Power on: new solar arrays installed over three spacewalks
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 14:19
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough performed three spacewalks in the span of 10 days to install two new solar arrays that will generate more electricity on the International Space Station.
Bharti Global invests extra $500 million to take largest OneWeb stake
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 14:11
TAMPA, Fla. — Indian telecom company Bharti Global is set to own the largest share of low-Earth-orbit broadband venture OneWeb, after investing an extra $500 million to complete the constellation’s funding.
Bharti and the British government jointly bought OneWeb out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy for $1 billion in 2020, rescuing the startup in the middle of a pandemic that had disrupted its funding plans.
Retro meets retrofit
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 13:50
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Retro meets retrofit: The Novespace Air Zero G aircraft is seen here next to Douglas the 1962 VW Transporter. The two are in Paderborn, Germany for the 76th ESA Parabolic Flight Campaign.
The refitted A310 Air Zero G aircraft flies in parabolas that offer teams from various research institutes and universities altered states of gravity to perform experiments and technology demonstrations. Experiments span many disciplines including complex fluidics and human physiology, and this campaign is no exception.
Running from 25 June to 1 July, the 76th campaign features an experiment studying the effect of gravity on hydrodynamics to better protect
Exploring deep space: How can we get there safely and sustainably?
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 13:00
Once the sole dominion of sci-fi movies and novels, the subject of deep space exploration and interplanetary colonization has moved several steps closer to becoming a reality thanks to major advances in aerospace engineering, medicine, and physics.
Sending astronauts to the International Space Station for extended missions has provided a wealth of information about keeping humans alive in the challenging environment of space. Back on earth, scientists and engineers attempt to replicate off-world conditions to test limits for more ambitious missions.
Former U.S. Air Force top counsel Tom Ayres joins Voyager Space
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 12:00
WASHINGTON — Voyager Space Holdings announced June 29 the appointment of former Department of the Air Force general counsel Tom Ayres as the company’s chief legal officer and general counsel.
Denver-based Voyager was founded in October 2019 as an alternative to the traditional venture capital models.
China is using mythology and sci-fi to sell its space program to the world
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
On the morning of June 17, China launched its long-awaited Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, carrying three Chinese astronauts - or taikonauts - towards the Tianhe core module. The module itself was launched at the end of April, forming part of the permanent Tiangong space station, which is planned to remain in orbit for the next ten years.
China's construction of its own space station stems from th War in Space is Coming
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
A new arms race is unfolding among spacefaring nations. Space experts have been telling us about contested space for the last several years. The number of active satellites is exploding from about 1,000 a few years ago to an expected 50,000+ within 10 years. The sky is indeed getting very congested.
These satellites provide worldwide communications, GPS navigation, weather forecasting and China's relay satellites facilitate clear, smooth space-ground communication
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
A space-based measurement and control system composed of multiple relay satellites has guaranteed clear and smooth communication between ground control and Chinese astronauts in space.
The relay satellites Tianlian I-03, Tianlian I-04 and Tianlian II-01 have been providing stable measurement and data relay support for the complex consisting of Tianhe core module, the cargo craft Tianzhou-2 A new chapter for space sustainability
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
Each day, new and innovative space technologies are being developed in countries around the world, and with that, a steady stream of satellites, rockets, cargo ships, and crew vehicles are being launched into the Earth's orbit and beyond. So what happens to these systems when they come to the end of their functional life, or malfunction and break?
Some are programmed to re-enter the Earth' Throwing an 'axion bomb' into a black hole challenges fundamental law of physics
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
Singularities such as those at the centre of black holes, where density becomes infinite, are often said to be places where physics 'breaks down'. However, this doesn't mean that 'anything' could happen, and physicists are interested in which laws could break down, and how.
Now, a research team from Imperial College London and the Cockcroft Institute and Lancaster University have proposed Detergent maker helps NASA explore space laundry
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
A detergent maker and NASA are teaming up to research how astronauts could do laundry in space, especially on Deep Space missions, using minimal energy and water.
Procter & Gamble has signed a pact with NASA, known as a Space Act Agreement. Under the pact, NASA seeks laundry solutions in space, while the detergent, Tide, gains publicity and furthers product development. Both parties Setting gold and platinum standards where few have gone before
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
Like two superheroes finally joining forces, Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine - generator of the world's most powerful electrical pulses - and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility - the planet's most energetic laser source - in a series of 10 experiments have detailed the responses of gold and platinum at pressures so extreme that their atomic structures mom Why "nuclear batteries" offer a new approach to carbon-free energy
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 11:05
We may be on the brink of a new paradigm for nuclear power, a group of nuclear specialists suggested recently in The Bridge, the journal of the National Academy of Engineering. Much as large, expensive, and centralized computers gave way to the widely distributed PCs of today, a new generation of relatively tiny and inexpensive factory-built reactors, designed for autonomous plug-and-play operat ESA joins Asteroid Day for rocky live broadcast
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 10:18
What do astronauts, rockstars, scientists and communicators have in common? You’ll find some of the best at this year’s 5-hour live Asteroid Day broadcast, bringing to life the smallest known worlds in the Solar System – with the potential to make a huge impact here on Earth.
Astroscale breaking new ground for on-orbit servicing demonstration
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 09:58
TAMPA, Fla. — Astroscale is joining forces with four satellite ground station providers to deliver the level of connectivity it needs for the world’s first commercial debris removal demonstration this year.