Sidus Space and Bechtel join forces for Artemis Mobile Launcher 2
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21Sidus Space (NASDAQ: SIDU), a notable player in the Space and Data-as-a-Service sector, has recently announced its expanded involvement in the NASA Artemis missions. The company disclosed that it has secured an additional contract from Bechtel to manufacture supplementary cables for the NASA Mobile Launcher 2, a pivotal structure in the launch of Space Launch System (SLS) rockets. This new
Spire Global awarded space services contract by Lacuna Space to for 6 IoT Satellites
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR), a leader in space-based data and analytics, has recently entered into a landmark Space Services contract with Lacuna Space, a prominent satellite IoT connectivity provider. This agreement marks a significant step in expanding global IoT (Internet of Things) networks, with Spire initially slated to build and launch six satellites equipped with Lacuna Space's paylo
Aalyria secures ESA contract for O-RAN compliant 5G/6G connectivity platform
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21Aalyria, a frontrunner in cutting-edge software-defined and optical networking communications, has been awarded a pivotal development contract by the European Space Agency (ESA), with support from the UK Space Agency (UKSA). The project is set to pioneer a unique O-RAN compliant orchestration system, designed to integrate diverse connectivity assets across land, sea, air, and space, thereby enab
Capella Space to launch 2 Acadia EO satellites with SpaceX
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21Capella Space Corp., a pioneering American space technology company known for its innovative data and satellite solutions, has announced a significant milestone in its mission to enhance Earth observation capabilities. In a strategic collaboration with SpaceX, Capella Space will launch two of its Acadia satellites - Acadia-4 and Acadia-5 - in the year 2024. Scheduled for launch during Spac
China's commercial CERES-1 Y9 rocket launches new satellites
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21Galactic Energy, a private rocket maker in Beijing, launched the 11th flight mission of its CERES 1 rocket on Tuesday morning to deploy two satellites into orbit. The rocket blasted off at 7:33 am at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert and placed the Tianyan 16 and Starpool 1A satellites into their preset orbits, the company said in a news release.
Was going to space a good idea
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21In 1963, six years after the first satellite was launched, editors from the Encyclopaedia Britannica posed a question to five eminent thinkers of the day: "Has man's conquest of space increased or diminished his stature?" The respondents were philosopher Hannah Arendt, writer Aldous Huxley, theologian Paul Tillich, nuclear scientist Harrison Brown and hist
CubeSats deployer flight model now integrated to Hera
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21For the first time in Europe two CubeSats will venture deep into the Solar System carried onboard Hera. But current deployers used to release cubesats from their mothercraft are unsuitable for the peculiar environment of deep space. A new activity from GSTP and ISIS Space, in the Netherlands, has developed a new deployer to accomplish exactly this. Hera will demonstrate several new technol
Mapping Mars: Deep Learning Could Help Identify Jezero Crater Landing Site
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21Preparations for a safe landing on Earth, such as finding the most even terrain and equipping the appropriate landing gear, are also crucial for Mars missions. Thus, landing a rover on Mars requires careful mapping and planning well before a rover's descent begins. Scientists are working to create accurate 3D surface maps, known as digital terrain models, of the planet by compiling mosaics
NASA's Psyche Delivers First Images and Other Data
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21NASA's Psyche spacecraft is on a roll. In the eight weeks since it left Earth on Oct. 13, the orbiter has performed one successful operation after another, powering on scientific instruments, streaming data toward home, and setting a deep-space record with its electric thrusters. The latest achievement: On Monday, Dec. 4, the mission turned on Psyche's twin cameras and retrieved the first images
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now: Sols 4028-4029
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21Earth planning date: Monday, December 4, 2023: It is not unusual for things to not quite go according to plan when commanding a robotic rover more than 370,000,000 km (233,000,000 miles) away on Mars. Today was one of those days. Our planned weekend activities, including finishing up analyses of the Sequoia drill hole and fines, did not make it onboard Curiosity. However, the team is used
Can signs of life be detected from Saturn's frigid moon?
Wednesday, 06 December 2023 02:21As astrophysics technology and research continue to advance, one question persists: is there life elsewhere in the universe? The Milky Way galaxy alone has hundreds of billions of celestial bodies, but scientists often look for three crucial elements in their ongoing search: water, energy and organic material. Evidence indicates that Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is an 'ocean world' that contains
NRO signs agreements with five commercial suppliers of electro-optical imagery
Tuesday, 05 December 2023 21:01NASA's interstellar mapping probe prepares for a 2025 launch
Tuesday, 05 December 2023 19:39Engineers at NASA have completed an important milestone in developing the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft. It's now moving from development and design to the assembly, testing, and integration phase, targeting a launch in late Spring 2025. After launch, the spacecraft will fly to the Earth-sun L1 Lagrange Point and analyze how the sun's solar wind interacts with charged particles originating from outside the solar system.
IMAP will follow up on discoveries and insights from the two Voyager spacecraft and the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) and will help investigate two of the most important overarching issues in heliophysics: the energization of charged particles from the sun and the interaction of the solar wind at its boundary with interstellar space.
The 2023 SpaceNews Icon Awards: Winners
Tuesday, 05 December 2023 19:25Europa clipper could help discover if Jupiter's moon is habitable
Tuesday, 05 December 2023 18:28Since 1979, when the Voyager probes flew past Jupiter and its system of moons, scientists have speculated about the possibility of life within Europa. Based on planetary modeling, Europa is believed to be differentiated between a rocky and metallic core, an icy crust and mantle, and a liquid-water ocean that could be 100 to 200 km (62 to 124 mi) deep. Scientists theorize that this ocean is maintained by tidal flexing, where interaction with Jupiter's powerful gravitational field leads to geological activity in Europa's core and hydrothermal vents at the core-mantle boundary.
Investigating the potential habitability of Europa is the main purpose of NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which will launch on October 10th, 2024, and arrive around Jupiter in April 2030. However, this presents a challenge for astrobiologists since the habitability of Europa is dependent on many interrelated parameters that require collaborative investigation.