Copernical Team
Space law protects you from falling debris, but there are no legal penalties for leaving junk in orbit
On May 8, 2021, a piece of space junk from a Chinese rocket fell uncontrolled back to Earth and landed in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives. A year ago, in May 2020, another Chinese rocket met the same fate when it plummeted out of control into the waters off the West African coast. No one knew when or where either of these pieces of space junk were going to hit, so it was a relief when neither crashed on land or injured anyone.
Space debris is any nonfunctional human-made object in space.As a professor of space and society focused on space governance, I've noticed that there are three questions the public always asks when falling space debris gets into the news.
Solar Orbiter images first coronal mass ejections
- First Solar Orbiter movies showing coronal mass ejections (CMEs)
- A pair of CMEs were detected by multiple instruments during February’s close flyby of the Sun
- CMEs are eruptions of particles from the solar atmosphere that blast out into the Solar System and have the potential to trigger space weather at Earth
- Solar Orbiter will begin its main science mission in November this year
- Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA
Name ESA’s new mission!
New ESA contracts to advance Prometheus and Phoebus projects
ESA is forging ahead with advanced developments in two flagship space transportation demonstration projects, Prometheus and Phoebus. This will benefit Europe’s new Ariane 6 launcher in the near-term, and prepare for a new generation of European launch vehicles in the next decade.
SBIRS GEO-5 encapsulated ahead of upcoming launch
The United States Space Force's Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-5 satellite was encapsulated on April 30 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) Florida. The satellite's encapsulation within the United Launch Alliance's payload fairing represents completion of the final major testing milestone before launch, as well as a key protective measure for the satellite in preparation
On-time delivery top priority at Space Development Agency
Cost, performance and delivery drive acquisition across the Defense Department, typically in equal measure. But the Space Development Agency has prioritized delivery above all else in its effort to get satellites into space that will deliver non-line-of-sight targeting to warfighters across the globe. "The key thing is always to focus on getting these capabilities up and operational as rap
STPSat-6 safely arrives in Florida
The U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Test Program Satellite - 6 space vehicle arrived at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, on May 6, 2021. STPSat-6 is the primary space vehicle on the Space Test Program - 3 mission, and was safely transported by Northrop Grumman from their facility in Dulles, Virginia where STPSat-6 was built and tested. STPSat-6 is on s
Roth, Brown, Raymond present Air and Space Forces priorities to Congress
Acting Secretary of the Air Force John Roth told a congressional subcommittee Friday that both the Air and Space forces are moving decisively to confront new and emerging threats, including those from China and Russia, while also devoting resources "to rid our ranks of corrosive elements and injustices." Appearing alongside Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., and Chief of
Modernization investments needed to protect space domain, Space Force Chief Says
The United States is a spacefaring nation, which depends on access to space and freedom to maneuver in space. However, there's a potential for conflict in space that could affect the lives of every American, said the chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force. Space Force Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond spoke at the McAleese "FY2022 Defense Programs" conference in Washington, D.C.
CATALYST Develops Automated Workflow for South African National Space Agency
CATALYST, a PCI Geomatics brand, has delivered an automated workflow for the South African National Space Agency's (SANSA) Earth Observation Department to convert decades of SPOT satellite imagery to CARD4L Analysis Ready Data (ARD). The scalable workflow enables SANSA to prepare its entire SPOT archive for immediate analysis using the Open Data Cube, machine learning, and AI models. CATAL