Image: European Service Modules currently in production at Airbus facilities
Monday, 10 October 2022 14:24
The third (pictured) and fourth European Service Modules are currently in production at Airbus facilities in Bremen, Germany. They are key elements of the Orion spacecraft, the first to return humans to the moon since the 1970s.
These modules provide the spacecraft with propulsion, power and thermal control, and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen. The Orion spacecraft is composed of a European Service Module, a Crew Module Adapter and a Crew Module. The latter two components are provided by NASA.
Powering flights to the moon is a collaborative effort. The components and hardware used in the European Service Modules are built and supplied by more than twenty different companies from ten different countries in Europe.
When ready for launch, each module will have a total mass of 13,500 kg, almost two-thirds of which is propellant (rocket fuel). More than 11 km of cables are needed to send commands and receive information from the many on-board sensors. As can be seen in the photo, tie-wraps (yellow) come in handy when it comes to keeping all these cables organized.
Launch on demand: If satellites are shot down, will Space Force be ready to restock?
Monday, 10 October 2022 13:00
Responsive space launch capabilities are gaining more attention as world events that underline the strategic value of satellites also makes them more attractive targets for adversaries.
The post Launch on demand: If satellites are shot down, will Space Force be ready to restock? appeared first on SpaceNews.
Italy’s Stromboli erupts
Monday, 10 October 2022 13:00
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A volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli erupted early on Sunday morning, releasing huge plumes of smoke and a lava flow pouring into the sea. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured this image of the aftermath less than five hours after the eruption. TRUTHS on the table at ESA’s Ministerial Council
Monday, 10 October 2022 11:45
With the satellite and instrument design consolidated and the scientific community assured it will deliver the data they need, TRUTHS has been approved as part of Earth Observation Programme proposal for the upcoming ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level. Carrying a primary International System of Units reference system, TRUTHS promises to set the gold standard for climate measurements.
Firefly says Alpha launch a success despite payload reentries
Monday, 10 October 2022 10:26
Firefly Aerospace says its Alpha launch early this month was a success despite the fact that its payloads, placed in a lower orbit than planned, reentered within several days.
The post Firefly says Alpha launch a success despite payload reentries appeared first on SpaceNews.
Micro Meat and Orbital Assembly team up on space-based food production venture
Monday, 10 October 2022 09:00
Micro Meat, a pioneer in the alternative protein industry, and Orbital Assembly (OA), developer of space-based business parks with variable gravity, have signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop cultivated meat production systems in space.
Under the agreement, Micro Meat will install its proprietary meat production equipment aboard OA's Pioneer-classTM space station to provide fo Giant impact could have formed the Moon more rapidly, scientists reveal in new simulations
Monday, 10 October 2022 09:00
Scientists from Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology used the most detailed supercomputer simulations yet to reveal an alternative explanation for the Moon's origin, with a giant impact immediately placing a Moon-like body into orbit around Earth.
The researchers simulated hundreds of different impacts, varying the angle and speed of the collision as well as the masses 
Milky Way's graveyard of dead stars found
Monday, 10 October 2022 04:05
The first map of the 'galactic underworld' - a chart of the corpses of once massive suns that have since collapsed into black holes and neutron stars - has revealed a graveyard that stretches three times the height of the Milky Way, and that almost a third of the objects have been flung out from the galaxy altogether.
"These compact remnants of dead stars show a fundamentally different dis NASA's Chandra Adds X-ray Vision to Webb Images
Monday, 10 October 2022 04:05
In the summer of 2022, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope released images from some of its earliest observations with the newly commissioned telescope. Almost instantaneously, these stunning images landed everywhere from the front pages of news outlets to larger-than-life displays in Times Square.
Webb, however, will not pursue its exploration of the universe on its own. It is designed to w Rocket Lab successfully launches 31st Electron rocket
Monday, 10 October 2022 04:05
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has broken its annual launch record with the launch of "It Argos Up From Here," a dedicated launch for General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS). The mission was Rocket Lab's 31st Electron launch overall and the eighth for the year to date, besting the company's previous record of seven launches in 2020. Rocket Lab has now successfully launched a missio NASA's Crew-5 mission casts long exposure light beam
Monday, 10 October 2022 04:05
In this 20-second exposure from Oct. 5, 2022, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission from our Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station (ISS).
This is the fifth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the ISS as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Chang'e-5 reveals intermediate stage in space weathering process of lunar soil
Monday, 10 October 2022 04:05
This study is conducted by a joint team from Chinese Academy of Sciences. They use aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Electron-energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) to examine the microstructures and chemical compositions at nano/atomic scales of 25 soil grains (1-3 um in size) from Sample CE5C0400YJFM00507 (1.5 g). The soi CAPSTONE reports 'Initial Recovery Successful' for lunar orbiter
Monday, 10 October 2022 04:05
Over the past couple of weeks, the CAPSTONE mission team has been working to resolve an anomaly that occurred early last month and resulted in the spacecraft losing full 3-axis attitude control and entering into a spin stabilized state. Through extensive analysis and evaluation supported by a dedicated team of individuals on the mission team and key partners, the most likely cause of the anomaly NASA's InSight waits out dust storm
Monday, 10 October 2022 04:05
NASA's InSight mission, which is expected to end in the near future, saw a recent drop in power generated by its solar panels as a continent-size dust storm swirls over Mars' southern hemisphere. First observed on Sept. 21, 2022, by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the storm is roughly 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) from InSight and initially had little impact on the lander.
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