Lockheed Martin's Transport Layer satellites launch as part SDA's Tranche 0
Monday, 04 September 2023 10:35Ten Lockheed Martin-built (NYSE: LMT) satellites have been deployed into low-Earth orbit (LEO) in support of the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Tranche 0 Transport Layer (T0TL) mission. SDA's T0TL is a proliferated LEO constellation that will demonstrate low-latency communication and provide a resilient network of integrated capabilities. The small satellites launched aboard a SpaceX Fal
Firefly and Millennium stand ready for Responsive mission for Space Force
Monday, 04 September 2023 10:35Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an end-to-end space transportation company, and Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) small satellite constellation prime, have entered the hot standby phase for VICTUS NOX, a Tactically Responsive Space mission led by Space Systems Command's (SSC) Space Safari Program Office. The team stands ready for the 24-hour callup and orbit requirements to complete
Ariane 6 joint update report, 4 September 2023
Monday, 04 September 2023 10:30The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force consists of top management at ESA, the overall Ariane 6 procuring entity and launch system architect, launch base prime contractor and French space agency CNES, launcher system prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch service provider Arianespace. This group reports regularly on progress being made towards inaugural flight of the new Ariane 6 launcher.
The next update is expected in October.
Next major X-ray mission set to launch
Monday, 04 September 2023 07:00*Update: The new launch date for XRISM is 08:42 JST / 00:42 BST / 01:42 CEST on 7 September 2023*
The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is ready to launch on 7 September 2023 to observe the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos. In doing so, it will unveil the evolution of the Universe and the structure of spacetime.
XRISM is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with significant participation from ESA. The launch will be streamed live in Japanese and English on JAXA’s YouTube channel.
Four astronauts return to Earth in SpaceX capsule to wrap up six-month station mission
Monday, 04 September 2023 06:50NASA's LRO observes crater likely from Luna 25 impact
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50NASA's LRO - the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - spacecraft imaged a new crater on the Moon's surface that is likely the impact site of Russia's Luna 25 mission. During its descent, Luna 25 experienced an anomaly that caused it to impact the surface of the Moon on Aug. 19. Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, published an estimate of the impact point on Aug. 21. The LROC (short for LRO Camera)
Renderings offer images of China's next-generation spacecraft
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50China has published artist's renderings of the country's lunar landing module and its next-generation crew spacecraft, both of which will be central to the nation's grand goal of sending astronauts to the moon. According to the renderings and their descriptions published by the China Manned Space Agency on Thursday, the lunar landing module will have two parts - a landing section and a pro
China continues to make strides in space breeding technique
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50Upon a search for "space-bred seeds" on China's e-commerce giant JD.com, a stunning array of vegetables and fruits appears, each with remarkably positive user reviews. "My kid likes it a lot and finds it interesting to observe the growth of these special plants," a customer review stated. Over the decades, the plant seeds brought back from space have transcended their role in laborat
Another successful hot-fire test for Ariane 6 upper stage
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50On September 1 2023, teams from ArianeGroup, the German Aerospace Center and the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully completed another hot-fire test on the test bench dedicated to the upper stage of the new Ariane 6 launcher, in Lampoldshausen (Germany). The upper stage test sequence was representative of its operating phase during Ariane 6's inaugural flight. It involved more than 11
Copy and Paste at Gale Crater: Sols 3934-3935
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50Earth planning date: Wednesday, August 30, 2023: Earth to Mars? Due to a communications issue, Curiosity didn't receive its instructions on time on Monday, leading to Curiosity taking an extended weekend break - just like its British colleagues! Today, we're back on track with planning with a lot of discussions about the degree to which we should copy and paste the original plan intended f
How does "MAD" accretion form around a black hole?
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50An international scientific team has revealed for the first time the magnetic field transport processes in the accretion flow of a black hole and the formation of a "MAD"-a magnetically arrested disk-in the vicinity of a black hole. The researchers made the discovery while conducting multi-wavelength observational studies of an outburst event of the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070, using
Scientists detect and validate the longest-period exoplanet found with TESS
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50Scientists from The University of New Mexico (UNM), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have detected and validated two of the longest-period exoplanets found by TESS to date. These long period large exoplanets orbit a K dwarf star and belong to a class of planets known as warm Jupiters, which have orbital periods of 10-200 days and are at least six times Earth's radius. This recent
New giant planet evidence of possible planetary collisions
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50A Neptune-sized planet denser than steel has been discovered by an international team of astronomers, who believe its composition could be the result of a giant planetary clash. TOI-1853b's mass is almost twice that of any other similar-sized planet known and its density is incredibly high, meaning that it is made up of a larger fraction of rock than would typically be expected at that sca
Hot Jupiter blows its top
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50A planet about 950 light years from Earth could be the Looney Tunes' Yosemite Sam equivalent of planets, blowing its atmospheric 'top' in spectacular fashion. The planet called HAT-P-32b is losing so much of its atmospheric helium that the trailing gas tails are among the largest structures yet known of an exoplanet, a planet outside our solar system, according to observations by astronome
How is ESA supporting ISRO's Aditya-L1 solar mission
Sunday, 03 September 2023 10:50The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched its Aditya-L1 solar observatory from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Range (SDSC SHAR), India, at 11:50 IST (08:20 CEST) on 2 September 2023. It's an ambitious mission that will generate vast quantities of science data as the spacecraft balances in an unstable orbit. With its global network of deep space ground stations a