Washington DC (AFNS) Dec 25, 2020
This past week, the United States Space Force turned one year old. In the months leading up to the anniversary, the infant military branch started to form an image all its own. In July, the newly instituted Space Force unveiled its logo and new motto, Semper Supra, "Always Above." The motto was reminiscent of other military branches, like that of the Marine Corps "Semper Fidelis," meaning "Alway

Arlington VA. (AFNS) Dec 25, 2020
Guardians from around the world gathered virtually Dec. 11 to reflect on their contributions and to recognize high achieving individuals for their performance during the U.S. Space Force's first year of operation. The formal recognition was led by Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond and Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Space For

Washington DC (UPI) Dec 22, 2020
The Army's under-development Extended Range Cannon Artillery system hit a target on the nose from 43 miles away. Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, who is overseeing the branch's Long-Range Precision Fires modernization program, told reporters an Excalibur extended-range guided artillery shell hit a target at Arizona's Yuma Proving Ground on Saturday. "I don't think our adversaries have t

Washington DC (UPI) Dec 22, 2020
Congress has added $1.3 billion into the Missile Defense Agency's fiscal 2021 budget, in excess of what the agency asked for in February. The agency had requested $9.13 billion, a $1.27 billion decrease from last year's budget, but also submitted a list of unfunded requirements that totaled nearly $1 billion. In the bill, lawmakers describe a "concerning" disconnect between the M

Beijing (XNA) Dec 28, 2020
China sent a new remote sensing satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 11:44 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time). The satellite, Yaogan-33, was launched aboard a Long March-4C rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. It was the 357th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. The mission also sent a micro and nano technology

WASHINGTON — The White House released a national strategy for planetary protection Dec. 30, outlining new assessments to prevent terrestrial contamination of other worlds and vice versa.

The National Strategy for Planetary Protection, developed by an interagency working group led by the National Space Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), outlines work to be done over the next year to update planetary protection policies, considering both scientific advances as well as growing private capabilities in space exploration.

WASHINGTON — The recent selection of NSTXL to manage space technology projects for the U.S. Space Force is being reexamined following revelations that a Texas court ruled the company acted fraudulently in a dispute with a business partner.

La Jolla CA (SPX) Dec 31, 2020
Chemists at Scripps Research have made a discovery that supports a surprising new view of how life originated on our planet. In a study published in the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, they demonstrated that a simple compound called diamidophosphate (DAP), which was plausibly present on Earth before life arose, could have chemically knitted together tiny DNA building blocks called deo

Washington DC (UPI) Dec 23, 2020
NASA has shown what it will look like when its Perseverance rover touches down on Mars, a challenging sequence that the agency describes as "7 minutes of terror." The Perseverance rover was launched in the summer and is scheduled to arrive on Mars in February. Once it reaches Mars' atmosphere on its way to Jezero Crater, it must slow down from its speed of 12,000 mph in a span of

Chicago IL (SPX) Dec 31, 2020
There's something a little off about our theory of the universe. Almost everything fits, but there's a fly in the cosmic ointment, a particle of sand in the infinite sandwich. Some scientists think the culprit might be gravity-and that subtle ripples in the fabric of space-time could help us find the missing piece. A new paper co-authored by a University of Chicago scientist lays out how t