Navigation error sends NASA's Mars helicopter on wild ride
Friday, 28 May 2021 06:21
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A navigation timing error sent NASA's little Mars helicopter on a wild, lurching ride, its first major problem since it took to the Martian skies last month.
The experimental helicopter, named Ingenuity, managed to land safely, officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported Thursday.
The trouble cropped up about a minute into the helicopter's sixth test flight last Saturday at an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters). One of the numerous pictures taken by an on-board camera did not register in the navigation system, throwing the entire timing sequence off and confusing the craft about its location.
ESA signs contract for new generation of Galileo
Friday, 28 May 2021 06:14 Write a comment
Acting on behalf of the European Commission, ESA has signed two contracts for an overall amount of €1.47 billion, to design and build the first batch of the second generation of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites.
Surviving an in-flight anomaly: what happened on Ingenuity's 6th flight
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
On the 91st Martian day, or sol, of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter performed its sixth flight. The flight was designed to expand the flight envelope and demonstrate aerial-imaging capabilities by taking stereo images of a region of interest to the west.
Ingenuity was commanded to climb to an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) before translating 492 PLD Space receives ESA contract to study reusing MIURA 5 boosters
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
The new project by PLD Space and the European Space Agency (ESA), known as Liquid Propulsion Stage Recovery 2 (LPSR 2), is a continuation of the previous contract awarded by ESA to PLD Space in 2017. This contract is part of ESA's Future Launchers Programme and focuses on the study of re-entry trajectories and configurations for the safe descent of stage one of MIURA 5, which will be launched fr Space-based capabilities are critical to U.S. National Security: DOD tells House
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
Space-based capabilities are vital to U.S. national security in today's era of de-stabilizing challenges from Russia and undeniable strategic competition with China, the Defense Department's principal director for space policy told a House Armed Services Committee panel today.
John D. Hill told the HASC subcommittee on strategic forces that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has also AFRL opens SWORD lab for space warfighting operations research
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate held a ribbon cutting ceremony May 20 to celebrate the opening of its newest facility, the Space Warfighting Operations Research and Development, or SWORD, laboratory.
Col. Eric Felt, the director of AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate, hosted the event with AFRL commander, Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle as the presiding officer and key Air Force Deputy Technology Executive Officer Addresses Ohio Space Forum
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
The Air Force Research Laboratory's Dr. Kelly Hammett spoke at the annual Ohio Space Forum May 18, joining several aerospace leaders who discussed their organizations' contributions to the space mission and Ohio politicians who lauded Ohio's contributions and their economic impact.
Facilitated by the Dayton Development Coalition and JobsOhio, the Ohio Space Forum gathers federal, military, New advances inspire China's deep space exploration
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
With news of achievements pouring in these days, China is pushing forward its deep space exploration, aiming to contribute its wisdom in humankind's peaceful utilization of outer space.
On April 29, China sent into space the core module of its space station, kicking off a series of key launch missions that aim to complete the construction of the station by the end of next year.
The s NASA's Roman Mission to probe cosmic secrets using exploding stars
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will see thousands of exploding stars called supernovae across vast stretches of time and space. Using these observations, astronomers aim to shine a light on several cosmic mysteries, providing a window onto the universe's distant past and hazy present.
Roman's supernova survey will help clear up clashing measurements of how fast the unive Probing deeper into origins of cosmic rays
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
Cosmic rays are high-energy atomic particles continually bombarding Earth's surface at nearly the speed of light. Our planet's magnetic field shields the surface from most of the radiation generated by these particles. Still, cosmic rays can cause electronic malfunctions and are the leading concern in planning for space missions.
Researchers know cosmic rays originate from the multitude of RUAG Space dispenser places 200th OneWeb satellite in orbit
Friday, 28 May 2021 03:30 Write a comment
On Thursday, May 27, OneWeb will launch further 36 broadband internet satellites aboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. OneWeb is building a communications network with a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites that will deliver internet access around the world.
As a key supplier to OneWeb Satellites, RUAG Space built the satellite dispenser, which funct Companies and government agencies announce plans for lunar rover projects
Thursday, 27 May 2021 22:35 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The Japanese and Canadian space agencies announced plans May 26 to send small rovers to the moon in the next several years, as Lockheed Martin unveiled a partnership with automaker General Motors to propose a rover for NASA’s Artemis program.
NRO taking advantage of commercial launch options for lower-risk space missions
Thursday, 27 May 2021 21:16 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The National Reconnaissance Office entrusts the U.S. Space Force to launch most of its spy satellites. But the NRO also is using other types of commercial contracts to send spacecraft to orbit, a practice that likely will continue, the agency said.
Launch postponed for Soyuz rocket with UK telecom satellites
Thursday, 27 May 2021 19:14 Write a comment
The launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying 36 UK telecommunication and internet satellites has been postponed until Friday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
OneWeb, a London-headquartered company, is working to complete the construction of a constellation of low earth orbit satellites providing enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the world.
The launch of the rocket operated by European company Arianespace was scheduled for 1743 GMT on Thursday from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far East.
"For technical reasons, the launch...has been postponed to the reserve date," Roscosmos said in a statement on Thursday.
The space agency added that the postponed launch will take place on Friday, May 28 at 1738 GMT.
The launch was postponed "due to the replacement of one item of electrical equipment," launch operator Arianespace said on Twitter.
It added that the Soyuz rocket and the satellites are in "stable and safe condition".
So far two batches of 36 OneWeb satellites have been placed into orbit from Russia this year.
The UK company plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by next year, supported by some 650 satellites.
To give astronauts better food, engineers test a fridge prototype in microgravity
Thursday, 27 May 2021 17:58 Write a comment
Astronauts have been going to space since 1961, but they still don't have a refrigerator to use for keeping food cold on long missions to the moon or Mars.
Through experiments conducted in microgravity, a team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation has shown that a prototype they developed could potentially overcome the challenges of getting a traditional fridge to work in space just as well as it does on Earth.
The canned and dried food that astronauts currently eat during missions has a shelf life of only about three years. The team's project, funded by NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, aims to give astronauts a supply of food that could last five to six years.