Copernical Team
Billionaire's 2nd SpaceX trip featuring spacewalk aims for early summer launch
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Billionaire Jared Issacman, who flew to space once with SpaceX, is already set for launch No. 2 in early summer.
The mission calls for new spacesuits introduced this past weekend designed so the crew can survive the plan to suck out all of the air of the spacecraft and allow Issacman and a crewmate to make the first commercial spacewalk in history.
Flying on the Crew Dragon Resilience again, the mission dubbed Polaris Dawn is the first of up to three flights Issacman wants to fly, culminating in what is supposed to be the first crewed mission of SpaceX's Starship.
For now, though, the mission has to use SpaceX's existing rocket options, so he and his three crewmates will launch atop a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-A. It will mark Issacman's return after his Inspiration4 mission in 2021.
That flight featured three crewmates chosen through a series of contests and fundraisers as well as a representative of his altruistic target, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
His crewmates for Polaris Dawn include two SpaceX employees and one of Issacman's pilot friends.
Boeing Starliner crewed mission postponed until at least Friday
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The first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spaceship will have to wait until at least Friday to give ground teams time to analyze a malfunctioning rocket valve, pushing back a high-stakes test trip to the International Space Station.
The mission has already faced years of delays and comes at a challenging time for Boeing, as a safety crisis engulfs the century-old aerospace titan's commercial aviation arm.
NASA is also banking on Starliner's success in order to achieve its goal of certifying a second commercial vehicle to carry crews to the orbital outpost.
Research Fellows in space science 2024
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Research Fellows in space science 2024 Ariane 6 first flight: timelapse of transfer and assembly on the launch pad
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In April 2024, Ariane 6’s central core – the main body of the rocket – was stood tall at the launch zone and connected to its two solid-fuel boosters. This exciting moment means only one thing: it’s the start of the first launch campaign.
The main stage and upper stage make up the core stage, and they were autonomously driven at 3 km/h from the rocket assembly building to the launch pad, 800 m away. Then lifted by a crane, the Ariane 6 core was stood upright on the launch table.
The two boosters were transported to the launch
International Support for China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Mission
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On Friday, an international gathering praised the robust global partnership involved in China's Chang'e-6 lunar mission and expressed a unified intent to expand cooperation in lunar and deep space ventures.
Hosted by the China National Space Administration, approximately 50 representatives from 12 nations and various global entities convened at a seminar to deliberate on the international Predicting crop yields with plant fluorescence from satellite imagery
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Researchers at Cornell University, along with their collaborators, have introduced a novel framework designed to predict agricultural yields using minimal data, a boon particularly for developing regions grappling with food insecurity and the impacts of climate change.
Globally, the stability of crop yields has been undermined significantly by climate change, with a notable statistic from Rocket Lab Posts Strong First Quarter with Significant Revenue and Growth Projections
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Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has shared its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024, highlighting significant year-on-year and sequential revenue growth.
"Rocket Lab has had a strong start to the year, with our four Electron missions in Q1 marking an accelerated cadence of launches this year and maintaining our status as operators of the United States' second m Inred and SES expand satellite internet coverage in Colombia's Amazonas
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INRED, a Colombian local connectivity service provider, in collaboration with SES, has announced the expansion of high-throughput connectivity services to remote areas in the Amazonas department using SES's Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. This initiative aims to connect over 500 homes, schools, government entities, and thousands of residents, significantly enhancing digital inclusion under Redwire to supply antennas for Rocket Lab's SDA Tranche 2 satellites
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Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW) has been chosen by Rocket Lab USA, Inc (NASDAQ: RKLB) to supply antennas and RF hardware for the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Transport Layer Tranche 2 Beta variant satellites, a key component of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). This new generation of satellites will enhance secure, anti-jam communications for warfighters across various d Radio astronomers unveil new calibration technique for clearer low-frequency universe imaging
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A breakthrough calibration method developed by researchers from Leiden University now enables the creation of sharp radio images of the universe at previously unattainable low frequencies. This innovative approach effectively overcomes the disruptive effects of Earth's ionosphere, allowing for unprecedented clarity in radio astronomy.
The method was applied using the LOFAR telescope in Dre 
