Two Environmental Protection Satellites Begin Operations in China
Sunday, 28 July 2024 23:31China has officially commenced the operation of two advanced environmental protection satellites, as announced by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). During a handover ceremony at CNSA's headquarters in Beijing, control of the Atmospheric Environmental Surveyor and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Inventory Satellite was transferred to their designated users. These users includ
NASA-Backed Burst Test Advances Orbital Reef Development
Sunday, 28 July 2024 23:31A critical component of the Orbital Reef commercial space station, developed by Blue Origin and Sierra Space with NASA funding, has successfully completed a full-scale burst pressure test. This achievement marks significant progress in NASA's efforts to establish new low Earth orbit destinations. This milestone comes under a NASA Space Act Agreement awarded to Blue Origin in 2021. The Orbi
Ariel's Carbon Dioxide Indicates Potential Subsurface Ocean on Uranus' Moon
Sunday, 28 July 2024 23:31The surface of Uranus' moon Ariel contains substantial carbon dioxide ice, particularly on its trailing hemisphere, the side that faces away from its orbital motion. This is unexpected as carbon dioxide, even in the distant Uranian system-20 times farther from the Sun than Earth-easily sublimates into gas and escapes into space. Researchers propose that the carbon dioxide on Ariel's surfac
Kepler's 1607 Sunspot Sketches Shed Light on Early Solar Cycles
Sunday, 28 July 2024 23:31Researchers have utilized modern techniques to revisit Johannes Kepler's historic sunspot drawings from 1607, uncovering new insights into solar cycles prior to the grand solar minimum. Led by Nagoya University in Japan, the international team reexamined Kepler's observations using Sporer's law and modern statistical methods. They accurately pinpointed the sunspot group's position, identifying i
China's Climate and Carbon Monitoring Satellites Now Operational
Sunday, 28 July 2024 23:31China's new atmospheric environment monitoring satellite and terrestrial ecosystem carbon monitoring satellite are now officially operational, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). "During their in-orbit testing, these satellites demonstrated favorable application results across multiple areas, including ecological environment, forestry and grassland, geographic surv
AST SpaceMobile Prepares to Ship First Five Commercial Satellites
Sunday, 28 July 2024 23:31AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) has announced the completion of its first five commercial satellites, named Bluebirds. These satellites, each equipped with communications arrays spanning 693 square feet, are set to be shipped to Cape Canaveral in the first week of August. A 7-day launch window is scheduled for September. "This is a momentous occasion for AST SpaceMobile. These first f
USPACE introduces 6 new commercial optical satellites
Sunday, 28 July 2024 23:31USPACE Technology Group Limited ("USPACE" [1725.HK]) has announced the launch of six new commercial optical satellites and related aerospace products. The Group aims to tap into the global market and attract more customers, focusing on the growing demand from emerging markets and SMEs. This marks a significant step in USPACE's efforts toward satellite mass production and commercialization, furth
Senate spending bill pushes back on proposed NASA mission cuts
Sunday, 28 July 2024 18:22SpaceX to move Dragon splashdowns back to West Coast
Sunday, 28 July 2024 12:07SpaceX Successfully Launches Falcon 9 Starlink Mission
Saturday, 27 July 2024 18:03SpaceX successfully launched 23 Starlink broadband satellites early Saturday morning, marking its return to flight operations after a brief hiatus due to a recent anomaly. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:45 a.m. EDT, right within its planned four-hour launch window. SpaceX provided a live stream of the event, showcasing the rocket's journey t
A cave discovered on the moon opens up new opportunities for settlement by humans
Saturday, 27 July 2024 15:40Almost 55 years after the launch of Apollo 11—the first mission to land humans on the moon—scientists have found evidence of a large cave system near the landing site of those astronauts.
Using radar images taken by Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft in 2010, researchers have been able to determine that huge pits, found in images of the moon, may in fact be "skylights" to large caves and tunnels that sit beneath the lunar surface.
These could be incredibly valuable to future astronauts hoping to settle on the moon, acting as a convenient shelter for a lunar base.
The cave is accessible through a pit in the well-studied Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility). This is a large basin made mostly of basalt. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down in this region on July 20 1969.
While Mare Tranquillitatis isn't likely to be the first place humans try to settle on the moon, the existence of one cave makes the existence of others very likely, so scientists now expect there to be others in locations more suitable for human settlement.
Falcon 9 returns to flight with Starlink launch
Saturday, 27 July 2024 11:11Spacecraft to swing by Earth, moon on path to Jupiter
Saturday, 27 July 2024 08:22A spacecraft launched last year will slingshot back around Earth and the moon next month in a high-stakes, world-first maneuver as it pinballs its way through the solar system to Jupiter.
The European Space Agency's Juice probe blasted off in April 2023 on a mission to discover whether Jupiter's icy moons Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa are capable of hosting extra-terrestrial life in their vast, hidden oceans.
The uncrewed six-tonne spacecraft is currently 10 million kilometers (six million miles) from Earth.
But it will fly back past the moon and then Earth on August 19-20, using their gravity boosts to save fuel on its winding, eight-year odyssey to Jupiter.
Staff at the ESA's space operations center in Darmstadt, Germany began preparing for the complicated maneuver this week.
Gilmour Space to Start Hypersonic Flight Tests in 2025
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58Gilmour Space Technologies, an Australian launch services company, has announced a new suborbital flight test service targeted at commercial and defense customers needing hypersonic speeds above Mach 5. "We've witnessed a surge in the research and development of hypersonic vehicles, materials, and other related technologies in recent years, especially since AUKUS (a trilateral security par
SpaceX cleared to launch Falcon 9 rocket again
Friday, 26 July 2024 21:58SpaceX's stalwart Falcon 9 rocket has been cleared for launch after experiencing a rare failure earlier this month, officials said Thursday. The rocket, a prolific launch vehicle that propels both satellites and astronauts into orbit, experienced an anomaly during a launch on July 11 in its second stage booster that meant it failed to deploy 20 Starlink satellites at a high enough altitude,