Berkeley CA (SPX) Aug 11, 2023
The largest storm in the solar system, a 10,000-mile-wide anticyclone called the Great Red Spot, has decorated Jupiter's surface for hundreds of years. A new study now shows that Saturn - though much blander and less colorful than Jupiter - also has long-lasting megastorms with impacts deep in the atmosphere that persist for centuries. The study was conducted by astronomers from the

Laurel MD (SPX) Aug 11, 2023
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft plans to observe Uranus and Neptune from its location far out in the outer solar system this fall, and the mission team is inviting the global amateur astronomy community to come along for the ride - and make a real contribution to space science - by observing both ice giants at the same time. In September - in tandem with the Hubble Space Telescope - New Hor

Beijing (XNA) Aug 15, 2023
China launched a Kuaizhou 1A carrier rocket on Monday afternoon at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, placing five communication satellites in space, according to the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. The State-owned space contractor said in a news release that the solid-propellant rocket blasted off at 1:32 pm from its launch vehicle and soon deployed the He

Houston TX (SPX) Aug 15, 2023
KBR (NYSE: KBR) is pleased to announce NASA's award to the Space and Technology Solutions team, a KBR joint venture with Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW), to provide multidisciplinary engineering for some of NASA's most critical space orbital systems in its Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland. The Government Accountability Offi

Carlsbad CA (SPX) Aug 15, 2023
Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), today announced the opening of a Real-Time Earth (RTE) ground station in Hokkaido, Japan, now enabling RTE customers the ability to downlink Ka-band payload data in the northwestern Pacific at the site hosted by RTE partner Infostellar. This new ground site gives RTE customers unique access to a strategic location that reduces the time it takes to deliver mission crit

San Jose CA (SPX) Aug 15, 2023
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) has signed a contract with the U.S. Defense Department's Space Development Agency (SDA) for a Small Business Innovation Research Award, "Orbital Service Vehicle Enhancements to Meet Department of Defense (DoD) Mission Requirements." Under this award, Momentus will tailor the capabilities of its Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle to support a full range of DoD pay

Long Beach CA (SPX) Aug 15, 2023
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has signed a double-launch deal with NASA to deliver the Agency's climate change research-focused mission, PREFIRE, to low Earth orbit in 2024. The two dedicated missions on Electron will deploy one small satellite each to a 525km circular orbit from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand from May 2024. The PREFIRE mission has specific LTAN (Local Ti

Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 15, 2023
Earth planning date: Friday, August 11, 2023: In this weekend's plan, Curiosity is behaving much as you would as you climb a mountain. You pause occasionally to look around at what lies beneath your boots - the reward for your hard work up to that point. You also take time to enjoy the view and turn your gaze uphill to the path ahead - the unknown enticing you forward. To do the former, Cu

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 16, 2023
Preparations are proceeding for the early October launch of a NASA orbiter that uses futuristic electric propulsion technology for a rendezvous with 16 Psyche, the heart of a demolished planet believed to be made almost entirely of iron. Named after its interplanetary target, the $985 million mission is intended to help scientists determine whether the 140-mile-wide asteroid - which varie

Moscow (AFP) Aug 16, 2023
Moscow's Luna-25 lander is due to reach the Moon's orbit Wednesday, in the first such Russian mission in almost 50 years, according to the schedule of space agency Roscosmos. With the lunar launch, Moscow's first since 1976, Russia is seeking to restart and rebuild on the Soviet Union's pioneering space programme. The lander is set to revolve 100 kilometres (62 miles) above the Moon's su