Boston MA (SPX) Oct 24, 2023
In 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, made history when it made the first direct detection of gravitational waves, or ripples in space and time, produced by a pair of colliding black holes. Since then, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded LIGO and its sister detector in Europe, Virgo, have detected gravitational waves from dozens of mergers betwe

Vienna VA (SPX) Oct 25, 2023
In a significant development aimed at enhancing space domain awareness, Spire Global, Inc. has secured a subcontract with Riverside Research. The deal is part of the Data Exploitation and Enhanced Processing for Space Domain Awareness (DEEP-SDA) initiative, which is being conducted on behalf of the United States Space Force (USSF). The DEEP-SDA initiative focuses on confronting a vital nat

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 25, 2023
Lidar technology improvements will help NASA scientists and explorers with remote sensing and surveying, mapping, 3D-image scanning, hazard detection and avoidance, and navigation. Like a sonar using light instead of sound, lidar technology increasingly helps NASA scientists and explorers with remote sensing and surveying, mapping, 3D-image scanning, hazard detection and avoidance, and nav

Birmingham UK (SPX) Oct 26, 2023
Scientists have observed the creation of rare chemical elements in the second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen - casting new light on how heavy elements are made. Researchers examined the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A, which was caused by a neutron star merger. The explosion was observed using an array of ground and space-based telescopes, including NASA's James Webb Space

Boston MA (SPX) Oct 26, 2023
An extraordinary burst of high-energy light in the sky has pointed astronomers to a pair of metal-forging neutron stars 900 million light years from Earth. In a study appearing in Nature, an international team of astronomers, including scientists at MIT, reports the detection of an extremely bright gamma-ray burst (GRB), which is the most powerful type of explosion known in the universe. T

Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 26, 2023
An engineer prepares a small rover - part of NASA's CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration that's headed to the Moon - for testing in a thermal vacuum chamber at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in October 2023. Slated to arrive at the Moon in spring 2024 as part of NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services)

Brampton, Canada (SPX) Oct 26, 2023
MDA Ltd. (TSX: MDA) has announced at its Earth Insight customer conference that it has selected SpaceX to be the launch service provider for CHORUS, MDA's next generation Earth observation constellation. CHORUS is targeted to launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in the Q4 2025 launch window from Florida. A collaborative multi-sensor constellation, CHORUS will bring together diverse and uniqu

Boca Raton FL (SPX) Oct 25, 2023
Lockheed Martin has partnered with Terran Orbital Corporation to construct 36 satellite buses for the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) Beta constellation. This decision comes as part of a broader initiative to bolster the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture's (PWSA) functionalities, including improved technology, payload configurations, and system integrat

Moscow (AFP) Oct 26, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the first segment of the new space station that Moscow plans to construct to replace the ISS should be in orbit by 2027, despite recent setbacks. Russia previously announced its intention to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS), where its cosmonauts are permanently stationed and the country plays a key role. The creation

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 27, 2023
The Shenzhou XVII mission, carrying a trio of Chinese astronauts, successfully completed its docking procedure with the Tiangong space station late Thursday night. This rendezvous comes after a six-and-a-half-hour orbital journey initiated earlier in the day. The spacecraft connected with the front port of the Tianhe core module, the primary segment of the Tiangong station. Upon completion