Japan selects first new astronauts in 14 years to support Artemis program
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 13:24Japan’s space agency JAXA said Feb.
SpaceX launches first upgraded Starlink satellites
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 12:46SpaceX launched the first set of upgraded Starlink satellites for its second-generation constellation Feb.
Surgeon, scientist named Japan's first new astronauts in 13 years
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 11:17Japan's space agency JAXA named its first new astronaut candidates in over 13 years on Tuesday, with a surgeon and a climate scientist chosen from more than 4,000 applicants.
Ayu Yoneda, a 28-year-old surgeon for Tokyo's Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, will become just the third woman ever to join the space training programme. Japan's six current astronauts are all men.
She will be joined by Makoto Suwa, 46, a senior disaster risk management specialist at the World Bank, who made the cut after an unsuccessful first application more than a decade ago.
Yoneda said she was "elated and surprised" to learn she had been chosen.
"I felt a sense of responsibility and mission," she told reporters.
Suwa, speaking by video from the United States, said he was "so excited that I haven't been able to sleep".
The pair, chosen from 4,127 applicants, will now begin a two-year training programme and, if successful, could join International Space Station missions and become the first Japanese astronauts to reach the Moon.
China says will train foreign astronauts for space station
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 11:16China says it will soon begin training foreign astronauts for trips to its newly completed orbiting space station.
Long a source of national pride and symbol of technological advancement, the Chinese space program is taking on a new diplomatic and political role, much in the way the United States and former Soviet Union leveraged theirs.
First ispace mission on track for April lunar landing
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 11:07Japanese lunar lander developer ispace said Feb. 27 that its first mission remains on track to attempt a landing in two months as it makes progress on its next two missions.
Yusaku Maezawa, Entrepreneur and First Private Japanese Citizen to Visit the ISS, Invests U.S. $23 Million in Astroscale
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 06:33Astroscale Holdings Inc. ("Astroscale"), the market leader in satellite servicing and long-term sustainability across all orbits, has received an investment of U.S. $23 million from Yusaku Maezawa, the first private Japanese citizen to visit the International Space Station (ISS). "Mr. Maezawa's investment is a testament to the importance of space sustainability, and we are deeply grateful
Space Force, Air Force partner to establish new Space Test Course
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 06:33The U.S. Air and Space Forces have partnered to create the new Space Test Course, which will instruct Guardians on test and evaluation processes, in order to conduct robust and methodical system testing on space-flight equipment at the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff
DARPA, Services Demonstrate Battlefield Airspace Deconfliction Software
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 06:33DARPA's Air Space Total Awareness for Rapid Tactical Execution (ASTARTE) program recently demonstrated new automated flightpath-planning software that successfully deconflicted friendly missiles, artillery fire, and manned and unmanned aircraft while avoiding enemy fires in a simulated battle in contested airspace. In a demonstration held at the U.S. Army's Mission Command Battle Lab, Ft.
AFRL establishes one-stop shop for partnerships
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 06:33The Air Force Research Laboratory established a new Strategic Partnering Directorate, or AFRL/SP, to achieve greater alignment, effectiveness and efficiencies in supporting partnership priorities across the Department of the Air Force's science and technology, or S and T, enterprise. The Air Force Manpower and Personnel Directorate signed an organizational change request Dec. 22, 2022, after app
Commercial Space: NASA Has an App for That
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 04:35Research balloons, satellites, and planetary landers may have little in common, but NASA has written a program that can help operate all these craft and more. This open-source software framework, called core Flight System (cFS), is similar to a smartphone operating system in that it serves as the foundation for apps developed to perform spaceflight functions. Now, Red Canyon Software Inc. is bui
Gilmour Space and Atomos Space sign MoU for launch and in-space transfers
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 04:35Gilmour Space Technologies and Atomos Space have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore a multi-year contract for Gilmour and Atomos to mutually purchase services for launch and in-space transportation. The partnership will see Atomos contract Gilmour for launch services on its Eris and upcoming orbital launch vehicles. In addi
UK companies to provide services for future Moon missions
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 04:35The UK Space Agency has announced over 50 million pounds for UK companies to develop communication and navigation services for missions to the Moon. The new funding is part of the European Space Agency's Moonlight programme, which aims to launch a constellation of satellites into orbit around the Moon, from 2028. This will allow future astronauts, rovers, science experiments and ot
Astronomers discover metal-rich galaxies in early universe
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 04:35While analyzing data from the first images of a well-known early galaxy taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Cornell University astronomers discovered a companion galaxy previously hidden behind the light of the foreground galaxy - one that surprisingly seems to have already hosted multiple generations of stars despite its young age, estimated at 1.4 billion years old. "We fo
Public work begins on UK's largest commercial satellite control centre
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 04:35Work has started on Inmarsat's new eight-floor headquarters, which will host the company's Satellite, Network and Cyber Operations Centre and feature advanced workspaces for employees - alongside games areas, a gym, a relaxation area, and a rooftop bar. The company has been developing plans for the new space since 2019, with the lease at its current headquarters on Old Street Roundabout fi
Nicola Fox named associate administrator for NASA Science Mission Directorate
Tuesday, 28 February 2023 04:35NASA has found its new associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate in Heliophysics Director Nicola Fox. Fox will replace acting administrator Sandra Connelly atop the Science Mission Directorate effective immediately, according to a press release from NASA. NASA administrator Bill Nelson made the announcement on Monday, lauding Fox for the work she has done as dire