Tokyo (AFP) Dec 6, 2021
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who blasts off for the International Space Station this week, is an irreverent space enthusiast who has made headlines for splashing the cash on modern art. The 46-year-old tycoon is the founder of Japan's largest online fashion mall and is the country's 30th-richest person, according to business magazine Forbes. But he is far from the traditional ima

Europe’s largest satellite constellation has grown even bigger, following the launch of two more Galileo navigation satellites by Soyuz launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 5 December. Galileo satellites 27-28 add to an existing 26-satellite constellation in orbit, providing the world’s most precise satnav positioning to more than 2.3 billion users around the globe.

Boston MA (SPX) Dec 03, 2021
Ultra-short-period planets are small, compact worlds that whip around their stars at close range, completing an orbit - and a single, scorching year - in less than 24 hours. How these planets came to be in such extreme configurations is one of the continuing mysteries of exoplanetary science. Now, astronomers have discovered an ultra-short-period planet (USP) that is also super light. The

University Park PA (SPX) Dec 03, 2021
The dusty surface of the moon - immortalized in images of Apollo astronauts' lunar footprints - formed as the result of asteroid impacts and the harsh environment of space breaking down rock over millions of years. An ancient layer of this material, covered by periodic lava flows and now buried under the lunar surface, could provide new insight into the Moon's deep past, according to a team of s

Bethesda MD (SPX) Dec 03, 2021
Proposed lunar surface mobility systems for human colonization appear to be severely limited in speed and payload capabilities. Roving vehicles are massive and move slowly over the rough lunar terrain, at a high cost of energy and life support supplies. Flying units, powered by chemical rockets are fast, but the price of speed is payload and range. On the other hand, a hopping transporter

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 03, 2021
With Flight 17, Ingenuity continues its journey back to Wright Brothers Field at the Octavia E. Butler landing site. Flight 17 is the third flight of this journey and is scheduled to take place no earlier than Sunday, Dec. 5 with the data arriving back on Earth no earlier than later that same day. Flight 17 is approximately half of Flight 9 in reverse, which was one of the most challenging

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 03, 2021
NASA has awarded the Booster Production and Operations Contract (BPOC) to Northrop Grumman of Brigham City, Utah, to build boosters for the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to support nine SLS flights. Northrop Grumman, the lead booster contractor, has produced booster motors for the first three Artemis missions and is casting the motors for the fourth lunar mission. This contract

In Space (AFP) Dec 3, 2021
Two NASA astronauts have completed the 13th spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS) this year, the agency said, days after the event was postponed over a debris risk. Astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron headed outside the space laboratory on Thursday, replacing a faulty antenna and restoring its capability. "It was awesome!" Barron said after completing her first spac

Paris, France (SPX) Dec 03, 2021
Eutelsat Communications and Vodacom Tanzania PLC have signed a service agreement for packaged services to bring connectivity to underserved regions of Tanzania, leveraging Eutelsat's EUTELSAT KONNECT high-throughput satellite. Following a successful Proof of Concept trial, Vodacom will commercialize services on the EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite under its own brand, building out its service of

Melbourne FL (SPX) Dec 03, 2021
L3Harris Technologies has completed the final design review for the Space Development Agency's missile-tracking program. The company will continue with development and integration of four satellites for Tracking Layer Tranche 0 under a $193 million firm, fixed-price contract. L3Harris completed Critical Design Review in November, and the company will proceed through build, integration, tes