Senators make new push for NASA authorization bill
Senators used a NASA hearing Feb. 9 to once again advocate for an authorization bill for the agency, arguing it is vital for giving the agency direction and securing funding.
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Introducing ESA Vigil: Earth's devoted solar defender
Once known as Lagrange, ESA's upcoming space weather mission needed a new name that would reflect its vital role: helping to protect Earth's infrastructure, satellites, inhabitants and space explorers from unpredictable but violent solar events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
With 5422 submissions from across Europe and indeed around the world—and after weeks of deliberation, countless spreadsheets, three diverse and expert judges and a lively debate—a new name has been selected for our upcoming space weather mission: ESA Vigil.
Thousands of thoughtful, clever and funny names were submitted in the Agency's #NameTheMission mission contest, which ran from May to September 2021.
Once submissions closed, a team from ESA's Communication department and Space Weather Office reviewed all submissions putting a shortlist of just nine names before a panel of invited, external judges.
Armed with their top three respective choices, the judges then took part in a lively, two-hour video chat in which they made the case for their favourite and deliberated the merits of each.
Artemis I – European Service Module perspective
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The Orion spacecraft with European Service Module will fly farther from Earth than any human-rated vehicle has ever flown before. This video gives an overview of the first mission – without astronauts – for Artemis, focussing on ESA’s European Service Module that powers the spacecraft.
The spacecraft will perform a flyby of the Moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 70 000 km beyond the Moon, almost half a million km from Earth – further than any human has ever travelled.
On its return journey, Orion will do another flyby of the Moon before heading back
New Sun Missions to Help NASA Better Understand Earth-Sun Environment
NASA has selected two science missions – the Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm – to help improve our understanding of the dynamics of the Sun, the Sun-Earth connection, and the constantly changing space environment. NASA to Discuss Webb Telescope Progress, Mirror Alignment
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 11, to share progress made in the early stages of aligning the James Webb Space Telescope’s mirrors. Astra launch of NASA-sponsored cubesats fails
The first operational launch of Astra’s Rocket 3.3 vehicle failed Feb. 10 when the rocket’s upper stage appeared to tumble out of control after stage separation.
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Space Force eager to invest in debris removal projects
The Space Force wants to partner with private companies on debris removal initiatives, said vice chief of space operations Gen. David “DT” Thompson.
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Musk to give rare presentation on ambitious Starship rocket
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is set Thursday night to deliver an eagerly-awaited update on SpaceX's Starship, a prototype rocket the company is developing for crewed interplanetary exploration.
The tycoon will make his presentation at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica, south Texas, at 8:00 pm local time (0200 GMT Friday), against the impressive backdrop of the spacecraft in its fully-stacked configuration, standing 394 feet (120 meters) tall.
It will be Musk's first detailed progress report since 2019—though he often provides small updates on Twitter—and is expected be live-streamed on the company's website.
SDA seeks commercial Earth-observation data
The Defense Department’s Space Development Agency is looking for ways to rapidly acquire Earth observation data.
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Arianespace launches 34 OneWeb satellites in first mission of 2022
Arianespace launched another batch of OneWeb satellites Feb. 10 in the launch provider’s first mission of 2022.
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