NASA kicked asteroid off course in test to save Earth
NASA on Tuesday celebrated exceeding expectations during a mission to deflect a distant asteroid, in a sci-fi like test of humanity's ability to stop an incoming cosmic object from devastating life on Earth.
The fridge-sized Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impactor deliberately smashed into the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, pushing it into a smaller, faster orbit around Japan space rocket ordered to self-destruct after failed launch
Japan's space agency said it sent a self-destruct order to its Epsilon rocket after a failed launch on Wednesday because of a problem that meant the craft could not safely fly.
The unmanned rocket, on its sixth mission, was taking satellites into orbit to demonstrate "innovative" technologies.
"The rocket can't continue a safe flight, because of the danger it would create if it falls on Japan becomes first in Asia to get Starlink connection
Japan on Tuesday became the first country in Asia to receive Internet access from the Starlink satellite system from the SpaceX company controlled by Tesla founder Elon Musk.
Starlink is led by SpaceX, which envisions the system as part of a constellation of satellites that would deliver broadband Internet across the globe.
A service map from Starlink shows most of central and no Yahsat invests in direct-to-cell enabler eSAT Global
Emirati fleet operator Yahsat said Oct. 11 it has invested in Californian startup eSAT Global, which is developing a chip that would enable phones to connect to its satellites in geostationary orbit.
Jumping on the direct-to-cell bandwagon
More satellite operators are considering providing services directly to standard mobile phones following early product launches, big-name announcements, and progress startups are making for their dedicated constellations.
The post Jumping on the direct-to-cell bandwagon appeared first on SpaceNews.
NASA taps KSAT and SpaceLink for communications studies
NASA has awarded contracts to KSAT Inc. and SpaceLink as part the space agency’s campaign to begin investigating commercial sources for future space communications services.
The post NASA taps KSAT and SpaceLink for communications studies appeared first on SpaceNews.
Japanese rocket launch fails in blow for space agency
The launch of a Japanese rocket taking satellites into orbit to demonstrate new technologies failed after blast-off on Wednesday because of a positioning problem, the country's space agency said.
It was Japan's first failed launch in nearly two decades, and the only one for an Epsilon rocket, a solid-fuel model that has flown five successful missions since its 2013 debut.
The unmanned craft took off from Uchinoura Space Center in the southern Kagoshima region, with its lift-off livestreamed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
But a self-destruct signal was sent to the rocket less than 10 minutes later because of "positioning abnormalities", said Yasuhiro Funo of JAXA, who led the project.
The livestream was halted and presenters wearing hard-hats told viewers there had been a problem with the launch.
Mexico denies Russia space deal will aid spying
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday denied that a space cooperation agreement signed with Russia last year would help Moscow spy on North America.
The pact was inked before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and "now a scandal is being made because there's talk that Mexico is allowing Russian satellites to be used to spy on Mexican and North American airspace," Lopez Obrador to Navigation at Ministerial Council 2022
The ESA Council at Ministerial level, CM22, is a time for critical decisions. In November 2022, ESA’s Member States, Associate States and Cooperating States will come together to strengthen Europe’s space sector and ensure it continues to serve European citizens.
Seasonal changes in Antarctic ice sheet flow dynamics detected for the first time
Certain estimates of Antarctica’s total contribution to sea-level rise may be over, or even underestimated, after researchers detected a previously unknown source of ice loss variability. In a new paper published in The Cryosphere, researchers using Copernicus Sentinel-1 data, found that glaciers feeding the George VI Ice Shelf speed up by approximately 15% during the Antarctic summer. This is the first time that such seasonal cycles have been detected on land ice flowing into ice shelves in Antarctica.
