Biden’s Defense nominee embraces view of space as a domain of war
Monday, 18 January 2021 23:47
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WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for defense secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers Jan. 19 that China is the United States’ “most concerning competitor” and in written testimony identified space as a growing national security concern.
NASA explores solar wind with new view of small sun structures
Monday, 18 January 2021 21:06
Former U.S. Air Force secretary Heather Wilson joins Maxar’s board of directors
Monday, 18 January 2021 20:13 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Former secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson has joined the board of directors of Maxar Technologies, the company announced Jan. 19.
Wilson currently is president of the University of Texas El Paso.
Testing the waters: Analyzing different solid states of water on other planets and moons
Monday, 18 January 2021 19:35 Write a comment
Just like on Earth, water on other planets, satellites, and even comets comes in a variety of forms depending on multiple factors such as pressure and temperature.
SLS Green Run static fire cut short by “intentionally conservative” test limits
Monday, 18 January 2021 18:55 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — A static-fire test of the Space Launch System core stage ended early Jan. 16 when a hydraulic system for one its four engines hit an “intentionally conservative” limit during the test.
In a Jan.
Halted rocket test could stall NASA moon shot, redo possible
Monday, 18 January 2021 18:53 Write a comment
Redwire acquires Oakman Aerospace
Monday, 18 January 2021 16:29 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO – Private equity firm Redwire has acquired Oakman Aerospace, a Littleton, Colorado firm known for digital engineering and spacecraft development. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition announced Jan. 19 is the latest sign that Redwire is continuing to move rapidly to establish a multifaceted space company.
Keep this surface dirty
Monday, 18 January 2021 15:15 Write a comment
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A ‘do not touch’ directive applies to both a Matisse painting and this Matiss experiment on board the International Space Station.
Designed to test the antibacterial properties of hydrophobic (or water-repelling) surfaces on the Station, the sample holders of the upgraded Matiss-2.5 experiment have done their work for roughly a year on board and are now back on Earth for analysis.
Bacteria are a big problem in space as they tend to build up in the constantly-recycled atmosphere of the Space Station. For the six astronauts living in humanity’s habitat in space, keeping the Station clean is an important
The first CubeSat with a Hall-effect thruster has gone to space
Monday, 18 January 2021 14:00 Write a comment
Student-led teams aren't the only ones testing out novel electric propulsion techniques recently. Back in November, a company called Exotrail successfully tested a completely new kind of electric propulsion system in space—a small Hall-effect thruster.
Hall effect thrusters themselves have been around for awhile. However, they have been limited in their practicality, primarily because of their size. Normally they are about the size of a refrigerator and require kilowatts of power, making them impractical for any small satellites.
That's where Exotrail's novel system shines. It is about the size of a 2 liter bottle of soda (or pop if you're from that part of the world), and only requires around 50 watts of power. This makes the propulsion system ideal for satellites ranging from 10 to 250 kg.
The demonstration system launched aboard a PSLV rocket on November 7th, and completed its first in flight maneuvers using the Hall effect thruster in December. With those tests successfully completed the team plans further testing to prove how useful these thrusters can be for collision avoidance, orbital maintenance, and intentional deorbiting.
China’s iSpace advances with IPO plans, reusable launcher landing leg tests
Monday, 18 January 2021 13:13 Write a comment
HELSINKI — Chinese private rocket firm iSpace is planning an IPO while also making progress on technology for a reusable launch vehicle.
Boeing Starliner completes software requalification
Monday, 18 January 2021 12:09 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Boeing has completed a requalification of software on its commercial crew spacecraft as it prepares to launch the vehicle on a second test flight as soon as late March.
Boeing announced Jan. 18 it completed a “formal requalification” of the software on its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
Astronauts to boost European connectivity
Monday, 18 January 2021 11:27 Write a comment
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are planning a spacewalk to install a high-speed satellite link that will improve their connections with Europe.
Aurora Insight to launch cubesats for RF sensing
Monday, 18 January 2021 10:00 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO – Aurora Insight, a Denver startup that gathers data on terrestrial and satellite communications, plans to launch the first of two cubesats on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission scheduled for liftoff Jan. 21.
Satellite manufacturer NanoAvionics built the six-unit cubesats, Bravo and Charlie, and integrated them with Aurora Insight sensors.
Autonomous driving on intelligent road at Europe’s edge
Monday, 18 January 2021 08:41 Write a comment
An ESA-supported effort put an intelligent road up in Finnish Lapland through its paces, assessing its suitability for testing autonomous vehicles in some of Europe’s most challenging driving conditions.