SpaceX gets US approval to launch more Starship flights from Texas
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Washington (AFP) May 6, 2025
Elon Musk's SpaceX on Tuesday received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase the number of annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 at its Texas base, marking a major boost for the company's ambitions.
Following a multi-year environmental review, the FAA concluded that the expanded cadence of launches and landings would not significantly affect the env

Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle - a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Las Vegas NV (SPX) May 07, 2025
Mars, one of our closest planetary neighbors, has fascinated people for hundreds of years, partly because it is so similar to Earth. It is about the same size, contains similar rocks and minerals, and is not too much farther out from the Sun.
Because Mars and Earth share so many features, scientists have long wondered whether Mars could have once harbored life. Today, Mars is very cold and

Mars surface patterns resemble Earth, revealing secrets of its past
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Rochester NY (SPX) May 07, 2025
Despite its dry, dusty surface and thinner atmosphere, Mars may have more in common with Earth than scientists previously thought.
In a new study, researchers at the University of Rochester-including PhD student JohnPaul Sleiman and Rachel Glade, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences-and their colleagues found that soil features on Mars look remarkabl

NASA's NICER Maps Debris From Recurring Cosmic Crashes
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 07, 2025
For the first time, astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA's NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions.
Scientists have only recently encountered this class of X-ray flares, called QPEs, or quasi-periodic eruptions. A system astronomers have nicknamed Ansky is the eighth QPE

Sunlight Reveals New Insights into Earth's Complex Systems
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 07, 2025
When sunlight interacts with Earth, it creates a spectrum of phenomena ranging from the stunning beauty of rainbows to the more subtle but equally intriguing dynamics that shape our planet's atmosphere. Recent advancements in shortwave radiation research are now revealing critical insights into these processes, as highlighted in a new perspective study published in Advances in Atmospheric Scienc

Iridium Upgrades 9603 Module with Advanced Secure Messaging for Government Users
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 07, 2025
Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) has introduced a specialized U.S. government version of its Iridium 9603 module, now equipped with Enhanced Short Burst Data (ESBD) capabilities. The ESBD system provides low-latency, secure messaging designed to meet the stringent transmission security (TRANSEC) requirements of the U.S. government and approved allies.
The ESBD-enabled 9603 module

Orca AI Secures Series B Funding to Drive Autonomous Maritime Solutions
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 07, 2025
Orca AI, a pioneering force in maritime technology, has secured $72.5 million in Series B funding to accelerate its efforts in autonomous shipping. The funding round was led by Brighton Park Capital, with participation from existing investors Ankona Capital and Hyperlink Ventures. This new investment will enable Orca AI to enhance its autonomous platform, expand into defense and security applica

China Establishes UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office at Wuhan University
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 07, 2025
On April 22, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Director Aarti Holla-Maini led a delegation to Wuhan University, where a cooperation memorandum was signed with university president Zhang Pingwen, formally establishing the China regional support office of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER).
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ESA releases record breaking forest carbon dataset spanning 15 years
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 11:17
Paris, France (SPX) May 05, 2025
As ESA's new Biomass satellite begins operations after its April 29 launch, the agency has unveiled its most comprehensive satellite-derived forest carbon dataset yet. Covering the years 2007 to 2022, the release marks a major advancement in global forest biomass monitoring.
This extensive dataset, part of ESA's Climate Change Initiative, compiles information from multiple Earth-observing

Forest satellite’s big antenna opens up
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 07:15
Just a week after its launch, ESA’s Biomass mission has reached another critical milestone on its path to delivering unprecedented insights into the world’s forests and their vital role in Earth’s carbon cycle – the satellite’s 12-metre-diameter antenna is now fully deployed.
ESA and PLAYMOBIL join forces to inspire the next generation of space explorers
Wednesday, 07 May 2025 05:15
As the European Space Agency (ESA) ramps up Europe’s ambition in space exploration, it is equally committed to sparking curiosity among young minds. What better way to inspire future explorers than with a fully equipped lunar rover – a creation born from our exciting new partnership with PLAYMOBIL?
Rocket Lab sets May launch for latest iQPS satellite mission
Tuesday, 06 May 2025 09:12
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 06, 2025
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has announced a mid-May launch window for its upcoming mission supporting multi-launch client Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS).
The mission, titled "The Sea God Sees," is set to lift off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand starting May 17, 2025. It will carry a single synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, QPS-SAR-10, also known as "WADATSUMI-I,"

India's woman fighter pilot trailblazer eyes space
Tuesday, 06 May 2025 09:12
New Delhi (AFP) May 6, 2025
The excited little girl who first touched a plane two decades ago is now flying high as the face of India's fast-modernising military and its only woman Rafale fighter pilot.
"This is where my adventure began," Shivangi Singh, 29, told AFP at the Air Force Museum in New Delhi, recalling her first visit as a child when she "gawked" and "immediately knew that I wanted to become a pilot".
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Searching for Spherules to Sample
Tuesday, 06 May 2025 09:12
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 06, 2025
Over the past few weeks, Perseverance has been investigating some curious spherules peppered across the "Witch Hazel Hill" region along the rim of Jezero crater. A striking cluster of the small bubble-shaped stones were first spotted by the Mastcam-Z instrument on Sol 1442 (March 11, 2025) at "Broom Point," in a rock named "St. Pauls Bay." A few sols later, a similar assemblage was discovered by

NASA Kennedy Breathes Life into Moon Soil Testing
Tuesday, 06 May 2025 09:12
Washington DC (SPX) May 06, 2025
As NASA works to establish a long-term presence on the Moon, researchers have reached a breakthrough by extracting oxygen at a commercial scale from simulated lunar soil at Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The achievement moves NASA one step closer to its goal of utilizing resources on the Moon and beyond instead of relying only on supplies shipped from Earth.
NASA Ke
