Revised budget reconciliation package reduces NASA infrastructure funds
Friday, 29 October 2021 07:57
A new, scaled-back version of a spending package released Oct. 28 sharply reduced the money allocated to NASA infrastructure and climate change projects, while continuing to exclude funding for a second Artemis lunar lander.
Earth from Space: Glasgow
Friday, 29 October 2021 07:00
Glasgow, host of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26), is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
ESA and NASA launch revolutionary open-source platform
Friday, 29 October 2021 06:00
Today, ESA and NASA have publicly released the first globally-harmonised assessment of above ground biomass – information that is vital for managing global climate change. The Multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP) provides seamless access to above ground biomass information from both NASA and ESA Earth observation data. The revolutionary open-science tool is now fully operational and accessible online.
U.A.E. examining options for future human spaceflight missions
Friday, 29 October 2021 01:05
The space center responsible for the United Arab Emirates’ human spaceflight program is looking at a range of flight options for its astronaut corps.
Indonesia orders Thales Alenia Space satellite to replace lost Nusantara-2
Thursday, 28 October 2021 23:02
Indonesia has ordered a high-throughput communications satellite from Thales Alenia Space for a 2024 delivery to fill a gap left by last year’s loss of Nusantara-2 to a Chinese launch failure.
Terran Orbital plans to go public through SPAC merger
Thursday, 28 October 2021 22:43
Terran Orbital, the parent company of Tyvak and PredaSAR, announced plans Oct. 28 to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company.
NASA’s Juno: Science Results Offer First 3D View of Jupiter Atmosphere
Thursday, 28 October 2021 17:52
New findings from NASA’s Juno probe orbiting Jupiter provide a fuller picture of how the planet’s distinctive and colorful atmospheric features offer clues about the unseen processes below its clouds. DoD space agency changes course on satellite procurement in wake of Maxar’s protest
Thursday, 28 October 2021 17:16
In response to a protest filed by Maxar Technologies, the Defense Department’s Space Development Agency is canceling a solicitation issued Aug. 30 seeking bids for 144 satellites and will start over with a new procurement.
Hyten blasts ‘unbelievably’ slow DoD bureaucracy as China advances space weapons
Thursday, 28 October 2021 16:46
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten warned that bureaucratic inertia and fear of failing are thwarting innovation in the Department of Defense while China continues to roll out new military and space technologies.
Alpha Mission Overview
Thursday, 28 October 2021 15:00
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ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet from France began Alpha - his second mission to the International Space Station - on 23 April 2021. Launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA, on the second operational flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon, he has now spent around six months in orbit on mission Alpha. In addition to science experiments, he has taken part in four spacewalks and countless scientific investigations. On 4 October Thomas became the fourth European International Space Station Commander. He is now the ESA astronaut with the most total time spent in space and on spacewalks.
Solar wing jammed on NASA spacecraft chasing asteroids
Thursday, 28 October 2021 14:48
A Mars colony could be a hydrogen factory, providing propellant for the inner solar system
Thursday, 28 October 2021 14:41
There are lots of potential uses for a Mars colony. It could be a research outpost, mining colony, or even a possible second home if something happens to go drastically wrong on our first one. But it could also be a potential source of what is sure to be one of the most valuable elements in the space economy—hydrogen.
A new paper from Dr. Mikhail Shubov at the University of Massachusetts Lowell discusses just such an eventuality. Hydrogen is useful in myriad applications. From creating water to exploding as rocket fuel, the most abundant element in the universe sure has many uses. The problem is it's relatively hard to get access to in the broader solar system.
There is plenty of it in Jupiter or even the sun, but extracting the material from those enormous gravity wells is not particularly cost-effective. Smaller orbital bodies, such as asteroids, have some water that could be used as a hydrogen source, but they are not large enough to provide all of the solar system's needs.
Op-Ed | To shore up U.S. space dominance, Biden administration must boost Japan-U.S. alliance
Thursday, 28 October 2021 14:01
Recent reports that China has tested a space-based, nuclear-capable hypersonic missile underscore the need for the Biden administration to take a number of steps to strengthen a Japan-U.S. alliance.
Image: Lunar lander in Dubai
Thursday, 28 October 2021 13:03
This mockup of ESA's European Lunar Logistics Lander (EL3) is currently on display at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai.
The versatile EL3 will be used to land cargo on the lunar surface in support of crewed expeditions as well as to host science payloads, potentially enabling sample returns as well.
This EL3 Landing and Descent Element mockup was created for ESA by startup Spartan Space in France. In practice this segment will be attached to a payload-hauling Cargo Platform Element, the subject of a study by ESA's Concurrent Design Facility (CDF).
CASIS and Estée Lauder seek microgravity research on plastic alternatives
Thursday, 28 October 2021 13:01
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) announced plans Oct. 28 to work with multinational corporation Estée Lauder to solicit microgravity projects aimed at reducing plastics waste.