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WASHINGTON — Kayhan Space, a startup based in Boulder, Colorado, announced Dec. 14 it has closed a $3.75 million seed funding round. The company developed a cloud-based collision-avoidance software service for low Earth orbit satellite operators.

Rocket Lab to acquire SolAero Holdings

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 12:46

Rocket Lab announced Dec. 13 that it is acquiring solar power system manufacturer SolAero Holdings, the latest in a series of acquisitions by Rocket Lab of component developers.

SpaceNews

Moscow (Sputnik) Dec 10, 2021
A team of scientists has built and successfully tested a prototype based on a novel idea created more than two decades ago by an American space agency expert of Chinese descent. A Chinese research team has built and tested a prototype hypersonic flight engine, capable of operating in Mach 4 to Mach 8 (4,900-9,800 kph) speed conditions, based on a design cooked up in NASA but later rejected
Forres UK (SPX) Dec 10, 2021
Orbex, Europe's leading private small satellite launch services provider, has announced it has started construction of its first state-of-the-art Launch Platform, the first orbital space launchpad to be built in the UK for more than half a century. Orbex has commissioned Motive Offshore Group, a leading Scottish company specialising in the design and manufacture of marine and lifting equip
How to see comet Leonard, according to the researcher who discovered it
Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) is seen next to globular star cluster M3 in this image taken with the Schulman Telescope at UArizona's Mount Lemmon Sky Center. Credit: Adam Block/Steward Observatory/University of Arizona

Now is the best time to get a glimpse of Comet C/2021 A1, better known as Comet Leonard. It's named for its discoverer, Gregory Leonard, a senior research specialist at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

Every night with , astronomers with LPL's Catalina Sky Survey scan the sky for near-Earth asteroids—space rocks with the potential of venturing close to Earth at some point.

During one such routine observation run on Jan. 3, Leonard spotted a fuzzy patch of light tracking across the starfield background in a sequence of four images taken with the 1.5-meter telescope at the summit of Mount Lemmon.

Software-defined OneSat ready for production

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 11:16
Artists impression of OneSat

The latest type of telecommunication satellite that can respond from space to changing demands on Earth is about to start assembly of its electronic components.

The largest parachute set to fly on Mars has completed its first successful high-altitude drop test, a critical milestone for ensuring the ExoMars mission is on track for launch in 2022. Both the first and second stage parachutes have now successfully flown this year.

Double drop test success

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 07:30
Video: 00:01:30

Onboard video footage from two high-altitude drop tests of the ExoMars second stage parachute. The cameras are on the drop test vehicle and capture the moment of separation from the stratospheric balloon, the release of the pilot chute, and the extraction of the main parachute.

The footage is shown at various speeds, capturing in slow motion the inflation of the 35 m wide subsonic parachute – the largest ever to fly on Mars.

The drop tests took place in Oregon on 21 November and 3 December as part of the ongoing parachute testing to ensure the safe delivery of

ESA Highlights: images and achievements from 2021

ESA Highlights 2021 is available online in this interactive format, which can be read on your desktop computer, laptop, tablet or phone.

NASA astronaut Raja Chari and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer train at ESA's European Astronaut Centre

Young researchers from ESA’s Spaceship EAC initiative are keeping a good eye on ocular health by using images of astronauts’ optical discs in space to train an artificially intelligent (AI) model. All going well, this model will be used to automatically detect changes in the optic nerve of astronauts, known as Space-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS).

TEC Business to Business website

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 06:52

TEC Business to Business website

Established satellite operators expressed their frustration at the wave of filings for enormous satellite constellations, arguing nations need to step forward and establish rules to curtail such systems.

SpaceNews

With 12 satellites currently in orbit, BlackSky plans to add two or four more next year before it transitions to a higher-resolution spacecraft in 2023.

SpaceNews

With 12 satellites currently in orbit, BlackSky plans to add two or four more next year before it transitions to a higher-resolution spacecraft in 2023.

SpaceNews

Spelunking on the moon: New study explores lunar pits and caves
A pit in a fracture on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

The moon may be a mostly uniform expanse of gray, but if you look closely, you can still find a few nooks and crannies in its surface, from deep trenches to pits and maybe even caves.

Now, researchers at CU Boulder have set out to explore what the environment might be like inside some of these shadowy features—many of which are too dark to see clearly from orbit.

The team's preliminary results suggest that pits and caves on the moon showcase remarkably stable conditions. They don't seem to experience the wild swings in temperature that are common at the moon's surface, said Andrew Wilcoski, a graduate student in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at CU Boulder. He will present the group's initial findings Friday at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting in New Orleans.

"If we're hoping to send people into these caves in the decades ahead, we want to know what they should expect down there," said Wilcoski, a co-author of the new research.

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