Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer could reveal chemistry leading to life on Titan
Saturday, 18 March 2023 13:47
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A new NASA mission to Saturn's giant moon, Titan, is due to launch in 2027. When it arrives in the mid-2030s, it will begin a journey of discovery that could bring about a new understanding of the development of life in the universe. This mission, called Dragonfly, will carry an instrument called the Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS), designed to help scientists hone in on the chemistry at wor SpaceX lofts SES-18 and 19 C-Bands birds for US coverage
Saturday, 18 March 2023 13:47 Write a comment
SES reports that the SES-18 and SES-19 satellites, designed and assembled by Northrop Grumman, were successfully launched by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, at 7:38 pm local time on Friday, March 17.
The two American-made satellites are the fourth and fifth - and final - satellites to be launched as part of SES's C-band transition Rocket Lab launches 34th Electron in second mission from Virginia
Saturday, 18 March 2023 13:47 Write a comment
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has successfully launched its 34th Electron rocket and second mission from its launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia deploying two spacecraft to low Earth orbit for Capella Space.
The "Stronger Together" mission lifted off at 22:38 UTC, March 16 2023 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA's Wall NASA announces future launch for USU-led space weather mission
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NASA has announced that the launch of the Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory and College of Science-led Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, is scheduled for December 2023. The NASA-funded instrument will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the International Space Station.
AWE Principal Investigator Michael Taylor from USU's College of Science leads a team of sc ReOrbit Signs a Deal With SatixFy to Co-Develop the On-Board Processor for ReOrbit's Highly Flexible Software-Defined Satellite Gluon
Saturday, 18 March 2023 13:47 Write a comment
ReOrbit, a leading provider of software-defined satellites, and SatixFy Communications Ltd. (NYSE AMERICAN: SATX), a leader in next-generation satellite communication systems based on in-house developed chipsets, announced today a purchase deal of a communication subsystem for ReOrbit's Gluon platform.
Gluon is a highly flexible software-defined satellite platform, capable of accommodating Mit 3D-printed revolving devices can sense how they are moving
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Integrating sensors into rotational mechanisms could make it possible for engineers to build smart hinges that know when a door has been opened, or gears inside a motor that tell a mechanic how fast they are rotating. MIT engineers have now developed a way to easily integrate sensors into these types of mechanisms, with 3D printing.
Even though advances in 3D printing enable rapid fabricat SpaceX sets a new doubleheader record launch for SES
Saturday, 18 March 2023 08:40 Write a comment
Establishing a new record of only four hours between a launch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, earlier today and a pair of geostationary-bound satellites for SES from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida.
A Luxembourg-based telecommunications company, SES S.A., sent two C-band television broadcasting satellites atop a 229-foot-tall (70-met SpaceX launches final two satellites in SES C-band clearing plan
Saturday, 18 March 2023 00:32 Write a comment
SpaceX launched the last two satellites March 17 that SES needs to claim C-band spectrum clearing proceeds worth nearly $4 billion in total.
NASA weighing continuing VERITAS versus future Discovery mission
Friday, 17 March 2023 22:33 Write a comment
Budget pressures in NASA’s planetary science program could force the agency to choose between continuing a mission to Venus that has already been delayed or requesting proposals for a future mission.
Intelsat buys capacity on Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus satellite
Friday, 17 March 2023 21:15 Write a comment
Intelsat has acquired a “significant amount” of capacity from the recently launched Amazonas Nexus satellite to meet demand for connectivity over the Americas, an executive for the company told SpaceNews.
FCC unveils proposed satellite direct-to-device regulatory framework
Friday, 17 March 2023 19:56 Write a comment
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled its proposed framework March 17 for regulating the use of terrestrial wireless spectrum from space for connecting smartphones beyond the reach of cell towers.
The best way to learn about Venus could be with a fleet of balloons
Friday, 17 March 2023 17:10 Write a comment
Interest in the exploration of Venus has kicked up a notch lately, especially after a contested recent discovery of phosphine, a potential biosignature, in the planet's atmosphere. Plenty of missions to Venus have been proposed, and NASA and ESA have recently funded several. However, they are mainly orbiters, trying to peer into the planet's interior from above. But they are challenged by having to see through dozens of kilometers of an atmosphere made up of sulfuric acid.
That same atmosphere is challenging for ground missions. While some of the recently funded missions include a component on the ground, they are missing an opportunity that isn't afforded on many other planets in the solar system—riding along in the atmosphere. Technologists have proposed everything from simple balloons to entire floating cities—we even heard of a plan to enclose the entirety of Venus in a shell and live on the surface of that shell.
Rolls-Royce wins UK funds for 'Moon' nuclear reactors
Friday, 17 March 2023 15:38 Write a comment
British aerospace giant Rolls-Royce said Friday it had secured UK funding to develop small nuclear reactors that could provide power on the Moon.
Rolls said the UK Space Agency had offered it £2.9 million ($3.5 million) to help research "how nuclear power could be used to support a future Moon base for astronauts".
"Scientists and engineers at Rolls-Royce are working on the micro-reactor program to develop technology that will provide power needed for humans to live and work on the Moon," the aerospace company added in a statement.
Rolls forecast its first car-sized reactor would be ready to be sent to the Moon by 2029.
Friday's news comes as US space agency NASA aims to return humans to the Moon in 2025.
It would be the first visit since the historic Apollo missions ended in 1972.
"Nuclear power has the potential to dramatically increase the duration of future lunar missions and their scientific value," Rolls said.
The group, best known for its engines powering Airbus and Boeing aircraft, will work alongside UK universities including Oxford on the space project.
Week in images: 13-17 March 2023
Friday, 17 March 2023 14:28 Write a comment
Week in images: 13-17 March 2023
Discover our week through the lens
Space seminar at ESA's technical heart
Friday, 17 March 2023 13:58 Write a comment
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Space seminar at ESA's technical heart