Ascent Solar Secures Order for Thin-Film PV from Satellite Manufacturer
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 17:50Ascent Solar Technologies, (Nasdaq: ASTI), a U.S. innovator in the design and manufacture of flexible, durable CIGS thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, has received an order from a mega-constellation satellite manufacturer for initial delivery of PV modules for evaluation. The Ascent product will be evaluated for use in the manufacturer's next-generation hardware. Following delivery and
Seraphim picks nine startups for latest space accelerator program
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 16:25SpaceX plans to launch 90 rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base by 2026: Could that harm the coast?
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 16:14SpaceX plans to launch 90 rockets into space from a Santa Barbara County military base by 2026, tripling the number of blasts rocking the coastal community—and raising concerns from neighbors and environmental groups about the effects on marine life.
Owned by billionaire Elon Musk, SpaceX has ramped up the number of rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in recent years, and it has made clear its desire to increase the frequency of blasts-offs. But during a California Coastal Commission hearing, U.S. Space Force officials outlined for the first time its own plans to multiply the number of launches from the base, from 37 in 2023 to more than 120 a year by 2026.
The overwhelming majority of those rocket blasts would be conducted by SpaceX, which has already done more launches from the base than the commission has approved.
Last year SpaceX breached an agreement with the commission that limited the number of launches to six, sending 28 rockets into space. It is currently seeking an agreement with the commission to do 36 launches a year, increasing to 90 in 2026.
Axiom Space partners with Virgin Galactic for Turkish astronaut's suborbital mission
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36Axiom Space has joined forces with Virgin Galactic to send Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) backup and Turkish Space Agency (TUA) astronaut Tuva Atasever on a suborbital flight on June 8 for microgravity research. Atasever, a 31-year-old engineer, is set to become the second Turkish astronaut when he participates in the Galactic 07 flight to advance Turkiye's space efforts. In collaboration with TUB
ISS National Lab offers up to $750,000 for technology development in space
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory is calling for flight concepts for technology development that use the space environment of the orbiting laboratory. This solicitation, "Technology Development and Applied Research Leveraging the ISS National Lab," invites proposals in various technology areas, including chemical and material synthesis, translational medicine, in-space ed
New Shepard's NS-25 crewed mission set for May 19 liftoff
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36Blue Origin confirmed the launch of its seventh crewed flight, NS-25, from West Texas's Launch Site One, scheduled for Sunday, May 19. The launch window will open at 8:30 AM CDT / 1330 UTC, with the live webcast beginning 40 minutes prior on BlueOrigin.com. The mission will also feature the NS-25 mission patch, which includes several symbols: - "The Gemini spacecraft represents Ed Dw
NASA Tests Moonwalk Technology in Arizona Desert
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36NASA is conducting a week-long field test in the San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona to practice moonwalk scenarios for the Artemis campaign. NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas are participating as crewmembers, wearing mockup spacesuit systems to perform technology demonstrations, hardware checkouts, and Artemis science-related operations. Two integrated t
UCF Student's Primitive Asteroids Work Provides Context for Further Research, Future NASA Missions
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36The primitive asteroids that UCF physics doctoral student Brittany Harvison studies carry with them traces of their origins and billions of years of our solar system's history. Harvison recently pored through a library of infrared telescope data to analyze the spectral composition of 25 members of the Erigone family of primitive asteroids and help fill in the gaps in our understanding of t
NASA selects UW-led project to study atmosphere layers
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36A project led by the University of Washington (UW) aiming to better understand the Earth's atmosphere is a finalist for NASA's next generation of Earth-observing satellites. NASA has announced that these projects will each receive $5 million for a one-year concept study. The project, STRIVE (Stratosphere Troposphere Response using Infrared Vertically-Resolved Light Explorer), focuses on th
Voyager Space to Develop New Airlock Concept for Mars Transit
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36Voyager Space (Voyager) announced it has received a Collaborative Announcement Notice (CAN) from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to develop an airlock for the Mars Transit Vehicle, also known as Deep Space Transport. This cooperative agreement aims to enhance technology development at MSFC while advancing Voyager's technology and infrastructure. This 12-month study, starting thi
UH Manoa researchers uncover origins of life's building blocks in space
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36Researchers at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa have made a key discovery about the formation of essential molecules in space, which could provide insights into how life began on Earth. A team from the Department of Chemistry has identified how nitrogen-carrying aromatic molecules can form in space. These molecules are crucial in many chemical and biological processes and are found in co
Astronomers spot a giant planet that is as light as cotton candy
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36Astronomers at MIT, the University of Liege in Belgium, and elsewhere have discovered a huge, fluffy oddball of a planet orbiting a distant star in our Milky Way galaxy. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, is a promising key to the mystery of how such giant, super-light planets form. The new planet, named WASP-193b, appears to dwarf Jupiter in size, yet it is a fractio
SwRI examines substorm in Earth's magnetotail with MMS data
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is analyzing an unusual event in Earth's magnetotail, the part of the magnetosphere trailing away from the Sun. Using data from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, SwRI scientists are studying substorms, disturbances in the magnetotail that release energy and can cause aurorae. Since their launch in 2015, the MMS spacecraft have been examinin
MIT researchers discover the universe's oldest stars in our own galactic backyard
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36MIT researchers, including several undergraduate students, have discovered three of the oldest stars in the universe, and they happen to live in our own galactic neighborhood. The team spotted the stars in the Milky Way's "halo" - the cloud of stars that envelopes the entire main galactic disk. Based on the team's analysis, the three stars formed between 12 and 13 billion years ago, the ti
Discovery of organic molecules on Saturn's moon
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 15:36In 2018, very large organic molecules were discovered in ice particles on Saturn's moon Enceladus. Whether they indicate the existence of life or were created in some other way is still unclear. A recent study could help answer this question. Conditions that support or maintain life in extraterrestrial oceans might leave molecular traces in grains of ice. The research was conducted at the FU Ber