Voyager 1 team accomplishes tricky thruster swap
Engineers working on NASA's Voyager 1 probe have successfully mitigated an issue with the spacecraft's thrusters, which keep the distant explorer pointed at Earth so that it can receive commands, send engineering data, and provide the unique science data it is gathering.
After 47 years, a fuel tube inside the thrusters has become clogged with silicon dioxide, a byproduct that appears with age from a rubber diaphragm in the spacecraft's fuel tank. The clogging reduces how efficiently the thrusters can generate force. After weeks of careful planning, the team switched the spacecraft to a different set of thrusters.
The thrusters are fueled by liquid hydrazine, which is turned into gases and released in tens-of-milliseconds-long puffs to gently tilt the spacecraft's antenna toward Earth.
Below the surface - ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission
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Watch the second episode of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission – Europe’s ambitious exploration journey to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.
This episode starts with Rosalind searching for traces of life below the martian surface using a ground penetrating radar and a set of cameras.
The rover will dig, collect, and investigate the chemical composition of material collected by a drill. Rosalind Franklin will be the first rover to reach a depth of up to two metres deep below the surface, acquiring samples that have been protected from surface radiation and extreme temperatures.
Report highlights severe infrastructure challenges at NASA
Landspace completes 10-kilometer reusable rocket test, eyes 2025 orbital launch
Amid Boeing's Starliner troubles, WA space industry thrives
It'd be reasonable to think Washington's space economy has a lot riding on Boeing's Starliner, the spacecraft that left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station and headed back to Earth with an empty cabin Friday.
The astronauts were scheduled to return on Starliner in June after a week on the ISS, but thruster failures and helium leaks on the way there made NASA decide a trip back on the Boeing spacecraft was too risky. Boeing's troubles with Starliner date back years, including a flawed, unmanned test flight in 2019 that had to be repeated in 2022.
But, outside of some classified satellite jobs that pop up in South King County, Boeing's efforts in the Seattle area are largely centered on its commercial airplane business, according to industry experts. Instead, the biggest players in the Seattle area's space industry are Amazon, Blue Origin and SpaceX.
"The Seattle space ecosystem is small but mighty because we have companies here that cover the entire space supply chain," said Stan Shull, founder of space technology consulting firm Alliance Victory.
Shull said there are the space and tech giants like SpaceX and Amazon manufacturing thousands of satellites in their Starlink and Project Kuiper divisions, respectively, and Blue Origin with its rocket engines and spacecraft.
Rosetta's legacy: how were you inspired?
From inspiring a love for the stars to making a life-changing career move, we want to know how ESA’s Rosetta mission has shaped your life.
Hera CubeSats’ touchdown
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Hera CubeSats’ touchdown 
U.S. space weather policy is alive and well but is insufficiently funded
Astroscale and ClearSpace get funds to advance double satellite de-orbit mission
