Use of additional Metop-C and Fengyun-3 CD data improves regional weather forecasts
Thursday, 24 June 2021 02:15
Write a comment
Modern weather forecasts rely heavily on data retrieved from numerical weather prediction models. These models continue to improve and have advanced considerably throughout more than half a century. However, forecast reliability depends on the quality and accuracy of initialization data, or a sample of the current global atmosphere when the model run is started.
This process of bringing su PROTEUS transitions to Marine Corps Warfighting Lab
Thursday, 24 June 2021 02:15 Write a comment
Following recent successful experimentation with Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, DARPA's Prototype Resilient Operations Testbed for Expeditionary Urban Scenarios (PROTEUS) will transition to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) in Quantico, Virginia.
PROTEUS comprises a suite of visual software training and experimentation tools that enables Marines from squad to battali Report: Space Force has to prepare for operations beyond Earth’s orbit
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 22:10 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — A new report published by the Air Force Research Laboratory suggests the U.S. Space Force has to prepare for a day when the moon and the volume of space around it could become the next military frontier.
Masten delays first lunar lander mission
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 21:37 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Masten Space Systems is pushing back the launch of its first lunar lander mission by nearly a year, the latest in a series of delays by companies with NASA contracts to transport payloads to the moon.
Army, Navy satellite operations to consolidate under Space Force
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 20:31 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force later this year will begin to take over the operation of 11 Navy narrowband communications satellites. It also will absorb Army units that currently operate military communications payloads, a Space Force official said June 23.
Nelson says Artemis plans pending decision on GAO protest
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 18:49 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told a House committee June 23 that NASA is awaiting a decision from the Government Accountability Office on protests of the agency’s lunar lander contract before releasing more details on plans to return humans to the moon.
Astrocast mulls going public to expand to 100 satellites
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 17:40 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Swiss startup Astrocast is considering becoming a public company to expand its constellation for connecting internet of things (IoT) devices.
The venture has hired European investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co to explore selling a 30-40% stake on the Euronext Growth stock exchange.
Europe seeks disabled astronauts, more women in space
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 16:50 Write a comment
![Europe seeks disabled astronauts, more women in space](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2021/europe-seeks-disabled.jpg "In this July 5, 2001 file photo, French astronaut Claudie Haignere, right, and her Russian crewmates Viktor Afanasyev, center, and Konstantin Kozeyev train inside the mock-up of a Soyuz TM spacecraft in Star City. The ESA, NASA's European equivalent. The European Space Agency says it was "blown away" by the record number of applicants – more than 22,000 – hoping to become the continent's next generation of space travelers, including more women than ever and some 200 people with disabilities. AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)")
ULA delays further use of enhanced upper-stage engine pending studies
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 16:01 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — United Launch Alliance will not be using an upgraded upper-stage engine in upcoming Atlas 5 missions as the company investigates the source of vibrations seen during a May 18 flight.
Video: Simulating atmospheric reentry in a plasma wind tunnel
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 13:23 Write a comment
Simulating the burn-up during atmospheric reentry of one of the bulkiest items aboard a typical satellite using a plasma wind tunnel.
This Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM) has the essential task of keeping a satellite's solar wings trained on the Sun, maintaining mission operations.
But its bulky nature presents a problem in terms of space debris guidelines. When a spacecraft reenters on an uncontrolled basis, the spacecraft operator has to prove that the on-ground casualty risk posed by its satellite is lower than 1 in 10 000.
So last year SADM manufacturer Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace (KDA) started an investigation supported by ESA, Hyperschall Technologie Göttingen GmbH (HTG) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to demonstrate the 'desmisability' of one of its satellite products.
They began by modeling such a reentry using ESA's dedicated SCARAB (Spacecraft Atmospheric Reentry and Aerothermal Break-up) software and comparable resources, tweaking the SADM by switching one screw to lower-melting-point alumimium to promote an earlier, higher-altitude breakup.
Image: Jezero Crater's 'Delta scarp'
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 13:12 Write a comment
Less metal, more X-rays: New research unlocks key to high luminosity of black holes
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 12:16 Write a comment
A recent article published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, led by Dr. Kostas Kouroumpatzakis, of the Institute of Astrophysics at the Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas (IA-FORTH), and the University of Crete, provides new insights into the connection between the X-ray luminosity of accreting black holes and neutron stars and the composition of the stellar populations they are associated with.
Microsoft joins Space ISAC to support cybersecurity
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 12:00 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO – The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) welcomed its newest member, Microsoft, June 23 with an announcement highlighting the tech giant’s cybersecurity expertise.
“Space cybersecurity is relatively unknown territory because we’re approaching and doing some things for the first time, fortunately through Space ISAC we have the opportunity to build a foundation for protection from a knowledge pool with deep security expertise,” Frank Backes, chair of the Space ISAC board of directors and Kratos Space Federal senior vice president, said in a statement.
Moving space into the cloud: Q&A with Microsoft Azure Global’s Tom Keane
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 12:00 Write a comment
Microsoft is staking its claim on the space sector.
In the last year alone, the tech giant unveiled Azure Orbital, a service to move data from satellites into the cloud, and mobile cloud computing data centers for SpaceX’s Starlink constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO) and SES’ O3b medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellations.
Benchmark Space Systems unveils in-space mobility-as-a-service business
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 11:42 Write a comment
TAMPA, Fla. — Satellite propulsion startup Benchmark Space Systems has secured customers for a new ‘mobility-as-a-service’ business, which similar to a taxi ride will charge them based on the amount of propellant they use.
Burlington, Vermont-based Benchmark said its in-space mobility service significantly reduces upfront propulsion costs for on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing (OSAM) ventures with indefinite propulsion needs.