Tempe AZ (SPX) Aug 08, 2022
In the beginning, there was boredom. Following the emergence of cellular life on earth, some 3.5 billion years ago, simple cells lacking a nucleus and other detailed internal structure dominated the planet. Matters would remain largely unchanged in terms of evolutionary development in these so-called prokaryotic cells-the bacteria and archaea-for another billion and a half years. Then, som

Toowoomba, Australia (SPX) Aug 08, 2022
In the past week alone, we've seen two separate incidents of space debris hurtling back to Earth in unexpected places. On Saturday there was the uncontrolled re-entry of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket over Malaysia. Yesterday outlets reported on some spacecraft parts that turned up in regional New South Wales - now confirmed to be from a SpaceX Crew-1 mission. As the space industry g

Almaty, Kazakhstan (AFP) Aug 9, 2022
An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasted off from Kazakhstan early Tuesday and went into orbit amid controversy that Moscow might use it to improve its surveillance of military targets in Ukraine. A live feed from Russian space agency Roscosmos showed the launch of the Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying the Khayyam satellite from the Russia-controlled Baikonur cosmodrome at the scheduled time

Washington DC (SPX) Aug 09, 2022
NASA's water-scouting CubeSat is now poised to hitch a ride to lunar orbit. Not much bigger than a shoe box, Lunar IceCube's data will have an outsized impact on lunar science. The satellite is integrated into the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and ready to journey to the Moon as part of the uncrewed Artemis I mission, launching this year. Orbiting the Moon, Lunar IceCube will use

Seattle WA (SPX) Aug 09, 2022
Spaceflight Inc., the leading global launch services provider, has announced it shipped the fully integrated Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) and customer payload to Cape Canaveral to launch aboard an upcoming Starlink mission scheduled for next month. The high-thrust propulsive Sherpa will deploy from SpaceX's Falcon 9 targeting a 310-kilometer circular orbit, before igniting and

Evanston IL (SPX) Aug 09, 2022
Last year, a team of astrophysicists including key members from Northwestern University launched STARFORGE, a project that produces the most realistic, highest-resolution 3D simulations of star formation to date. Now, the scientists have used the highly detailed simulations to uncover what determines the masses of stars, a mystery that has captivated astrophysicists for decades. In a new s

Austin TX (SPX) Aug 09, 2022
Scientists have uncovered what sets the masses of stars, a mystery that has captivated astrophysicists for decades. Their answer? Stars, themselves. Using highly detailed simulations, a collaborative team led by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin has made a breakthrough discovery that star formation is a self-regulatory process, knowledge that may allow researchers to under

Flagstaff AZ (SPX) Aug 09, 2022
Saturn will soon be at its biggest and brightest of the year, and Lowell Observatory is celebrating with nightly public telescope viewing. For the next several weeks, visitors will be able to gaze at this gas giant and see its dazzling system of rings, as well as some of its larger moons. This Saturn viewing season centers around the planet's August 14 opposition. The term opposition indic

Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 09, 2022
"We've got thumbnails!!" shouted, emotionally, over excited celebrations, is my most intense memory from 10 years ago. I had sat, with a lot of colleagues from my home university, The Open University here in the UK, in a seminar room, NASA TV on the big screen, anxiously watching the proceedings since 6.30 am on the 6th of August. The UK is 8 time zones ahead of Pasadena in California, where it

Burlington VT (SPX) Aug 09, 2022
With hybrid vehicle sales at an all-time high on Earth, Benchmark Space Systems has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation (AASC)'s electric propulsion technologies to help power hybrid spacecraft designed to ultimately run on in-space resources and repurposed space debris. Benchmark's turn-key hybrid chemical + electric propulsion systems will lev