Spain signs Artemis Accords
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 23:35Spain is the latest European nation to sign the Artemis Accords, a central element of a new American strategic framework for space diplomacy.
Telesat orders prototype satellite to continue LEO broadband tests
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 21:13Telesat plans to launch another low Earth orbit prototype satellite in the coming months to continue tests after an aging demonstrator for its delayed broadband constellation ran out of fuel.
Northrop Grumman’s deep-space radar passes critical design review
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 20:26A deep-space radar developed by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Space Force passed a critical design review, the company announced May 30.
Researchers propose a deep neural network-based 4-quadrant analog sun sensor calibration
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:32A spacecraft can estimate the attitude state by comparing external measurements from attitude sensors with reference information. CubeSats tend to use 4-quadrant analog solar sensors which have the advantages of extremely low power consumption, minimal volume, low complexity, low cost, and high reliability as attitude sensors, considering the limitation of satellite volume and payload. The performance of the sensor can be importantly improved by the calibration procedure and compensation model.
However, the various error sources affecting the calibration of the 4-quadrant sun sensor lead to a complicated process of compensation model establishment. Deep learning, which is widely used in the aerospace field in recent years, is able to approximate any continuous function on a bounded closed set, providing new ideas for solving the traditional problem.
In a research paper recently published in Space: Science & Technology, authors from Northwestern Polytechnical University, German Aerospace Center, and Dalian University of Technology together propose a method to calibrate sun sensors by deep learning, which not only is able to integrate the influence of various errors but also avoids the need of analyzing and modeling every single error.
Webb maps surprisingly large plume jetting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 14:00Interaction between moon’s plumes and Saturn’s ring system explored with Webb
A water vapour plume from Saturn’s moon Enceladus spanning more than 9600 kilometres — long enough to stretch across the Eurasian continent from Ireland to Japan — has been detected by researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Not only is this the first time such water ejection has been seen over such an expansive distance, but Webb is also giving scientists a direct look, for the first time, at how this emission feeds the water supply for the entire system of Saturn and its rings.
DARPA launches initiative to help tech companies work on classified programs
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 12:23DARPA's Strategic Technology Office launched an initiative called Bridges to help companies get security clearances to work on classified programs.
Orion European Service Module-4 logo
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 11:00NASA inspector general faults agency on SLS booster and engine overruns
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 10:09Conversion of shuttle-era solid rocket boosters and engines for use on the Space Launch System has cost NASA billions more and taken years longer than originally planned, the agency’s inspector general concluded.
Chinese mission with first civilian reaches space station
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the first time as it pursues plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia. The Shenzhou-16 crew took off atop a Long Ma
BAE Systems to develop autonomous space-based surveillance technology
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems' FAST LabsTM research and development organization a $7 million contract for the Oversight autonomous space-based target custody program. Traditional space intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) collection can be siloed, labor intensive, and unable to dynamically re-evaluate quickly enough to take a
Northrop Grumman on track to produce early-warning missile defense program
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) recently completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command's Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar (NGP) program. The company is on track to begin production of the early-warning missile system in defense of the nation. The design review establishes the company's technical approach for the full i
Space Systems Command Awards $45.5M Launch Service Order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation for Prototype EWS Mission
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02The U.S. Space Force's Small Launch and Targets Division's Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, part of the Space Systems Command (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization, awarded a $45.5 million task order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation on May 24 via an Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract will
South Korea hails successful launch of homegrown rocket
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02South Korea said Thursday it had successfully launched its homegrown Nuri rocket and placed working satellites into orbit, hailing a key step forward for the country's burgeoning space programme. It was the third launch of the Nuri, which successfully put test satellites into orbit last year after a failed 2021 attempt saw the rocket's third-stage engine burn out too early. The three-sta
US sees 'serious threat' as Iran unveils new missile
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02The United States on Thursday called Iran's missile program a "serious threat" after the clerical state unveiled a new model with its longest range to date. "Iran's development, and proliferation of, ballistic missiles poses a serious threat to regional and international security and remains a significant non-proliferation challenge," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Understanding boiling to help the nuclear industry and space missions
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02To launch extended missions in space, the NASA is borrowing a page from the nuclear engineering industry: It is trying to understand how boiling works. Planning for long-term missions has NASA researching ways of packing the least amount of cryogenic fuel possible for efficient liftoff. One potential solution is to refuel the rocket in space using fuel depots placed in low Earth orbits. This way