Earth from Space: Gariep Dam, South Africa
The Gariep Dam, the largest dam in South Africa, is featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
Redwire goes public with SPAC Buyout
Redwire, a mission-critical space solutions company, and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: GNPK) ("Genesis Park"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Redwire becoming a publicly traded company. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2021, ESA–EGU announce Excellence Award winners
ESA, along with the European Geosciences Union (EGU), are excited to announce the winners of the first ESA–EGU Earth Observation Excellence Awards.
South Korean leader vows ‘landing on the moon by 2030’
SEOUL, South Korea — President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has vowed to launch the nation’s first robotic lunar lander on a domestically developed rocket by 2030. Moon also said feasibility studies are underway for sending a spacecraft to Apophis, an asteroid that will pass near Earth in 2029.
Launcher opens California facility to develop small launch vehicle
WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle company Launcher has moved across the country to California as it takes its next steps in the development of its rocket.
Launcher, which had been based in New York City, is in the process of moving into a 24,000-square-foot building it is leasing in Hawthorne, California, a few blocks from the sprawling headquarters of SpaceX.
Op-ed | The use of AI in space systems: opportunities for mission improvement
From analyzing the terrain on Mars to enhancing communications between satellites and ground communications, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing important role in space operations and exploration.
Light show over US sky likely SpaceX debris re-entering atmosphere
A spectacular display of lights that streamed across the night sky over the US Pacific Northwest was probably debris from a SpaceX mission re-entering the atmosphere, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
"While we await further confirmation on the details, here's the unofficial information we have so far. The widely reported bright objects in the sky were the debris from a Falcon 9 rocket 2nd stage," NWS Seattle tweeted.
Videos posted on social media showed a thick cluster of glowing dots with blazing trails of light moving slowly across the sky before fizzling out, with users speculating the phenomenon might be a meteor shower or even, jokingly, an alien invasion.
Local media reported multiple sightings just after 9 pm local time, with videos posted online from Washington state and Oregon.
NWS Seattle said the sight was more likely to be caused by space debris rather than a meteor or similar object because the latter would be moving far faster, a conclusion backed up by several meteorologists quoted by local media.
Jonathan McDowell from Harvard's Center for Astrophysics also pointed to the Falcon 9 rocket stage as the source of the firework-like display.
Apophis impact ruled out for the first time
New observations of asteroid Apophis – thought to pose a slight risk of impacting Earth in 2068 – rule out any chance of impact for at least a century. After 17 years of observations and orbit analysis, ESA is removing the enormous asteroid from its Risk List.
Week in images: 22 - 26 March 2021
Week in images: 22 - 26 March 2021
Discover our week through the lens
Suez Canal traffic jam seen from space
Image:
The enormous Ever Given container ship, wedged in Egypt’s Suez Canal, is visible in new images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission. 
