Air Force Materiel Command takes on role as servicing major command for Space Force
Air Force Materiel Command is adding on a new role as the designated Servicing Major Command for the U.S. Space Force.
Recently the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force took steps to define AFMC's role as the designated Servicing MAJCOM for the U.S. Space Force. These actions included a memorandum of understanding providing a strategic overview of support provided to the USSF by the USAF. A SpaceX to acquire Swarm Technologies
SpaceX has quietly agreed to acquire Swarm Technologies, a company that operates a smallsat constellation providing internet-of-things services.
U.S. military doubles down on GPS despite vulnerabilities
Space weapons meant to target U.S. satellites are a growing concern for the U.S. military. Especially worrisome are electronic jamming devices designed to interfere with GPS signals.
China is working on a lander for human moon missions
China’s main spacecraft maker is developing a human landing system for lunar missions as part of a national strategy, according to a report.
University of Michigan graduate named to lead Taiwan’s space agency
In an inauguration speech, the new NSPO chief said he will try to “build a more comprehensive infrastructure for space technology in Taiwan and to develop the space industry and its supply chain.
NASA rover has been exploring surface sediments, not lake deposits, for last eight years: study
Image: Crater trio
This image was taken on 22 March 2021 in the Lunae Planum region [16.74°N, 300.9°E] of Mars by the CaSSIS camera on the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).
This region is known to be covered by large lava deposits probably from the nearby Tharsis Montes volcanoes. In this image three medium-sized impact craters take center stage, with many smaller impacts pockmarking the scene. Zooming into the larger craters it is possible to see layers in the inner rim that could represent the successive accumulation of lava flows in this area.
TGO's full science mission began in 2018. The spacecraft is not only returning spectacular images, but also providing the best ever inventory of the planet's atmospheric gases, and mapping the planet's surface for water-rich locations. It will also provide data relay services for the second ExoMars mission comprising the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok platform, when it arrives on Mars in 2023.
Explore further
NASA Invites Media to New OSIRIS-REx, Asteroid Bennu Study Briefing
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 11, to discuss an important finding from NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. In-Space Missions wins contract for British military smallsat
British smallsat developer In-Space Missions has won a contract from the U.K. Ministry of Defence to build a satellite to test optical communications.
Space Force developing “freight train to space” for smallsats
The U.S. Space Force plans to demonstrate later this year two approaches to provide rides to space for small satellites and hosted payloads, including a version of a common adapter equipped with a propulsion system.
