NASA Invites Media to Psyche Launch, Mission will Study an Asteroid
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 17:23U.S. deactivates GSSAP surveillance satellite, two new ones in the works
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 17:03Download the 2023 Small Satellite Conference Dailies Wrap up
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 13:49Download the 2023 Small Satellite Conference Dailies Wrap-up
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 13:49Could puncturing a satellite's battery help it deorbit faster?
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 13:30A few years ago, there was a panic about lithium-ion batteries that exploded and could do things like take down a jetliner. On a recent trip, an airline asked passengers to turn in any devices with batteries that had been banned because of safety concerns. These are indicators of a widely understood downside of lithium-ion batteries, ubiquitous in cell phones, laptops, and other electronic hardware—they can easily catch fire very spectacularly. However, a team at the Aerospace Company is working on an idea to turn this potentially catastrophic event into an asset—by using it to deorbit defunct satellites.
Almost all satellites have some form of battery backup in them. Many utilize it to keep the lights on, while its solar panels aren't catching enough rays to fully power the craft. And most of those batteries are some form of lithium-ion, so the industry already widely adopted the underlying technology.
Rocket Lab to launch pair of NASA Earth science cubesats
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 10:35NASA selected Rocket Lab to launch a pair of cubesats in 2024 to monitor energy entering and exiting the polar regions of the planet.
Astronomers confirm Maisie's galaxy is among earliest ever observed
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers racing to find some of the earliest galaxies ever glimpsed have now confirmed that a galaxy first detected last summer is in fact among the earliest ever found. The findings are in the journal Nature. Follow-up observations since first detection of Maisie's galaxy have revealed that it is from 390 million years after the Big Bang. Altho
Dark energy could be measured by studying the galaxy next door
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47Researchers have found a new way to measure dark energy - the mysterious force that makes up more than two-thirds of the universe and is responsible for its accelerating expansion - in our own cosmic backyard. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, found that it may be possible to detect and measure dark energy by studying Andromeda, our galactic next-door neighbour that is on
LeoLabs provides tracking support for ESA's historic assisted satellite reentry
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47LeoLabs, the leading commercial provider of Space Traffic Management (STM) and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services, today shared their support for the European Space Agency's (ESA) successful assisted reentry of Aeolus, an Earth observation satellite, over Antarctica on 28 July 2023. This assisted reentry was considered the "first-of-its-kind" because the satellite, named Aeolus, wa
Epson bolsters space robotics through GITAI investment
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47In a move emblematic of the burgeoning space industry's trajectory, Epson has announced a fresh investment into GITAI, a startup focused on creating versatile robotic solutions for space-based applications. GITAI's mission centers around supplying safe and cost-effective labor for myriad tasks in space, ranging from operations within space stations orbiting Earth to more ambitious endeavors on t
Cracks in ancient Martian mud surprise Curiosity team
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47A new paper suggests the same conditions that created the cracks could have been favorable to the emergence of microscopic life. Scientists aren't entirely sure how life began on Earth, but one prevailing theory posits that persistent cycles of wet and dry conditions on land helped assemble the complex chemical building blocks necessary for microbial life. This is why a patchwork of well-preserv
Engineers put a Mars lander legs to the test
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47Sturdy legs are needed to absorb the impact of the heaviest spacecraft to ever touch down on the Red Planet. NASA's Perseverance rover continues to rack up tubes filled with rock core samples for the planned Mars Sample Return campaign. The joint effort by NASA and ESA seeks to bring scientifically selected samples back from Mars to be studied on Earth with lab equipment far more complex than co
ESA's Space Environment Report 2023
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47Our planet is surrounded by spacecraft carrying out important work to study our changing climate, deliver global communication and navigation services and help us answer important scientific questions. But some of their orbits are getting crowded and increasingly churning with deadly, fast-moving pieces of defunct satellites and rockets that threaten our future in space. In 2002, the
Intelsat completes C-Band spectrum clearing for 5G Deployment
Tuesday, 15 August 2023 09:47Intelsat, operator of one of the world's largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks and leading provider of inflight connectivity, will receive nearly $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter after completing C-band frequency clearing, providing future strategic opportunities for the company and its shareholders. "Intelsat's C-band transition facilitates broader 5G services in the Uni