Manned Mars mission viable if it doesn't exceed four years, concludes international research team
Sending human travelers to Mars would require scientists and engineers to overcome a range of technological and safety obstacles. One of them is the grave risk posed by particle radiation from the sun, distant stars and galaxies.
Answering two key questions would go a long way toward overcoming that hurdle: Would particle radiation pose too grave a threat to human life throughout a round trip to the red planet? And, could the very timing of a mission to Mars help shield astronauts and the spacecraft from the radiation?
Global microelectronic shortages trickle down to military satellite programs
Defense Department satellite programs are feeling the effects of the widespread microchip shortage that has stymied carmakers and consumer electronic manufacturers.
ESA pursuing European space summit to discuss new flagship space programs
The head of the European Space Agency says plans are moving forward to host a European space summit early next year to discuss proposals for new major space initiatives.
SLS cubesats arrive for Artemis 1 launch
While most of the cubesats manifested to launch as secondary payloads on the first Space Launch System mission have arrived, at least one of them will miss its flight.
White House to revise charter and membership of space council advisory group
The Biden administration plans to revise both the charter and the membership of the National Space Council’s advisory group to better reflect its priorities.
Chinese commercial sector investment lagging in 2021
China’s commercial space sector has been expanding rapidly ever since the central government opened space to private capital, but activity appears to be slowing.
All future Starlink satellites will have laser crosslinks
SpaceX is adding laser terminals on all future Starlink satellites and is the reason behind a break in launches for the broadband megaconstellation, president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said.
Engineers test liquid acquisition device aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) experiment was performed aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital rocket today, which launched from Van Horn, Texas. Five variations of the tapered liquid acquisition device (LAD), which is designed to safely deliver liquid propellant to a rocket engine from fuel tanks, were aboard the rocket to evaluate their performance in microgravity.
Blue Origin launches artwork, moon-landing test into space
Blue Origin launched artwork painted on a capsule and a moon-landing navigation experiment into space Thursday, a month after sending founder Jeff Bezos on the company's first passenger flight.
No one was aboard for Thursday's 10-minute flight, which included other experiments from NASA and others.
The paintings by Ghana artist Amoako Boafo were on three parachute panels on the outside of the capsule at the very top. Boafo painted a self-portrait as well as portraits of his mother and a friend's mother, explaining "a mother's love comes from a place that is out of this world," said Blue Origin launch commentator Kiah Erlich, a company official.
Fire ravages Esrange Space Centre in northern Sweden
A large fire tore through a scientific space research centre in northern Sweden on Thursday, destroying part of the rocket launch pad, officials said.
The fire broke out early Thursday "during a scheduled static firing test of a solid rocket motor" and was under control by late afternoon when "post-extinguishing work" was being conducted, Esrange Space Centre said in a statement.
Located in the town of Kiruna, the centre is a base for scientific research with high-altitude balloons, studies on the aurora borealis phenomenon (also known as the Northern Lights), sounding rocket launches and satellite tracking, among other things.
No injuries were reported, though some staff were taken to hospital for a check-up.
The fire damaged "part of the sounding rocket launching infrastructure", Esrange Space Centre said.
"The full extent of damages and consequences for launching operations cannot yet be assessed," it said.
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