Astronauts need a fridge
Friday, 16 April 2021 11:19
For astronauts to go on long missions to the moon or Mars, they need a refrigerator. But today's fridges aren't designed to work in zero gravity - or upside down if oriented that way when a spacecraft lands on another planet.
A team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation is working on building a fridge for zero gravity that operates in different or China to launch a pair of spacecraft towards the edge of the solar system
Friday, 16 April 2021 11:07
HELSINKI — China is developing a mission to send a pair of spacecraft to study the far reaches of the solar system and reach interstellar space by mid-century.
NASA approves plans for Crew-2 launch
Friday, 16 April 2021 10:41
WASHINGTON — NASA managers approved plans to launch a SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station next week, pending the resolution of one minor issue with the Falcon 9 rocket.
NASA officials said April 15 that, after the completion of a flight readiness review, they approved plans for the launch April 22 of the Crew-2 mission, which will transport American, European and Japanese astronauts to the station on a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
La Soufrière volcano: before-and-after
Friday, 16 April 2021 10:30
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False-colour images captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 show the aftermath of the explosive volcanic eruption that took place on 9 April 2021 on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. Earth from Space: Space Coast, Florida
Friday, 16 April 2021 07:00
On 22 April 2021, on Earth Day, Thomas Pesquet is planned to return to the International Space Station for his second mission, Alpha. Ahead of his launch, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Cape Canaveral, USA, in a region known as the Space Coast.
SpaceX, NASA give 'go' for astronaut launch, 3rd for Dragon
Friday, 16 April 2021 06:42
NASA spacecraft leaves mess after grabbing asteroid samples
Friday, 16 April 2021 06:41
NASA spacecraft leaves its mark after grabbing asteroid Bennu samples
Friday, 16 April 2021 06:41Science Marches on: International Space Station update
Friday, 16 April 2021 05:52
The first quarter of 2021 flew by almost as fast as the International Space Station itself. Get up to speed with some March highlights from our orbital outpost as an astronaut prepares to be launched into space on a Dragon.
NASA delays starting contract with SpaceX for Gateway cargo services
Thursday, 15 April 2021 21:51
WASHINGTON — More than a year after selecting SpaceX to deliver cargo to the lunar Gateway, NASA has yet to formally start that contract as it performs a broader review of its Artemis program.
NASA announced in March 2020 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX for the agency’s Gateway Logistics Services program to transport cargo to the lunar Gateway.
LeoLabs adding new services to support growing space activity in low Earth orbit
Thursday, 15 April 2021 20:28
WASHINGTON — Space object-tracking startup LeoLabs is adding more sensors and data processing capacity to its network in preparation for a surge in satellites launches in the coming years, the company’s CEO said April 15.
Top EU court rejects European Aviation Network challenge, but legal action continues
Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:54
TAMPA, Fla. — Inmarsat’s competitors have vowed to continue pursuing legal action to block its hybrid satellite and cellular European Aviation Network (EAN), after the European Union’s highest court rejected their challenge.
Consortium unveils greenhouse gas monitoring constellation Carbon Mapper
Thursday, 15 April 2021 15:52
SAN FRANCISCO – A consortium led by the State of California, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Planet announced plans April 15 for a constellation of hyperspectral satellites to pinpoint, quantify and track point sources of methane and carbon dioxide.
Peering through the clouds of Earth's 'Evil Twin' surprises NRL sky watchers
Thursday, 15 April 2021 15:44
Space law is an important part of the fight against space debris
Thursday, 15 April 2021 12:40
Space is getting crowded. More than 100 million tiny pieces of debris are spinning in Earth orbit, along with tens of thousands of bigger chunks and around 3,300 functioning satellites.
Large satellite constellations such as Starlink are becoming more common, infuriating astronomers and baffling casual skywatchers. In the coming decade, we may see many more satellites launched than in all of history up to now.
Collisions between objects in orbit are getting harder to avoid. Several technologies for getting space debris out of harm's way have been proposed, most recently the plan from Australian company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) to use a pair of ground-based lasers to track debris and "nudge" it away from potential collisions or even out of orbit altogether.
Tools like this will be in high demand in coming years. But alongside new technology, we also need to work out the best ways to regulate activity in space and decide who is responsible for what.
Active debris removal
EOS's laser system is just one of a host of "active debris removal" (ADR) technologies proposed over the past decade.