Tokyo (Sputnik) Jun 30, 2021
The Japanese government is considering sending a spacecraft to Mars's Phobos satellite in 2024 to obtain soil samples by 2029, public broadcaster NHK reported. The agency said that Japan's strategic council has compiled a mid-term report on space policy on Tuesday. According to it, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) intends to launch a probe and reach one of the two satellites o

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 30, 2021
Many meteorites, which are small pieces from asteroids, do not experience high temperatures at any point in their existence. Because of this, these meteorites provide a good record of complex chemistry present when or before our solar system was formed 4.57 billion years ago. For this reason, researchers have examined individual amino acids in meteorites, which come in a rich variety and m

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 30, 2021
Here on Earth, earthquakes and underwater volcanic eruptions may displace enough ocean water to create a tsunami, a drumbeat of waves reaching huge heights as they approach land. Now, astrophysicists have used computer simulations to show that in deep in space, tsunami-like structures may form on much bigger scales, from gas escaping the gravitational pull of a supermassive black hole. In

Canberra, Australia (SPX) Jun 30, 2021
Scientists have for the first time detected black holes eating neutron stars, "like Pac Man", in a discovery documenting the collision of the two most extreme and enigmatic objects in the Universe. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US and the Virgo gravitational-wave observatory in Italy have captured the gravitational waves from the death spiral and mer

WASHINGTON — On the eve of its second revenue-generating launch, Virgin Orbit is looking to 2022 to ramp up its launch activity and operate from several airports in the United States and Great Britain.

In a call with reporters June 29, Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart confirmed that the company was “green for launch” on a LauncherOne mission called “Tubular Bells: Part One.

SAN FRANCISCO — Satellite communications startup Analytical Space Inc. has named former KSAT Inc. chief executive Katherine Monson as its chief commercial officer and Jose Velazco, former technical supervisor for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Advanced RF and Optical Technology Group, as chief innovation officer.

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said he expects to see a shift in U.S. military spending away from large satellites to a “more survivable infrastructure” of smaller spacecraft.

TAMPA, Fla. — Israeli satellite operator Spacecom is buying a 9.3% stake in rural connectivity provider Nuran Wireless to deepen its presence across Africa.

The $3.2 million deal includes exclusive rights for providing satellite capacity and bandwidth to Canada-based Nuran’s future operations in Africa, where Spacecom provides services with its Amos-17 spacecraft.

Space is becoming more congested and communications all over the globe — but particularly in the Arctic region — are often contested.

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough performed three spacewalks in the span of 10 days to install two new solar arrays that will generate more electricity on the International Space Station.