hungry for space companies
Thursday, 09 February 2023 21:45
Large defense companies are itching to buy space assets as part of the market is on the verge of a shake-out, executives discussing deal-making in the industry said Feb.
SpaceX performs Starship static-fire test
Thursday, 09 February 2023 21:11
SpaceX fired nearly all of the engines in the booster of its Starship launch vehicle in a ground test Feb.
Kelly: As rivals challenge U.S. in space, commercial industry needs to ‘step up’
Thursday, 09 February 2023 21:05
In a keynote speech at the Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Transportation Conference, Kelly highlighted the accomplishments of the U.S.
Military agency praised for leading the way on laser communications
Thursday, 09 February 2023 19:50
By requiring suppliers of laser terminals to comply with a common set of standards, the U.S.