A sophisticated telecommunications satellite capable of being completely repurposed in orbit has been fuelled ready for its launch on 30 July.

Nottingham UK (SPX) Jul 15, 2021
A consortium of modern slavery experts, led by the University of Nottingham, have assisted the Greek government to tackle a humanitarian crisis unfolding in the strawberry fields of southern Greece. Using satellite technology to identify migrant settlements - a technique pioneered by the university's Rights Lab - and working with the Greek authorities, the experts then developed a decision

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 16, 2021
Just weeks after the Pacific Northwest endured record-shattering temperatures, another heat wave scorched the U.S. Southwest. This heat wave, which started around July 7, tied or broke several all-time records in California, Nevada, northern Arizona, and southern Utah. Two instruments - NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard the Aqua satellite, and the agency's ECOsystem Spacebo

San Antonio TX (SPX) Jul 16, 2021
Safety is paramount for NASA's quiet supersonic flight team who are making great strides in preparing for future flight testing with the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft. To achieve the safest possible environment and aircraft for our pilots, NASA is working with contractor KBR and relying on their expertise to make sure that the aircraft is meeting required standards for the l

Leiden, Netherlands (SPX) Jul 20, 2021
Today, Airbus announced that its Sparkwing solar panels were selected by USA-based Masten Space Systems for their XL-1 lunar lander. In 2023, the XL-1 spacecraft will land at the lunar South Pole as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. XL-1 will be equipped with six body-mounted Sparkwing solar panels, to be delivered next year, to charge the vehicle's power system dur

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 20, 2021
The world's richest person, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and three very different crewmates are scheduled to fly into space Tuesday morning from Texas. Liftoff of Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital rocket is planned at 9 a.m. EDT from the company's Corn Ranch launch site 160 miles east of El Paso, although weather and technical problems can always delay the launch. "It feels good

Companies with small satellites are set to benefit from a new end-to-end space transportation service offering additional in-orbit flexibility proposed by D-Orbit and supported through ESA’s Boost! programme.

A vehicle that remains continuously connected even when in remote areas is being road tested in Cornwall in the south west of the UK.

Lanzhou, China (XNA) Jul 20, 2021
Four photos of Mars taken by the Tianwen 1 probe were unveiled in China last month, but the excitement generated by humanity's next great step in space exploration was shared around the world. Just as eye-catching as images of the Martian surface itself was the Chinese national flag on the Zhurong rover's landing platform. After the historic landing on May 15, the flag was slowly unr

London, UK (SPX) Jul 20, 2021
The first collaborative activity within the UK-Australia Space Bridge framework is being launched today by Australia's SmartSat CRC, UK Science and Innovation Network, and the Satellite Applications Catapult with the support of Austrade and the Australian Space Agency. The Satellite Applications Catapult, based at the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire, and Australia's Smartsat CRC will