Next stop Mars: 3 spacecraft arriving in quick succession
Sunday, 07 February 2021 07:46
Lockheed Martin selects ABL Space Systems for UK launch
Sunday, 07 February 2021 00:02
WASHINGTON — ABL Space Systems will conduct a launch for Lockheed Martin from a new spaceport in the Shetland Islands, fulfilling an agreement with the British government announced in 2018.
Lockheed said Feb. 7 that ABL will perform a launch of its RS1 rocket from the Shetland Space Centre, a spaceport to be developed on the island of Unst in the Shetlands, in 2022.
DARPA to survey private sector capabilities to build factories on the moon
Saturday, 06 February 2021 17:23
WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to hear from the space industry about their capabilities to manufacture large structures on the moon.
This is a new project that DARPA announced Feb. 5 called “Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials and Mass-efficient Design.
UAE's 'Hope' probe to be first in trio of Mars missions
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Dubai (AFP) Feb 7, 2021
The first Arab space mission, the UAE's "Hope" probe, is expected to reach Mars' orbit on Tuesday, making it the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month.
The United Arab Emirates, China and the United States all launched projects to Mars last July, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are nearest.
If succesful, the wealthy Gulf state will become t

Sarah al-Amiri: young minister behind UAE mission to Mars
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Dubai (AFP) Feb 7, 2021
When Sarah al-Amiri was a child growing up in Abu Dhabi with a fascination for space, her young country seemed light years away from reaching for the stars.
Now the 34-year-old is a government minister and one of the drivers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ambitious project behind the "Hope" probe that is due to reach the orbit of Mars on Tuesday.
As a youngster poring over images of f

Astra to Become the First Publicly Traded Space Launch Company on NASDAQ via Merger with Holicity
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Alameda CA (SPX) Feb 05, 2021
Astra, the fastest privately-funded company in history to demonstrate orbital launch capability, and Holicity Inc. (NASDAQ: HOL) ("Holicity"), a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), has announced a definitive business combination agreement that will result in Astra becoming a publicly-traded company.
The transaction reflects an implied pro forma enterprise value for Astra of appro

ST Engineering iDirect's Dialog Platform Deployed by BSNL to Connect Remote Indian Islands
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Herndon VA (SPX) Feb 05, 2021
ST Engineering iDirect, a global leader in satellite communications, has been awarded a contract by system integrator Shaf Broadcast, Pvt. Ltd, on behalf of Indian state-owned telecommunications company, BSNL, to augment satellite bandwidth to the offshore Indian islands of Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep under a Universal Service Obligation (USO) project funded by the Department of Telecommuni

NASA satellites help quantify forests' impacts on global carbon budget
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 04, 2021
Using ground, airborne, and satellite data, a diverse team of international researchers - including NASA scientists - has created a new method to assess how the changes in forests over the past two decades have impacted carbon concentrations in the atmosphere.
In addition to better understanding the overall role of forests in the global carbon cycle, the scientists were also able to distin

Student Launch Teams Will Launch from Home Fields, Receive Awards Virtually
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Huntsville AL (SPX) Feb 05, 2021
Student Launch, one of NASA's Artemis Student Challenges, is an annual competition that typically culminates each April with a gathering of teams for a weekend of rocket launches and celebration.
This year, in an effort to comply with federal guidance and help restrict the spread of COVID-19, these events will be modified to take place locally to each team or virtually. A virtual awards ce

Calnetix Technologies Supplies Key Components for NASA's Next-Generation CO2 Removal System
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Cerritos CA (SPX) Feb 05, 2021
Calnetix Technologies reports it has successfully designed and developed a high-speed in-line blower and a dual controller for NASA's next-generation CO2 removal system.
The design and development of the Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber (4BCO2) is being led by NASA and is planned for installation on the International Space Station (ISS) after rigorous ground testing at its facilities.

Armstrong Assists with Orion for First Astronaut Mission
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Feb 05, 2021
As NASA's human spaceflight centers are busy preparing the Orion spacecraft and its components for the early Artemis missions around the Moon, a NASA aeronautics-focused center is lending a hand.
NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is providing system engineering and integration expertise to assist with an Orion heat shield spectrometer system (OHSS). The system

NASA-DLR cooperation - from Cologne to the stars
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Bonn, Germany (SPX) Feb 05, 2021
On 4 February 2021 at 15:40 CET, the airborne observatory of the German Space Agency at DLR and the US space agency, NASA, is due to land at Cologne Bonn Airport. From there, it will explore the night sky over Europe until 16 March.
"The SOFIA infrared observatory is one of the largest German-American projects for space exploration and underlines how important the cooperation with NASA is

NANOGrav finds possible 'first hints' of low-frequency gravitational wave background
Saturday, 06 February 2021 12:59
Morgantown WV (SPX) Feb 05, 2021
In data gathered and analyzed over 13 years, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) Physics Frontiers Center (PFC) has found an intriguing low-frequency signal that may be attributable to gravitational waves.
NANOGrav researchers - including a number from West Virginia University's (WVU's) Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center for Gravitati

Tianwen 1 makes orbital correction as Mars arrival draws near
Saturday, 06 February 2021 01:02
Beijing (XNA) Feb 08, 2021
China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe conducted its fourth orbital correction on Friday evening, as the spacecraft makes ready for its arrival in orbit around Feb 10, according to the China National Space Administration.
The robotic vehicle ignited one of its engines at 8 pm to make an orbital correction and ensure it would be flying in the right direction toward the Martian gravitational field, th
