Ariane 6 revealed on its launch pad in preparation for hot-firing tests
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26
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As part of the combined tests campaign, the Ariane 6 mobile gantry was retracted on June 22, unveiling the launch vehicle on its launch pad. During a rehearsal representative of a real launch sequence, the removal of the mobile gantry marks the completion of the functional tests performed so far and precedes ignition of the core stage Vulcain 2.1 engine on the launch pad. The rehearsal serves to Not Again, Mars: Sols 3868-3870
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
Today we started planning at a location short of our intended drive end position. Mars has, once again, not read our script! Regular readers of this blog will have noticed lately that many reports start with some news about a shortened drive that didn't quite complete, and that Abigail got really excited on June 20th, when three drives in a row had completed successfully. And that's not the rove Space tech to shrink as the limits of quantum physics are tested
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
A UK-wide consortium is developing technologies to use nanoparticles as state-of-the-art sensors on small, shoebox-sized satellites known as CubeSats.
The Universities of Warwick, Swansea and Strathclyde have been awarded 250k pounds to further research into nanoparticles and quantum physics in the application of space technology.
Recent advances in the field of levitated optomechani Rocket Lab to launch space object monitoring mission for Spire Global and NorthStar
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has signed a dedicated launch deal with Spire Global (NYSE: SPIR) ("Spire") to deliver its first four Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellites to low Earth orbit for its Space Services customer NorthStar Earth and Space Inc. ("NorthStar").
The dedicated mission on Electron will deploy the satellites to a 530km circular orbit from Rocket Lab Launch Co D-Orbit secures four multi-million contracts with ASI and ESA
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
Space logistics and orbital transportation company D-Orbit secured four multi-million contracts under the framework of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). These contracts represent a great opportunity to take part in national projects that will mark historic milestones the space sector and cooperate with some of the most renown and innovative Italian companies in the industry. Spideroak demonstrates deployment of Orbitsecure on Ball Aerospace payload
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
SpiderOak, a leader in zero-trust cybersecurity and resiliency software for space systems, is excited to announce the successful achievement of flight heritage through the deployment and demonstration of its OrbitSecure platform in space. SpiderOak conducted rigorous testing of its end-to-end data security solution on a Ball Aerospace prototype payload currently operational in low-Earth orbit (L MAVEN stuns with ultraviolet views of Mars
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission acquired stunning views of Mars in two ultraviolet images taken at different points along our neighboring planet's orbit around the Sun. By viewing the planet in ultraviolet wavelengths, scientists can gain insight into the Martian atmosphere and view surface features in remarkable ways.
MAVEN's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph Reconstructing alien astronomers' view of our home galaxy's chemistry
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
Researchers have reconstructed what alien astronomers, observing our Milky Way galaxy from afar, would find if they analysed our home galaxy's chemical composition. The study, which is led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, is relevant for our own understanding of the cosmos: It allows for a new kind of comparison between our home galaxy and the many distant galaxies tha Stellar demolition derby births powerful gamma-ray burst
Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:26 Write a comment
While searching for the origins of a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB), an international team of astrophysicists may have stumbled upon a new way to destroy a star.
Although most GRBs originate from exploding massive stars or neutron-star mergers, the researchers concluded that GRB 191019A instead came from the collision of stars or stellar remnants in the jam-packed environment surrounding a Senate Armed Services Committee advances 2024 NDAA
Sunday, 25 June 2023 08:37 Write a comment
The Senate Armed Services Committee on June 23 advanced its version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 24-1 after closed deliberations.
The ship sank. Or did it? Titanic misinformation swirls
Sunday, 25 June 2023 07:44 Write a comment
The Titanic inspired a tear-jerking blockbuster and expeditions to its watery gravesite - including a fatal one this week - but viral TikTok videos peddle a stunning conspiracy theory: the ship never sank.
More than a century after it went down in the North Atlantic Ocean, wild myths and urban legends about the luxury liner have continued to swirl, including that it was doomed by the curse SpaceX changing Starship stage separation ahead of next launch
Saturday, 24 June 2023 18:18 Write a comment
SpaceX is changing the approach for separating the two stages of its Starship vehicle to increase payload performance before its next test flight, Elon Musk said June 24.
First Vulcan launch further delayed for Centaur modifications
Saturday, 24 June 2023 13:19 Write a comment
The inaugural launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket faces new delays after the company said it needs to make “minor reinforcements” to part of the Centaur upper stage.
SpaceX tender offer values it at around $150bn: report
Saturday, 24 June 2023 05:29 Write a comment
Elon Musk's company SpaceX is offering to sell insider shares at a price that lifts its valuation to around $150 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report Friday.
The company—the first private company to send astronauts into orbit, among many other firsts—is initially seeking a $750 million tender offer, the report added.
Its valuation has climbed in recent years as it raised billions to finance its work, and according to Bloomberg, SpaceX is offering shares at over $80 apiece.
A CNBC report in January noted that SpaceX was raising $750 million in a round of funding that valued it at $137 billion.
According to Bloomberg News, SpaceX has around $5 billion of cash on its balance sheet.
In April, SpaceX saw the most powerful rocket ever built—Starship—blow up on its first flight, although Musk congratulated his SpaceX team on the test of the next-generation spacecraft designed to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
SpaceX also successfully deployed more than 50 added satellites on Friday, boosting a collection used to beam broadband internet coverage, according to reports.
Second Orbiter transfer vehicle malfunctions
Friday, 23 June 2023 21:55 Write a comment
An orbital transfer vehicle that was part of a SpaceX rideshare mission malfunctioned shortly after deployment, putting into jeopardy a technology demonstration spacecraft for a satellite servicing startup.