Chandra discovers giant black holes on collision course
Thursday, 23 February 2023 04:31
Astronomers have discovered the first evidence for giant black holes in dwarf galaxies on a collision course. This result from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has important ramifications for understanding how the first wave of black holes and galaxies grew in the early universe.
Collisions between the pairs of dwarf galaxies identified in a new study have pulled gas towards the giant blac James Webb spots super old, massive galaxies that shouldn't exist
Thursday, 23 February 2023 04:31
In a new study, an international team of astrophysicists has discovered several mysterious objects hiding in images from the James Webb Space Telescope: six potential galaxies that emerged so early in the universe's history and are so massive they should not be possible under current cosmological theory.
Each of the candidate galaxies may have existed at the dawn of the universe roughly 50 Webb observes a globular cluster sparkling with separate stars
Thursday, 23 February 2023 04:31
On June 20, 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope spent just over one hour staring at Messier 92 (M92), a globular cluster 27,000 light-years away in the Milky Way halo. The observation - among the very first science observations undertaken by Webb - is part of Early Release Science (ERS) program 1334, one of 13 ERS programs designed to help astronomers understand how to use Webb and make the mos Sidus Space secures additional launches with SpaceX
Thursday, 23 February 2023 04:31
Sidus Space, Inc. has signed an agreement with SpaceX to launch on Transporter missions manifested for 2024 and 2025. This additional agreement further extends the Company's relationship with SpaceX, chosen in part due to their successful and reliable launch capabilities.
Sidus Space expects the Maiden Flight of LizzieSat on SpaceX Transporter-9 later this year. Along with launching in 202 Marlink leveraging SES's multi-orbit satellite across French Guiana
Thursday, 23 February 2023 04:31
In support of intensifying government initiatives to close the connectivity gap for more than 7,500 households across urban and rural population centres in French Guiana, Marlink has been awarded a Public Service Delegation contract to set up broadband Internet and 4G/5G services via satellite networks covering the entire French region.
SES and Marlink today announced they have signed a 15 Exploring the Valley of the Kings with radar
Thursday, 23 February 2023 04:31
A century ago, the British archaeologist Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun's burial chamber. For years he had been searching for the pharaoh's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, northwest of the Upper Egyptian city of Luxor. Having almost given up, he found Tutankhamun's tomb in the winter of 1922. However, several months of careful preparations were needed before the archaeologist could enter the Relativity Space sets date for first Terran 1 launch
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 23:41
Relativity Space announced Feb. 22 it will attempt the first launch of its Terran 1 rocket as soon as March 8 after securing a launch license and skipping a planned final test.
SAR solutions provider Asterra in talks for first satellite
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 23:04
Israeli geospatial analytics firm Asterra is considering ordering its own satellite as it struggles to compete with government agencies for images, an executive said Feb.
NASA warns of budget challenges in year ahead
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 21:31
Despite its successes last year, the leadership of NASA warns that the coming year could be more challenging as it fights to preserve its budget on Capitol Hill.
The future of Starship includes national security missions
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 21:27
As SpaceX prepares to attempt Starship’s first orbital flight, the company is contemplating military applications for the super-heavy launch vehicle.
China’s LEO push looms over Western expansion efforts
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 19:57
Ambitious plans from China for a global broadband network could hamper Western constellation operators seeking to maximize their international subscriber numbers.
Treating lunar soil to create fertilizer for growing plants on the moon
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 17:42
Sooner or later, settlers on the moon will have to become farmers. A new ESA Discovery project led by Norway's Solsys Mining is looking into the treatment of lunar soil to create fertilizer for growing plants.
The good news is that analysis of lunar samples returned to Earth in the past by moonwalkers and robots shows sufficient essential minerals are available for plant growth, apart from nitrogen compounds. The bad news is that lunar soil (or "regolith") compacts in the presence of water, creating problems for plant germination and root growth.
Hydroponic farming therefore offers a practical alternative; this type of agriculture involves feeding plant roots directly with nutrient-rich water, without the need for soil. The potential is still there however to put lunar regolith to work, on the basis of "in-situ resource utilization"—or living off the land.
The "Enabling Lunar In-Situ Agriculture by Producing Fertilizer from Beneficiated Regolith" project, led by Solsys Mining with Norway's Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Space (CIRiS), involves studying a combination of mechanical, chemical and biological processes to extract mineral nutrients from the regolith.
Terran Orbital announces $2.4 billion Rivada Space Networks contract
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 14:45
SAN FRANCISCO — Terran Orbital Corp. announced a $2.4 billion contract to build 300 satellites for Rivada Space Networks. Under the contract announced Feb.
Capella teams with analytics firms to promote use of radar imagery
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 13:00
Capella Space, a company that operates a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites, is partnering with data analytics firms to help increase access to SAR imagery, the company announced Feb.
Russia claims Progress leak caused by an "external impact"
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 11:02
Roscosmos on Tuesday blamed an "external impact," not a manufacturing defect, for a coolant leak from an unmanned Russian supply ship docked at the International Space Station on February 11.
High-resolution pictures of the Progress MS-21 spacecraft were taken by cosmonauts using the ISS' 17-meter-long Canadarm2 robotic arm, which revealed a 12-millimeter hole where the coolant fluid pour