Nelson expected to be nominated for NASA administrator
Thursday, 18 March 2021 02:05
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WASHINGTON — The White House plans to nominate Bill Nelson to be the next administrator of NASA, putting the former senator in charge of the agency he once advocated for on Capitol Hill.
According to several sources, the administration is expected to formally announce the nomination as soon as March 19.
Recruiting startup Evona expands to serve global market
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 21:41 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO – Evona, a U.K. space industry recruiting startup, is preparing to establish a U.S. office as part of a campaign to help satisfy global demand for space sector employees.
Bristol-based Evona has been growing rapidly since it was founded in 2019 to recruit workers for entrepreneurial space companies.
NASA performs full-duration SLS Green Run static-fire test
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 21:21 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — NASA completed what appeared to be a successful static-fire test of the core stage of the Space Launch System March 18, two months after a similar test was cut short by technical problems.
The SLS core stage, mounted on a test stand at the Stennis Space Center, ignited its four RS-25 engines at 4:37 p.m.
Op-ed | Don’t discount the FAA’s role in the private space race
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 20:19 Write a comment
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has disrupted long-held beliefs of how the space business works and permanently expanded thinking about government contracting with industry. This impact has been felt throughout the national security, civil, and commercial space enterprises. Because of the lawsuit that it settled with the Air Force in 2015, old assumptions about the government’s launch market for national security launch services are gone.
Rogers: Proposed cuts to military spending ‘my biggest concern’
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 20:05 Write a comment
WASHINGTON – Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said March 18 that he will challenge any proposed cuts to the Defense Department’s budget and called on the U.S.
Apax Partners seeks buyers for maritime connectivity provider Marlink
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 19:30 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Marlink’s private equity owners have put the maritime connectivity provider up for sale, according to industry sources close to the matter.
A private equity source said Apax Partners, which bought Marlink from Airbus for an undisclosed sum in 2016, has hired bankers to explore a sale process.
For some scientists, Mars 2020 is a mission of perseverance
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 19:28 Write a comment
NASA testing giant rocket for next Moon mission
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 19:20 Write a comment
NASA was preparing for a key static test of its troubled Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on Thursday as the agency prepares to return to the Moon.
The second "hot fire" test will see all four of the rocket's RS-25 engines fire simultaneously and achieve a maximum of 1.6 million pounds of thrust (7.1 million newtons).
A two-hour window for the test began at 3:00 pm Eastern time (1900 GMT). At around 4:00pm, NASA said the text was expected within 45 minutes.
It will be the second such test involving the 212-foot (65-meter) high core stage at the Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, after the first was cut short in January.
Air Force to build space environment research facility in New Mexico
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 17:57 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate announced plans to open a new facility later this year focused on space environment research.
The Skywave Technology Laboratory will be a 3,500 square foot, $3.5 million facility located in a remote area on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, AFRL said March 18.
As Astroscale prepares to launch debris-removal demo, UK eyes in-orbit servicing leadership
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 15:42 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. – Astroscale expects to start performing its first end-to-end test of key technologies for in-orbit debris removal around the end of May, assuming a successful launch this month of the Tokyo-based startup’s ELSA-d demonstration mission.
Galileo will help Lunar Pathfinder navigate around Moon
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 14:16 Write a comment
ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder mission to the Moon will carry an advanced satellite navigation receiver, in order to perform the first ever satnav positioning fix in lunar orbit. This experimental payload marks a preliminary step in an ambitious ESA plan to expand reliable satnav coverage – as well as communication links – to explorers around and ultimately on the Moon during this decade.
Intern develops software for ESA space experiment
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 13:50 Write a comment
A student interning at ESA will soon see her work launched into space. Meadhbh Griffin of University College Dublin has spent the last five months writing and testing software for an experiment set to fly later this year on the Hungarian-led RadCube CubeSat. While its main mission is to probe space weather in Earth orbit, RadCube will also host a miniature experiment to test how commercial computer memories withstand space radiation.
JWST moving towards October launch
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 11:36 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is making continued progress for a launch in October as engineers close out a series of technical issues with the spacecraft but deal with one new problem.
New podcast episode: Columbus' launch to orbit
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 10:18 Write a comment
The latest episode of ESA Explores podcast series ‘Time and Space’ series is out now, with a focus on the launch of Europe’s Columbus laboratory.
ESA's technical heart
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 09:46 Write a comment
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ESA's technical heart