Space Coast FL (SPX) Dec 19, 2023
2023 has been the busiest year for spaceports around the world. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launches a batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on December 18 at 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC Dec. 19). A stormy weather that swept through Florida last week delayed the first launch attempt at the T-1 minute mark due to high ground-level winds, and h

Image: Hera’s wings of power

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Ten years ago, on 19 December 2013, ESA’s billion star-mapping satellite Gaia launched. Since then, Gaia has been scanning the sky and gathering an enormous amount of data on the positions and motions of 1.8 billion stars, enabling numerous discoveries about the history of our galaxy.

Gaia’s catalogue is ever-growing containing data on stars and other cosmic objects such as asteroids in our Solar System, exoplanets, binary stars, and other galaxies. The Gaia collaboration, consisting of about 450 people in 25 countries, prepares the data for scientific use. This has resulted in publications of over 10 000 scientific papers

The latest international group to employ ESA’s hypergravity-generating Large Diameter Centrifuge is an all-female team from Bolivia, with access sponsored by the United Nations and ESA. The researchers are investigating whether the high gravity levels experienced during rocket launches might contribute to the anemia afflicting many astronauts in space.

Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Dec 18, 2023
Switzerland's majestic mountains, a haven for winter sports enthusiasts and a critical area for hydropower generation, are now subject to a novel method of snow depth measurement. This fresh approach, developed by a collaborative effort between ETH Zurich and the Swiss company ExoLabs, utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite images, marking a significant advancement in environmental

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 18, 2023
China has taken another significant step in enhancing its space-based Earth observation (EO) capabilities with the successful launch of the Yaogan-41 satellite. This latest addition to China's satellite constellation was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan province, marking a continuation of the nation's ambitious foray into space technology. The mission was execute

Two state-of-the-art ESA facilities are working closely to develop a simulated lunar environment that will serve as a proving ground for future exploration technologies.

Image: Boost! graphic