Copernical Team
Orbex to use Calor BioLPG for Prime launch
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Orbex and Calor have entered into an agreement that will see the iconic UK gas company supply the ultra-low carbon fuel that will launch the Orbex Prime rocket.
Under the terms of the new deal, Calor will supply Orbex with its BioLPG solution, a clean-burning propane produced from renewable feedstocks such as plant and vegetable waste material. This reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80 per ce Spacewalking astronauts replace antenna after debris scare
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Spacewalking astronauts replaced a broken antenna outside the International Space Station on Thursday after getting NASA's all-clear for orbiting debris.
U.S. astronauts Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron were supposed to complete the job Tuesday, but NASA delayed the spacewalk because of potentially threatening space junk. NASA later determined the astronauts were safe to go out, despite a slightly increased risk of a punctured suit from satellite wreckage.
12 things you never knew about Galileo satellites
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Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system is providing the world’s most precise positioning services, but the satellites at its heart are surprisingly compact, and dependent on many different technologies to keep running. Here are 12 things you probably didn’t know about them:
Galileo launch postponed
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Due to unavailability of a downrange tracking station, Arianespace has taken the decision to postpone the fueling of Galileo's three stage Soyuz launcher. The VS26 Soyuz launch vehicle and the satellites are in a stable and safe condition.
A one-way phone call from Mars
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This November, ESA's Mars Express spacecraft carried out a series of experimental communication tests with the Chinese (CNSA) Zhurong Mars rover. Mars Express successfully caught data sent up 'in the blind' by the rover and relayed them to Earth where they were forwarded to the Zhurong team in China.
13:07 CET, 7 November, Utopia Planitia. The Zhurong rover, commanded by the Tianwen-1 orbiter, points its radio up at the Martian sky. Any minute now, ESA's Mars Express will begin to pass overhead. Zhurong starts transmitting a signal up into space. It has no way of knowing if its message is being received.
Landers and rovers on Mars gather data that help scientists answer fundamental questions about the geology, atmosphere, surface environment, history of water and potential for life on the Red Planet.
To get these insights to Earth, they first transmit the data up to spacecraft in orbit around Mars. These orbiters then use their much larger, more powerful transmitters to 'relay' the data across space to Earth.
"Normally, an orbiter like ESA's Mars Express first sends down a hail signal to a rover as a 'hello,'" says James Godfrey, Mars Express Spacecraft Operations Manager.
Two versions of a Curiosity selfie: narrow and wide
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this 360-degree selfie using the Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI, at the end of its robotic arm. The selfie comprises 81 individual images taken on Nov. 20, 2021—the 3,303rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
The rock structure behind the rover is "Greenheugh Pediment"; the hill that is middle distance on the right, is "Rafael Navarro Mountain." Curiosity is headed toward "Maria Gordon Notch," the U-shaped opening behind the rover to the left.
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Spire Global completes acquisition of exactEarth Ltd
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Spire Global has completed its previously announced acquisition of exactEarth Ltd., a leading provider of global maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions, by way of a plan of arrangement, following the completion of all closing conditions. The Arrangement, which was announced on September 14, 2021, was approved by exactEarth's shareholders at a special AFRL working to develop future workforce
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Ensuring a steady supply of technical and scientific expertise for American industry and innovation has been a national priority since about 1957 when the Soviet Union launched its first Sputnik. Today, however, with the increasingly rapid pace of high technology, the need to attract young people to the field of advanced technical manufacturing has become even more critical. To meet that need, t US Senators urge Biden Admin to toughen response to incidents in space
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A bipartisan group of US Senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to strengthen responses to incidents in space in wake of Russia's recent anti-satellite test.
"The space domain is essential for the United States' modern economy. From fostering scientific discovery and planetary exploration to facilitating next-generation communications and the Global Positioning System (GPS), th Rocket Lab launch strengthens BlackSky Constellation by two satellites
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BlackSky has added two satellites to its constellation following the Rocket Lab "Love at First Insight" launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on November 18. The satellites were fully operational and commercially available within six days of launch.
"This was the fastest BlackSky dual-satellite commissioning process in the company's history," said Nick Merski, BlackSky chief operations o 
