Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) May 08, 2022
A group of astronomers, led by Sierk van Terwisga from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, have analysed the mass distribution of over 870 planet-forming disks in the Orion A cloud. By exploiting the statistical properties of this unprecedented large sample of disks and developing an innovative data processing scheme, they found that far away from harsh environments like hot stars, the decli

Beijing (XNA) May 08, 2022
China's flagship telescope, slated to be launched at the end of 2023, is expected to provide humankind with fresh knowledge about distant galaxies, mysterious dark matter and dark energy, and the past and future evolutions of the universe. Chinese Survey Space Telescope, also known as the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) and Xuntian Space Telescope, is a space-based optical observato

Warsaw, Poland (SPX) May 08, 2022
All polymeric materials must meet strict outgassing requirements before they are cleared for a space flight. Gases released by a vast majority of polymers in high vacuum tend to contaminate sensors and other fragile spacecraft components which severely degrades their performance. That is why there are only a few polymers suitable for space. Now, Z-PEEK, a 3D printing filament based on poly

San Jose CA (SPX) May 08, 2022
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, has announced that its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle has arrived at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for its inaugural launch. The Vigoride spacecraft and customer payloads will now be integrated with SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle ahead of the Transpor

Midland TX (SPX) May 08, 2022
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network designed to be accessible directly by standard mobile phones, today announced it has entered into a common stock purchase agreement with B. Riley Principal Capital, LLC ("B. Riley"). The agreement governs a Committed Equity Facility that provides AST SpaceMobile with the rig

Wenchang (XNA) May 08, 2022
The combination of the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y5 carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Saturday. The CMSA said the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time. The facilities and equipment at the launch site are in go

Two federal agencies in a turf battle over commercial spaceflight investigations say they are now talking with each other to better define their roles and responsibilities.

The post FAA and NTSB discussing roles in commercial spaceflight investigations appeared first on SpaceNews.

Small launch vehicle developer Astra says it is ready to perform a series of launches for NASA once it receives a license for those missions.

The post Astra prepares for TROPICS launch campaign appeared first on SpaceNews.

Washington DC (UPI) May 5, 2021
After a 24-hour delay to be sure of weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean, NASA's Crew-3 returned to Earth on Friday with a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Florida. NASA's Raja Chari, Kayla Barron and Tom Marshburn and Germany's Matthias Maurer splashed down in their Dragon Endurance capsule at 12:43 a.m. EDT. "We're glad to be back," Chari told the Spac

Image: Matthias returns to Cologne