Washington DC (Sputnik) Aug 16, 2021
US military's sensor architecture is not sufficient to effectively detect hypersonic missiles across the world while Russia today is the leading nation for this technology, US Strategic Command chief Adm. Charles Richard said on Thursday. "It [hypersonic technology] creates challenges that permeate the responsibility of STRATCOM, SPACECOM, NORTHCOM, and every other combatant command," Rich

Wright-Patterson AFB OH (SPX) Aug 16, 2021
On August 19, SpaceWERX will officially launch. The kickoff will include a virtual Space Force Pitch Day highlighting the key partnership between the Department of the Air Force and small businesses by awarding up to $34 million to innovative startups competing for Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contracts. At the launch, SpaceWERX will also announce key initiatives to jumpstart the

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 17, 2021
Microsoft is delighted to announce the launch of Microsoft for Space Startups Australia designed to support emerging enterprises focussed on cloud-powered innovation on and off the planet. Through this initiative, Microsoft will support and enable cutting-edge Australian space innovation to help solve tough problems, such as bush fire detection, climate change and sustainable practices on Earth

Wenchang, China (XNA) Aug 17, 2021
China's Long March-7 Y4 rocket, which will launch the new cargo craft of China's space station, on Monday arrived at its launch site in southern China's Hainan Province. The rocket, alongside the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft that has already been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, will be assembled and tested at the launch site, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO)

Santa Cruz CA (SPX) Aug 17, 2021
A region of active star formation in the constellation Ophiuchus is giving astronomers new insights into the conditions in which our own solar system was born. In particular, a new study of the Ophiuchus star-forming complex shows how our solar system may have become enriched with short-lived radioactive elements. Evidence of this enrichment process has been around since the 1970s, when sc

Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 17, 2021
As a comet zooms through the inner solar system, the Sun heats it, causing ices below the surface to vaporize into space. The venting vapor dislodges dust and rock, and the gas creates a bright tail that can extend millions of miles from the nucleus like an ethereal veil. Whereas comets contain lots of different ices, asteroids are mainly rock and not known for producing such majestic disp

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 16, 2021
Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, has sued the U.S. government in federal court to overturn NASA's decision awarding SpaceX a contract for a lunar lander - an action likely to further delay a U.S. return to the moon. Bezos' company asked permission to file the suit under seal Friday, and U.S. Federal Claims Court Judge Richard Hertling approved that motion Monday morning.

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 17, 2021
By combining observations from three international spacecraft at Mars, scientists were able to show that regional dust storms play a huge role in drying out the Red Planet. Dust storms heat up higher altitudes of the cold Martian atmosphere, preventing water vapor from freezing as usual and allowing it to reach farther up. In the higher reaches of Mars, where the atmosphere is sparse, wate

Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 17, 2021
NASA reportedly paid $300 million to SpaceX on 30 July to turn Starship into a crewed Moon lander for its Human Landing System (HLS) programme. In total, the project may require up to $3 billion in funding. Once again, Elon Musk has shared his optimistic views on space exploration, saying that Moon travel may be closer than it seems. Replying to the Twitter account "Everything Artemis", wh

Europe’s Vega has delivered Pléiades Neo-4 and four auxiliary payloads, SunStorm, RadCube and LEDSAT developed through ESA, and BRO-4, to their planned orbits.