New NASA strategy envisions sustainable future for space operations
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 19:36
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To address a rapidly changing space operating environment and ensure its preservation for generations to come, NASA released the first part of its integrated Space Sustainability Strategy, on Tuesday advancing the agency's role as a global leader on this crucial issue.
"The release of this strategy marks true progress for NASA on space sustainability," said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. "Space is busy—and only getting busier. If we want to make sure that critical parts of space are preserved so that our children and grandchildren can continue to use them for the benefit of humanity, the time to act is now.
The Role of the Media in the Space Economy: The Kennedy Years to Current Day
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 18:55 Write a comment
More than six decades ago, astronaut Neil Armstrong made history by being the first person to set foot on the surface of the Moon. At the time, this crucial point of the Apollo 11 mission became the most-watched television broadcast in history - with an estimated 600 million people watching from around the world, it was a giant broadcast for a slowly emerging technology. TrustPoint Secures AFWERX Phase II Contract for Advanced Navigation Solutions
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 18:55 Write a comment
TrustPoint has secured a Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract from AFWERX, valued at $1.6 million, aimed at advancing resilient navigation technologies for the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
AFWERX, in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory, has refined the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and STTR processes to expedite proposals, broaden a Rocket Lab secures Space Force contract for STP-S30 launch
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Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has been awarded a $14.49 million task order by the U.S. Space Force (USSF) to launch an Electron mission from Launch Complex 2. The mission, called Space Test Program-30 (STP-S30) falls under the Space Systems Command (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization and is part of Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4).
The dedicated Electron launch is scheduled Biden says Japanese will be first non-American on moon
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 18:54 Write a comment
A Japanese person will be the first non-American to walk on the moon, US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday during a state visit by Japan's prime minister.
US-Japan "ties stretch up to the moon where two Japanese astronauts will join future American missions, and one will become the first non-American ever to land on the moon," Biden said during a press conference.
The United States has set a goal of returning to the moon for the first time since 1972. Only 12 people have walked on the moon, all of them Americans and all white men.
Under the Artemis program of NASA, the United States has also set a goal of sending a woman and a person of color to the moon.
The Artemis II mission expected in late 2025 will fly around the moon. The program's third mission—scheduled for the end of 2026 but facing possible further delays—intends to land humans on the lunar surface.
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Pentagon research chief calls for commercial radiation-hardened electronics
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 18:00
Small Astranis GEO broadband satellites are getting bigger
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 18:00
OK, the eclipse was cool, but those glasses aren't. Now what?
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 16:20 Write a comment
OK, you hopped on the eclipse bandwagon, did your research and viewed the celestial miracle responsibly. But now what are you going to do with those odd-looking glasses?
Fact is, you won't need them again in most of the U.S. for a couple of decades, and some glasses are good only for about three years. (The next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous U.S. is in 2044, according to NASA.)
That's where a group called Astronomers Without Borders comes in. Instead of letting the goofy goggles pile up in landfills, they're collecting them to send around the world so people in Africa, Asia and South and Central America will have a safe way to stare in awe as the moon blots out the sun over their homes.
Another group, Eclipse Glasses U.S., focuses on kids in developing countries who will have learned about an upcoming eclipse in school but might not have access to the glasses they'll need to safely take a long, hard look.
"It's not just about viewing an eclipse; it's about bridging gaps, connecting people through a shared experience and igniting a passion for the cosmos in young hearts," according to the Eclipse Glasses website.
Space Force unveils strategy to leverage commercial tech innovation
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 16:08
After delay, Delta IV Heavy lifts off for the last time
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 15:40 Write a comment
The storied career of the Delta family of rockets had to wait a little longer than planned to turn the page on its final chapter, but the last of its kind lifted off on the Space Coast on April 9.
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy, the largest and most powerful version of Delta rockets, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 at 12:53 p.m. Eastern time. Dubbed the NROL-70 mission, the classified payload is for the National Reconnaissance Office.
The rocket had come within four minutes of the countdown clock hitting zero back on March 28, but teams discovered an issue with a pipeline of gaseous nitrogen used to supply the inert gas needed for safe operations on liftoff that took several days to remedy before ULA and its customer were OK to try again.
U.S. government plans review of space technology export controls
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 15:24
Russia aborts second attempt to launch a heavy-lift rocket from Far East
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 15:18 Write a comment
Delta IV Heavy Completes Its Final Mission with NROL-70 Launch by US Space Force and ULA
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 15:14 Write a comment
The US Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC), together with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and United Launch Alliance (ULA), has successfully launched the NROL-70 mission. This launch, utilizing the Delta IV Heavy rocket for its final mission, occurred at 12:53 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Col. Jim Horne, SSC's senior m ExoMars 2028 Mission Secures euro 522 Million Contract for Mars Exploration
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 15:14 Write a comment
Thales Alenia Space has finalized a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), valued at euro 522m, to progress the ExoMars 2028 mission. The contract encompasses the Mars Entry, Descent and Landing Module (EDLM) development and sustaining activities for vehicles from the 2022 mission.
Scheduled for an October to December 2028 launch at Kennedy Space Center, the mission aims to uncove Planetary Fates as Sun Transitions to White Dwarf Explored in New Study
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 15:14 Write a comment
As our Sun ages and evolves into a white dwarf, the planets within our solar system face drastically different futures.
While Earth's destiny-whether engulfed or spared by the expanding Sun-remains uncertain, it's clear that Mercury and Venus are likely to be consumed, according to insights from a new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Although