D-Orbit wins contracts to test optical links and fly mini space lab
Monday, 26 June 2023 22:14
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D-Orbit will supply a small orbiting lab and test optical intersatellite links under the latest contracts awarded through Italy’s billion-euro National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
ESA, European companies back “zero debris” agreement
Monday, 26 June 2023 22:08 Write a comment
ESA and three European satellite manufacturers have announced plans to work together to develop “ambitious and meaningful targets” for dealing with orbital debris.
SES bid for equal split of C-band proceeds back in play
Monday, 26 June 2023 22:06 Write a comment
Satellite operator SES has another shot at getting a larger share of Intelsat's C-band clearing cash after an appeals court made a judgment in its favor.
U.K. joins U.S. Space Command’s commercial space-tracking cell
Monday, 26 June 2023 17:55 Write a comment
The United Kingdom will participate in a U.S. Space Command initiative focused on purchasing commercial space domain awareness data.
Agile raises $13 million to expand production
Monday, 26 June 2023 17:50 Write a comment
The seed funding round, announced June 23, was led by Caruso Ventures. Participants included Lockheed Martin Ventures, Greater Colorado Venture Fund, CORI Innovation Fund and Greenline Ventures.
Researchers model and test ground conditions on the moon
Monday, 26 June 2023 16:11 Write a comment
From 1967 to 1972, the American space agency NASA conducted a series of space missions to the moon. Nearly 400 kilograms of soil samples were transported back to Earth. NGI—The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute is now using CT-scans of 10,000 lunar particles from the Apollo expeditions to study how lunar soils will behave when humans start engineering structures for the lunar surface.
In the near future, NASA's Artemis missions plan to send humans to the moon again for the first time in 50 years. This time, astronauts will potentially work and live on the moon for extended periods. But how to build a habitable base on the moon? What forces can the ground on the moon withstand? And with the conditions that are on the moon, how do materials, like a grain of lunar soil, behave?
Research proposes extending Earth's internet to Mars with orbital data servers
Monday, 26 June 2023 16:09 Write a comment
You've done it. After years of effort and training, sacrifice, and pain, you become an astronaut and have finally set foot on Mars. Time to post your triumph on TikTok for that sweet social media cred. If only you can get a signal.
While that might seem like a silly scenario, the need for internet connectivity on Mars is real. It's not just a matter of allowing astronauts to doomscroll and post on Reddit. Landing humans on Mars will require a tremendous amount of data transfer with Earth, which is not easy. So how can we create an information network on Mars that is robust enough for both logistic and personal needs? A paper posted on the arXiv pre-print server proposes an idea.
The idea for an interplanetary internet isn't new. Astronauts on the International Space Station already have web access, though they often complain about its dialup-level speeds.
NASA identifies potential major cost growth in Mars Sample Return
Monday, 26 June 2023 15:48 Write a comment
NASA has confirmed that one scenario for the cost of its Mars Sample Return (MSR) program is far higher than previous estimates, heightening concerns among scientists about its impacts on other missions.
China conducts parachute tests for asteroid sample return mission
Monday, 26 June 2023 15:16 Write a comment
China’s main space contractor has conducted several successful high-altitude parachute deployment tests as part of plans to collect asteroid samples and deliver them safely to Earth.
NASA to Provide Coverage for Launch of ESA ‘Dark Universe’ Mission
Monday, 26 June 2023 14:47 Write a comment
The ESA (European Space Agency) and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 11:11 a.m. EDT Saturday, July 1, to launch the Euclid spacecraft. Euclid is an ESA mission with contributions from NASA that will shed light on the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two of the biggest modern mysteries about the universe. Paris Air Show 2023: a memorable edition brought the future of space to Europe
Monday, 26 June 2023 14:25 Write a comment
The 54th edition of the Paris Air Show, held from 19 to 25 June, just came to an end. The week-long show, one the oldest and largest aerospace events in the world, welcomed institutional and trade visitors on the first four days, while on the last three days it opened its doors to space and aviation enthusiasts, students and children with their families. With more than 20 000 people visiting the ESA/CNES pavilion in the last three public days, the Paris Air Show 2023 showcased the successes and ambitions of the European Space Agency for
Paris Air Show 2023: a memorable edition that brought the future of space to Europe
Monday, 26 June 2023 14:25 Write a comment
The 54th edition of the Paris Air Show, held from 19 to 25 June, just came to an end. The week-long show, one of the oldest and largest aerospace events in the world, welcomed institutional and trade visitors on the first four days, while on the last three days it opened its doors to space and aviation enthusiasts, students and children with their families. With more than 20 000 people visiting the ESA/CNES pavilion in the last three public days, the Paris Air Show 2023 showcased the successes and ambitions of the European Space Agency
Ariane 6 progress toward inaugural flight: ArianeGroup, Les Mureaux, France
Monday, 26 June 2023 14:10 Write a comment
Video:
00:02:58
In June 2023, representatives from ESA, the French space agency CNES, Ariane 6 and launch operator Arianespace met at ArianeGroup’s rocket factory in Les Mureaux, near Paris, to see how the all-new Ariane 6 is taking shape.
Ariane 6 builds on the heritage of its hugely successful predecessor, Ariane 5. But it will lift more payload at less cost and fly more often, to give Europe one of the world’s most flexible, reliable launch systems.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher acknowledged a temporary gap in launch capability that will mark the period between Ariane 5’s final flight and the beginning
Euclid meets Falcon 9 adaptor
Monday, 26 June 2023 14:00 Write a comment
Image:
On Friday 23 June, Euclid was secured to the adaptor of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Engineers attached the satellite to the adaptor that will be placed on the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, which will launch Euclid into space. ESA’s new cosmological mission Euclid is getting ready for lift-off with a target launch date of 1 July 2023 from Cape Canaveral in Florida (USA).
ESA's Euclid mission is designed to help us uncover the great cosmic mystery of dark matter and dark energy. The space telescope will observe more than a third of the sky with
Webb makes first detection of crucial carbon molecule in a planet-forming disc
Monday, 26 June 2023 14:00 Write a comment
An international team of scientists have used data collected by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to detect a molecule [1] known as the methyl cation (CH3+) for the first time, located in the protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star. They accomplished this feat with a cross-disciplinary expert analysis, including key input from laboratory spectroscopists.