Privately built, liquid-fuel rocket first in world to reach orbit in debut flight
Monday, 03 April 2023 23:24
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The TL 2, a carrier rocket developed by Space Pioneer, reached orbit on Sunday afternoon, becoming the first privately built, liquid-fuel rocket in China to reach orbit.
The rocket blasted off at 4:48 pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. Shortly after, it placed a remote-sensing satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit about 500 kilometers above the Earth, Space P Ready for Software Upgrade Sols 3786-3788
Monday, 03 April 2023 23:24 Write a comment
An issue at a Deep Space Network station prevented the Sol 3785 plan from being sent to Mars, so none of those planned activities occurred. But the rover is in a good location and orientation for the software upgrade that is planned for next week, so no driving is included in the Sol 3786-3788 weekend plan. Similarly, no arm motion is allowed in the weekend plan, to ensure that MSL is ready for Galaxy clusters yield new evidence for standard model of cosmology
Monday, 03 April 2023 23:24 Write a comment
Cosmologists have found new evidence for the standard model of cosmology - this time, using data on the structure of galaxy clusters.
In a recent study, a team led by physicists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University made detailed measurements of the X-ray emission from galaxy clusters, which revealed the distribution of matter within the LeoLabs and ClearSpace partner to advance a safer, more sustainable space environment
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LeoLabs, the world's leading commercial provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) Space Situational Awareness and Space Traffic Management services, has announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ClearSpace, the Swiss-based, in-orbit satellite servicing company. The MOU recognizes the two companies' shared vision of a safe and sustainable space ecosystem and their mutual efforts in making this v Integral safe at last
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In 2020, the thrusters on ESA's Integral spacecraft failed. To keep the scientific mission alive, the Integral team at ESA's ESOC mission control centre quickly set to work developing a new series of specialised manoeuvres that would enable them to continue flying the spacecraft using only its reaction wheels - the rotating wheels inside a satellite that allow it to store and use angular momentu Improving the accuracy of orbit prediction and position error covariance prediction
Monday, 03 April 2023 23:24 Write a comment
With continuous developments in the space industry, the space near the earth was occupied by a variety of spacecraft whose number is increasing dramatically every year. To avoid a collision, huge computation power was spent to determine the possibility of a collision between two space objects. However, there were various uncertainties in the collision prediction process, which aggravated the bur Thuraya invests in Astrocast’s LEO constellation
Monday, 03 April 2023 20:37 Write a comment
Thuraya is providing Swiss small satellite operator Astrocast a $17.5 million financial lifeline in a deal that marks the Emirati company’s first investment in a low Earth orbit constellation.
First woman, Black astronaut to make 2024 flight around Moon
Monday, 03 April 2023 20:11 Write a comment
NASA unveiled the crew on Monday for its first human mission to the Moon in more than 50 years –- including the first woman and Black man to participate in a lunar flight.
Three Americans and one Canadian will fly around the Moon next year, becoming the first astronauts to venture that deep into space since the historic Apollo missions ended in 1972.
The flight, dubbed Artemis II, is scheduled to take place in November 2024 and is a prelude to returning humans to the lunar surface for the first time in a half century.
The three NASA astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch—named to Artemis II have all spent time on the International Space Station (ISS) while Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency will be making his first space flight.
The four astronauts, dressed in blue flight suits, were introduced by NASA administrator Bill Nelson at an event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
A practical method to improve the accuracy of orbit prediction and position error covariance prediction
Monday, 03 April 2023 20:02 Write a comment
With continuous developments in the space industry, the space near the Earth is occupied by a variety of spacecraft whose number is increasing dramatically every year. To avoid a collision, huge computation power is necessary to determine the possibility of a collision between two space objects. However, there are various uncertainties in the collision prediction process, which aggravates the burdens on space safety management.
Since the collision probability is usually applied to evaluate a dangerously close encounter, improving the precision of orbit prediction and covariance prediction is key.
In a research paper recently published in Space: Science & Technology, Zhaokui Wang, from Tsinghua University, proposed an efficient method with a back propagation (BP) neural network to improve the accuracy of orbit prediction and position error covariance prediction of space targets.
Wang's team also applied the proposed method to estimate the collision probability for the Q-Sat and space debris with NORAD ID of 49863.
Lockheed Martin selected by Australia for military satcom project
Monday, 03 April 2023 19:22 Write a comment
Lockheed Martin was selected as the “preferred bidder” for a multibillion-dollar Australian military project to build military communications satellites and supporting infrastructure.
NASA plans 2 super pressure balloon test flights from New Zealand
Monday, 03 April 2023 19:21 Write a comment
NASA's Scientific Balloon Program is scheduled to conduct two super pressure balloon (SPB) launches from Wānaka, New Zealand, to further test and qualify the technology, which can offer cost savings compared to space missions.
While the two launches are primarily to test the SPB technology, NASA is also flying science payloads as missions of opportunity on each balloon. The balloons may also be visible from the ground during their flights, which are planned for up to 100 days or more.
"The super pressure balloon technology is a real game-changer for conducting cutting-edge science at the edge of space at a fraction of the cost of flying into space," said Debbie Fairbrother, NASA's Balloon Program Office chief based at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
First woman, Black astronaut, Canadian to make 2024 flight around Moon
Monday, 03 April 2023 19:07 Write a comment
NASA unveiled the crew on Monday for its first human mission to the Moon in more than 50 years - including the first woman and Black man to participate in a lunar flight.
Three Americans and one Canadian will fly around the Moon next year, becoming the first astronauts to venture that deep into space since the historic Apollo missions ended in 1972.
The flight, dubbed Artemis II, is sch Kleos Space, Spire Global get contract extensions from NRO
Monday, 03 April 2023 17:31 Write a comment
Kleos Space and Spire Global have been awarded contract extensions by the National Reconnaissance Office for commercial radio-frequency (RF) data, the companies announced April 3.
Japanese company successfully operates its water-based propulsion system in orbit
Monday, 03 April 2023 16:38 Write a comment
New in-space propulsion techniques seem to be popping out of the woodwork. The level of innovation behind moving things around in space is astounding, and now a company from Japan has just hit a significant milestone. Pale Blue, which I assumed was named as a nod to a beloved Carl Sagan book, recently successfully tested their in-orbit water-based propulsion system, adding yet another safe, affordable propulsion system to satellite designers' repertoires.
Using water to jet around space might seem relatively simplistic. However, despite its simplicity and relatively low cost, water jets for satellitepropulsion systems have not yet been widely adopted. This first Pale Blue system, which launched with Sony's EYE satellite as part of its STAR SPHERE program to take pictures of the Earth, was the first time the company successfully tested its system in space.
They did so by operating it for approximately two minutes in early March and adjusting the EYE satellite's orbit in LEO.
