Synthetic data helps train algorithms to spot rare objects
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 20:54
Computer vision models only work after they have ingested extensive data of various objects, which is not always available.
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Ligado Networks critics step up opposition as service launch nears
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 18:50
Ligado Networks faces renewed calls to block its terrestrial wireless plans over GPS interference concerns as the company prepares to turn part of its network on as early as Sept. 30.
NASA expects decisions on ISS crew swaps by June
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 18:21
NASA says it expects to know by June whether a Russian cosmonaut will fly on a Crew Dragon mission in September in exchange for a NASA astronaut flying on a Soyuz, as the agency’s leadership continues to express optimism about long-term cooperation with Russia on the space station.
ACT to embed thermal management in Carbon Mapper structures
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 16:10
Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT), a thermal management specialist, announced a contract with Planet to design and build structures for the first two Carbon Mapper methane-monitoring satellites.
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Halifax International raising funds to build imaging satellites for Ukraine
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 14:49
Satellogic would produce satellites for Ukraine under a Halifax International initiative
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China plans system to take out asteroids hurtling toward Earth
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 14:46
China plans to develop a system for monitoring asteroids that pose a threat to earth, highlighting the nation's growing ambitions for its space program.
The country will also explore ways for taking out asteroids that endanger the planet, Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the China National Space Administration, said in a TV interview, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
To test the system, China intends to send a spacecraft toward an asteroid in 2025 or 2026 to study it and then change its course, Wu added, without providing details on how that would work.
The Asian nation has pushed forward with plans for its space program in recent years. In January, Wu said Beijing signed an agreement with Russia to build a base on the moon, and last year a Chinese moon mission returned to earth with lunar samples.
China's aspirations for its space program have ramped up tensions with the U.S. The two sides have sparred over SpaceX satellites that Beijing said came dangerously close to its space station, prompting the government of the Asian nation to criticize SpaceX in a memo to a United Nations committee that oversees operations in space.
NASA gives green light for OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to visit another asteroid
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 14:30
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will swing by Earth to deliver a sample from asteroid Bennu on Sept. 24, 2023. But it won't clock out after that.
NASA has extended the University of Arizona-led mission, which will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX, to study near-Earth asteroid Apophis for 18 months. Apophis will make a close approach to Earth in 2029.
The University of Arizona will lead the mission, which will make its first maneuver toward Apophis 30 days after the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivers the sample it collected from Bennu back in October 2020. At that point, the original mission team will split—the sample analysis team will analyze the Bennu sample, while the spacecraft and instrument team transitions to OSIRIS-APEX, which is short for OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer.
Space companies donate funds for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 14:11
Several firms in the commercial space industry have each pledged $50,000 to finance humanitarian efforts in Ukraine
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Adranos, a startup that makes solid rocket motors, closes $20 million funding round
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 13:00
Adranos, a startup that manufactures solid rocket motors, announced April 26 it has closed a $20 million Series A funding round.
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U.S., South Korea agree to cooperate on space situational awareness for military purposes
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 12:43
The SSA pact is part of a broader space security agreement reached between John D. Hill, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense, and Cho Yong-geun, the South Korean defense ministry’s director of North Korea policy, during the April 25 session of the Space Cooperation Working Group (SCWG) in Washington
Living Planet Symposium: apply for student grants
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 12:20
Living Planet Symposium: apply for student grants
Agenda and Registration link now live for ESA Careers Week!
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 10:32
ESA Careers Week is just around the corner and we are excited to see you during this four-day virtual event from 2 - 5 May. Curious to know what’s on the agenda and how to register for the fair? Keep reading!
PredaSAR nears first launch of its radar imaging constellation
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 10:00
Radar imaging startup PredaSAR is preparing to deploy its first satellite on the SpaceX Transporter 6 rideshare, projected to launch in October.
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NASA to repurpose OSIRIS-REx for second asteroid encounter
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 09:32
A NASA mission to return samples from one near Earth asteroid will get an extended mission to visit a second asteroid under a plan approved by the agency April 25.
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Keeper of the winds shines on
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 07:00
Launched back in 2018, Aeolus has outlived its 36-month in-orbit design life – but going above and beyond, it continues to deliver excellent data. This shows that there’s life yet in the satellite, meaning ESA’s wind mission is now expected to continue shining a light on the wind for another year.