Strange neutron star spinning every 76 seconds is discovered in stellar graveyard
An international team of scientists have discovered a strange radio emitting neutron star, which rotates extremely slowly, completing one rotation every 76 seconds.
The team, led by members of the ERC-funded MeerTRAP (More Transients and Pulsars) group at The University of Manchester say it is a unique discovery as it resides in the neutron star graveyard where they do not expect to see an House committee questions proposed delay in NASA asteroid mission
Members of the House Science Committee used a hearing about the planetary science decadal survey to criticize a proposal in NASA’s budget request to delay work on a space telescope to track near Earth objects.
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Rocket to launch China’s next space station module arrives at launch center
A Long March 5B rocket has arrived at Wenchang spaceport as China gears up to send its second space station module into orbit.
Against Quad? China launches satellite-based Earth observation initiative with BRICS nations
In what appears to be a tit-for-tat move against Quad nations’ launch of a satellite-based maritime domain awareness initiative for the Indo-Pacific region, China has rolled out a similar campaign with its four BRICS partners.
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A new kind of solar sail could let us explore difficult places to reach in the solar system
Solar sailing technology has been a dream of many for decades. The simple elegance of sailing on the light waves of the sun does have a dreamy aspect to it that has captured the imagination of engineers as well as writers. However, the practicalities of the amount of energy received compared to that needed to move useful payloads have brought those dreams back to reality. Now, a team led by Amber Dubill of John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and supported by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program is developing new solar sail architecture that might have already found its killer app—heliophysics.
The technique they are using is known as diffractive light sailing. It has significant advantages over existing solar sail technology, including the ability to turn. That is a big problem for most solar sails, which lose effectiveness if they are not directly facing the sun.
Astrocast buying Hiber to boost funding and expansion plans
Cash-strapped smallsat operator Astrocast announced plans May 30 to buy Dutch connectivity solutions provider Hiber, which scrapped plans for its own constellation last year following failures on its initial satellites.
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Sierra Space to partner with Spirit AeroSystems on Dream Chaser cargo modules
Sierra Space announced May 31 a strategic partnership with aerospace manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems for production of cargo modules for its Dream Chaser vehicles.
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Plato’s cave: vacuum test for exoplanet detection
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Plato’s cave: vacuum test for exoplanet detection Planetary Defense exercise uses Apophis as Hazardous Asteroid Stand-In
Watching the skies for large asteroids that could pose a hazard to the Earth is a global endeavor. So, to test their operational readiness, the international planetary defense community will sometimes use a real asteroid's close approach as a mock encounter with a "new" potentially hazardous asteroid. The lessons learned could limit, or even prevent, global devastation should the scenario play o Perseverance now selects its own targets to zap
Perseverance has continued into Hawksbill Gap, making remote sensing observations of small portions of outcropping rock layers in search of a good place to collect a sample. Since Perseverance is in the Shenandoah quadrangle, we are using target names from Shenandoah National Park.
Some of the names this past week included "Bald_Face_Mountain," "Little_Devil_Stairs," "Sunset_Hill," "Luck_H 
