Copernical Team
NASA confirms space station debris hit Florida man's home
An object that crashed from the sky into an American man's home was a hunk of debris ejected from the International Space Station, NASA confirmed Monday. The strange tale came to light last month when Alejandro Otero of Naples, Florida posted on X that a metallic item "tore through the roof and went (through) 2 floors" of his house, almost striking his son, on March 8. It occurred at a t
UK Space Agency supports Rolls-Royce and BWX Technologies in developing space reactors
Rolls-Royce today secured Phase 2 funding from the UK Space Agency's International Bilateral Fund (IBF), which promotes strategic research partnerships between the UK space sector and emerging space nations. The company received a GBP 1.18 million award from the fund, supporting collaboration to enhance the technologies for a fission nuclear system, benefiting both UK and U.S. space nuclea
Flight Works creates modular propulsion system for AFRL with $5.7M contract
Flight Works has entered into a $5.7 million contract with the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) to develop a green, refuelable propulsion unit known as the Propulsion Unit with Modular Applications (PUMA). This initiative marks the beginning of a series of systems aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the United States Space Force (USSF), NASA, and various commercial entities engaged in complex sp
Aerojet Rocketdyne advances space maneuver with new propulsion tech
From the early days of space exploration, objects in orbit have followed the predictable trajectories described by Johannes Kepler's laws. These paths, while historically reliable, no longer meet the strategic demands of today's complex and contested Space Area of Operations (AOR). The need for agility and unpredictability in satellite movements has become paramount as space becomes a more conte
Sleeping giant surprises Gaia scientists
Wading through the wealth of data from ESA’s Gaia mission, scientists have uncovered a ‘sleeping giant’. A large black hole, with a mass of nearly 33 times the mass of the Sun, was hiding in the constellation Aquila, less than 2000 light-years from Earth. This is the first time a black hole of stellar origin this big has been spotted within the Milky Way. So far, black holes of this type have only been observed in very distant galaxies. The discovery challenges our understanding of how massive stars develop and evolve.
Formation-flying spacecraft could probe the solar system for new physics
It's an exciting time for the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. Thanks to cutting-edge observatories, instruments, and new techniques, scientists are getting closer to experimentally verifying theories that remain largely untested. These theories address some of the most pressing questions scientists have about the universe and the physical laws governing it—like the nature of gravity, dark matter, and dark energy.
For decades, scientists have postulated that either there is additional physics at work or that our predominant cosmological model needs to be revised.
While the investigation into the existence and nature of dark matter and dark energy is ongoing, there are also attempts to resolve these mysteries with the possible existence of new physics. In a paper, a team of NASA researchers proposed how spacecraft could search for evidence of additional physical within our solar systems.
ESA accelerates the race towards clean energy from space
ESA accelerates the race towards clean energy from space
Planetary defenders assemble!
OpenAI comes to Asia with new office in Tokyo
ChatGPT creator OpenAI opened a new office in Tokyo on Monday, the first Asian outpost for the groundbreaking tech company as it aims to ramp up its global expansion. Thanks to the stratospheric success of its generative tools that can create text, images and even video, OpenAI has become a leader in the artificial intelligence revolution and one of the most significant tech companies in the
The Incredible Adventures of the Hera mission – The Missing Puzzle Piece
Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos, a double asteroid system that is typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.
In September 2022 NASA’s DART spacecraft tested if it was possible to divert an asteroid by giving it a shove – and found out that it was! Important knowledge, should we wish to avoid going the same way as the dinosaurs. Astronomers can observe from afar how the smaller