Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Oct 07, 2024
Interstellar Technologies Inc. ("Interstellar"), a space infrastructure company focused on space transportation and utilization, has made significant strides both in talent acquisition and production expansion. With new secondees from seven organizations, including three Toyota affiliates, and the opening of a new production facility in Hokkaido, Interstellar continues to strengthen its efforts

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 07, 2024
Dawn Aerospace has successfully demonstrated the same-day reusability of its rocket-powered aircraft, the Mk-II Aurora, completing two flights within an 8-hour window. Both flights, conducted from Glentanner Aerodrome in New Zealand, reached speeds of Mach 0.9, or 950 km/h, and an altitude of 63,000 feet. These missions mark the 8th and 9th rocket-powered flights of the Mk-II Aurora. "Rapi

Paris, France (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
SpaceForest, a Poland-based company, is advancing its efforts to develop a new European single-stage sounding rocket, designed for commercial microgravity experiments. The rocket, standing at 11.5 meters tall, will offer up to four minutes of microgravity, with a payload capacity of 50 kg and a launch altitude of up to 150 km. The system includes stabilizing features to ensure high-quality micro

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 08, 2024
Amentum (NYSE: AMTM) has secured the Fully Integrated Lifecycle Mission Support Services II (FILMSS II) contract, valued at up to $256 million, to advance NASA's space exploration and aeronautics initiatives at the Ames Research Center. Through this agreement, Amentum will implement cutting-edge technologies and project management tools to strengthen NASA's capabilities in both space science and

London, UK (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
Stargazers will have the chance to spot what could be the most impressive comet of the year over the coming weeks. Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) has generated so much excitement about how bright and visible it might be that it has even been billed as the "comet of the century" in some quarters. Although that is "not very likely", according to the Royal Astronomical Society's Dr Robert

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 08, 2024
Astronomers have some reassuring news regarding potentially hazardous asteroids near Earth: there are fewer than previously thought. Using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) telescope, researchers from the University of Maryland led a study to survey the Taurid swarm, a group of space debris associated with the comet Encke. These meteor showers, visible in October and November, have long

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Oct 07, 2024
Beyond Gravity, a key supplier to the space industry, has provided essential components for Europe's first planetary defense mission, Hera. The company has delivered solar wings, a central structural tube, and electronic products critical to the mission's success. The Hera mission, part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) planetary defense program, is set to launch between October 7 and 2

London, UK (SPX) Oct 07, 2024
A Queen's University astronomer is set to play a key role in the European Space Agency's (ESA) first planetary defense mission, a project two decades in the making. Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, from the university's Astrophysics Research Centre, will join the Hera mission from the European Space Operations Centre in Germany as it prepares to study how asteroids can be deflected to prevent a poten

Redu Belgium (SPX) Oct 07, 2024
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera mission, named after the Greek goddess of marriage, marks Europe's first step in planetary defense. In collaboration with NASA's DART probe, Hera forms the second phase of a global initiative to test methods of asteroid deflection, aimed at protecting Earth from potential asteroid threats. The mission's target is the Didymos binary asteroid system, which co

A camera destined for the Moon became part of the astronauts’ toolkit during ESA’s latest PANGAEA geology training in Lanzarote, Spain.