Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jun 12, 2024
Construction of the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center has been completed in Wenchang, Hainan province, after nearly two years of work, the center announced in a news release. The center's second launch service tower was finished on Thursday, and engineers have started preparing it for its maiden launch mission - the debut flight of the Long March 12 carrier rocket.

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jun 12, 2024
Astronomers are utilizing AI to measure the expansion of the universe. Two studies led by Maria Dainotti, a visiting professor with UNLV's Nevada Center for Astrophysics and assistant professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), applied machine learning models to enhance distance measurements for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). GRBs are the most luminous explosions in the univers

London, UK (SPX) Jun 12, 2024
Several international research groups have confirmed that two black holes exist at the center of the distant galaxy OJ 287, a theory first suggested by astronomers at the University of Turku, Finland. A new study shows that satellite observations conducted in 2021 revealed the smaller black hole of the pair for the first time. In 2021, NASA's exoplanet-hunting satellite was pointed towards

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 12, 2024
Sciaky has extended its pioneering work in additive manufacturing to lunar exploration by producing a critical part for Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission to the Moon. Using a refractory alloy and one of its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) systems, Sciaky completed the upper section of the main engine nozzle in just sixteen hours. This part is vital for the main thrust during descent,

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 12, 2024
Crater 2, located approximately 380,000 light years from Earth, is one of the largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Extremely cold and with slow-moving stars, Crater 2 has low surface brightness. How this galaxy originated remains unclear. "Since its discovery in 2016, there have been many attempts to reproduce Crater 2's unusual properties, but it has proved very challenging," said

Washington DC (UPI) Jun 11, 2024
NASA astronauts will venture into space Thursday to scrape microorganisms from the outside of the International Space Station and study the origins of life. Their live-streamed spacewalk also will include some repairs. NASA plans to steam "U.S. Spacewalk 90," which is estimated to start at 8 a.m. EDT on Thursday and last about six and a half hours, on NASA+, NASA Television, the

A new collaboration between ESA and Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands has got passengers thinking about space. Digital screens throughout the airport featuring stunning  satellite images of Earth have been stopping travellers in their tracks. That's because these pictures from space are part of a fun Where on Earth? travel quiz.

Video: 00:02:54

Proba-3 is ESA’s – and the world’s – first precision formation flying mission. A pair of satellites will fly together relative to the Sun so that one casts a precisely-controlled shadow onto the other, to create a prolonged solar eclipse in orbit. In the process the mission will open up the Sun’s faint surrounding coronal atmosphere for sustained study. Normally this corona is rendered invisible by the brilliant face of the Sun, like a firefly next to a bonfire.

Due for launch together this autumn, the two Proba-3 satellites will fly 144-m apart for up to six hours

Image: Drone test of planetary landing radar

Production of Galileo Second Generation satellites advances at full speed after two independent Satellite Critical Design Review boards have confirmed that the satellite designs of the respective industries meet all mission and performance requirements. This achievement is another crucial milestone hit on time in the ambitious schedule to develop the first 12 satellites of the Galileo Second Generation fleet.