Copernical Team
DARPA launches entrepreneurial initiative to bring 150 national security innovations to market
Over the past two years, DARPA's Embedded Entrepreneurship Initiative (EEI) pilot program helped 30 pre-seed research teams raise over $100 million in U.S. investment, spin out a dozen new companies, establish numerous joint development agreements with corporate partners, and commission multiple manufacturing facilities.
Today, DARPA is launching an expansion of EEI with the goal of accele Keeping an eye on the fusion future
"That was your warmup. Now we're really in the thick of it." Daniel Korsun '20 is reflecting on his four years of undergraduate preparation and research at MIT as he enters "the thick" of graduate study at the Institute's Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). The nuclear science and engineering student's "warmup" included enough fusion research on the SPARC tokamak to establish him as part of Imaging space debris in high resolution
Litter is not only a problem on Earth. According to NASA, there are currently millions of pieces of space junk in the range of altitudes from 200 to 2,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface, which is known as low Earth orbit (LEO). Most of the junk is comprised of objects created by humans, like pieces of old spacecraft or defunct satellites. This space debris can reach speeds of up to 18,000 Testing proves its worth with successful mars parachute deployment
The giant canopy that helped land Perseverance on Mars was tested here on Earth at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Test. Test again. Test again.
Testing spacecraft components prior to flight is vital for a successful mission.
Rarely do you get a do-over with a spacecraft after it launches, especially those bound for another planet. You need to do everything possible Blue Origin delays heavy-lift New Glenn rocket launch to 2022
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, has delayed the first launch of its big New Glenn rocket until late 2022 because, the company said, it failed to win large government contracts recently.
The company had planned to launch by this year, but lost billions of dollars in U.S. Space Force business to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance in an August decision by the governme Earth from Space: Vancouver
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Vancouver – the third largest city in Canada.
Comet makes a pit stop near Jupiter's asteroids
Cosmic Kiss goes symphonic
An epic ‘Space Symphony’ composed by Germany’s BigCityBeats is set to add musical goosebumps to the preparations of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer for his Cosmic Kiss space mission, thanks to a new cooperation with ESA.
ExoMars orbiter images Perseverance at landing site
The ESA-Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter has spotted NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, along with its parachute, heat shield and descent stage, in the Jezero Crater region of Mars.
Successful engine test brings Australian space launch capability a step closer
An Australian research consortium has successfully tested a next generation propulsion system that could enable high-speed flight and space launch services.
The team's rotating detonation engine, or RDE, is a major technical achievement and an Australian first.
It was designed by RMIT University engineers and is being developed by a consortium led by DefendTex, with researchers from RMIT, University of Sydney and Universität der Bundeswehr in Germany.
How it works
While conventional rocket engines operate by burning fuel at constant pressure, RDEs produce thrust by rapidly detonating their propellant in a ring-shaped combustor. Once started, the engine is in a self-sustaining cycle of detonation waves that travel around the combustor at supersonic speeds greater than 2.5km a second.
Using this type of combustion has the potential to significantly increase engine efficiency and performance, with applications in rocket propulsion and high-speed airbreathing engines—similar to ramjets.
Benefits over existing engines include better fuel efficiency, simpler flight systems and a more compact engine, allowing for larger payloads and reduced launch costs.
