ESA’s Solar Orbiter ducks behind the Sun
Monday, 08 February 2021 08:30What happens when the Solar System's No. 1 source of violent energy interferes with spacecraft communication?
New era of Mars exploration begins as craft nears Red Planet
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58A new era of Mars exploration will begin Monday with the expected arrival of the United Arab Emirates' Hope spacecraft in the vicinity of the Red Planet - the first of three such arrivals planned for February. The UAE probe will near Mars late Monday, and the mission will make a final, 27-minute orbital insertion burn, or correction, starting at 10:30 a.m. EST Tuesday. Hope's ar
UAE on edge as 'Hope' probe poised to enter Mars orbit
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58A tense half-hour on Tuesday will determine the fate of the UAE's "Hope" probe to Mars, as the Arab world's first space mission carries out a tricky manoeuvre to enter the Red Planet's orbit. If successful, the probe which is designed to reveal the secrets of Martian weather, will become the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month. The United Arab Emirates, China
Perseverance in testing helps assure a safe landing on Mars
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58After a nearly seven-month journey to Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover is slated to land at the Red Planet's Jezero Crater Feb.18, 2021, a rugged expanse chosen for its scientific research and sample collection possibilities. But the very features that make the site fascinating to scientists also make it a relatively dangerous place to land - a challenge that has motivated rigorous testing
Where Should Future Astronauts Land on Mars? Follow the Water
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58A new NASA paper provides the most detailed map to date of near-surface water ice on the Red Planet. So you want to build a Mars base. Where to start? Like any human settlement, it would be best located near accessible water. Not only will water be crucial for life-support supplies, it will be used for everything from agriculture to producing the rocket propellant astronauts will need to r
NASA's OSIRIS-REx to Fly a Farewell Tour of Bennu
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58On April 7, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission will give asteroid Bennu one last glance before saying farewell. Before departing for Earth on May 10, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will perform a final flyby of Bennu - capturing its last images of sample collection site Nightingale to look for transformations on Bennu's surface after the Oct. 20, 2020, sample collection event. The OSIRIS-REx mission tea
Orbit Logic Tackles Autonomous Lunar Exploration with Robotic Swarms
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58Orbit Logic has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract sponsored by NASA to develop the Intelligent Navigation, Planning, and Awareness for Swarm Systems (IN-PASS) solution - an autonomous planning architecture supporting collaborative Lunar exploration with teams of humans cooperating with heterogeneous swarms of orbital (satellite) and surface (rover) assets.
ABL Space Systems to power first UK Vertical Satellite Launch
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58Lockheed Martin has contracted ABL Space Systems, of El Segundo, California, a developer of low-cost launch vehicles and launch systems for the small satellite industry, to supply a rocket and associated launch services for the company's first UK vertical satellite launch. The project known as UK Pathfinder Launch is planned to be the first ever vertical small satellite launch from UK soil
Chang'e 4 lander, rover resume work on moon
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58The lander and rover of the Chang'e 4 probe have resumed work for their 27th lunar day on the far side of the moon. The Yutu 2 rover activated at 4:26 am on Saturday and the lander activated just over 12 hours later, the China National Space Administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center said. Yutu 2 has traveled about 628.5 meters on the far side of the moon. It is now
OneSpace launches another private carrier rocket
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58The OS-X6B suborbital rocket, developed and made by OneSpace Technology, blasted off from a launch site in China's northwest at 17:05:05 on Friday. With a length of 9.4 meters, the rocket Chongqing Liangjiang Star flew about 580 seconds and traveled 300 kilometers above the earth. The test load was successfully separated and the entire flight was normal. This launch successfully comp
Mikhail Kokorich resigns his CEO position in Momentus Space
Monday, 08 February 2021 05:58Mikhail Kokorich has had to resign as his company develops dual-use technologies that can be used in civil and military spheres. The US government wants to keep them restricted from foreign access. As the details became known, Mikhail Kokorich the Russian founder and CEO of the American space startup Momentus Space resigned following publication of materials proving his illegitimate involvement in secret space technologies.
Former Tomnod CEO joins Spire Global to lead aviation unit
Monday, 08 February 2021 00:58SAN FRANCISCO – Shay Har-Noy, former Tomnod founder and CEO, has joined Spire Global as the company’s general manager of the aviation systems business unit.
Har-Noy has been acutely aware of aviation’s need for satellite data since 2014 when Tomnod enlisted the help of more than 10 million people to tag oil slicks, wreckage and rafts in satellite data in an effort to locate Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared with 239 passengers and crewmembers.
Cloud computing services changing the calculus for space startups
Sunday, 07 February 2021 23:06WASHINGTON — The cloud computing industry is developing new products and services aimed at space companies that want to monetize data without having to invest in infrastructure, executives said Feb. 8 at the SmallSat Symposium.
Satellite imagery is not yet flowing like water from a tap
Sunday, 07 February 2021 21:35SAN FRANCISCO – Companies are collecting more Earth imagery from satellites than ever before, but for some customers the data remains too expensive and too difficult to consume.
That was the consensus from a panel of Earth-observation experts speaking Feb.
Space industry investment continues to grow
Sunday, 07 February 2021 20:51WASHINGTON — Nearly a year after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic raised fears of a slowdown in commercial space investment, experts say the industry is, in fact, doing better than ever.
During a panel discussion at the 2021 SmallSat Symposium Feb.