Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Apr 22, 2022
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and ABL Space Systems are collaborating to demonstrate how launch systems can be operated rapidly by small teams from nontraditional sites. Leveraging ABL's deployable ground system, GS0, and small launch vehicle, RS1, a series of ground demonstrations is underway at multiple U.S. military installations aimed at quick

Lafayette CO (SPX) May 01, 2022
Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies LLC ("BCT" or "Blue Canyon"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, assisted in the deployment of Ascent, the company's first CubeSat spacecraft bus launched to a geostationary, or GEO, orbit by the Air Force Research Laboratory as part of the U.S. Space Force's Test Program-3 mission. Blue Ca

Washington DC (SPX) May 01, 2022
A microwave oven-sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds will serve as the first spacecraft to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit as part of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE). As a pathfinder for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA's Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce risk for future spacecraft by vali

Canberra, Australia (SPX) May 01, 2022
Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have found an alternative explanation for a mysterious gamma-ray signal coming from the centre of the galaxy, which was long claimed as a signature of dark matter. Gamma-rays are the form of electromagnetic radiation with the shortest wavelength and highest energy. Co-author of the study Associate Professor Roland Crocker said

Trieste, Italy (SPX) May 01, 2022
In the Universe, dark matter and standard matter "talk" to each other using a secret language. This "discussion" happens thanks to gravity, scientists say, but not in a way they can fully comprehend. A new SISSA study published in "The Astrophysical Journal" sheds light on this long-standing issue. The authors of the research, Ph.D Student Giovanni Gandolfi and supervisors Andrea Lapi and

Washington DC (UPI) Apr 30, 2021
The first solar eclipse of the year took place Saturday and was viewable from parts of South America and Antarctica. A live stream of the partial solar eclipse began at 3:30 p.m. EDT and ended when the sun sunk below the horizon. "If skies are clear, this eclipse is visible from South America, parts of Antarctica, and over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans," according to TimeandDat

San Antonio TX (SPX) May 01, 2022
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this view of Jupiter during the mission's 40th close pass by the giant planet on Feb. 25, 2022. The large, dark shadow on the left side of the image was cast by Jupiter's moon Ganymede. Citizen scientist Thomas Thomopoulos created this enhanced-color image using raw data from the JunoCam instrument (Figure A). At the time the raw image was taken, the Juno sp

Washington DC (UPI) Apr 29, 2021
A loud boom and a fireball streaking across the sky. That's the sight that dozens of people across three states saw this week, scientists said. The startling fireball was spotted on Wednesday morning by people in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. NASA says the streaking object was a "boldie" - or a bright meteorite. The meteor was seen by more than 30 people, some of whom als

Washington DC (SPX) May 01, 2022
NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has chosen 110 U.S. small businesses for continued technology development. The range of projects support space exploration and improvements to life on Earth - from foldable solar array technology that could help power astronauts' work on the Moon to antenna technology that could improve satellite internet service. NASA's SBIR program

Washington DC (UPI) Apr 29, 2021
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that it has delayed its environmental review of SpaceX's Starship launch site in Texas for a fourth time. The review was initially supposed to be completed Dec. 31, 2021. It was pushed back to Feb. 28, then March 28, then April 29, before the latest date - May 31. "The FAA is working toward issuing the final Programmatic Envir