Houston TX (SPX) Dec 31, 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory wraps up a banner year supporting research and technology development (R and D) in low Earth orbit (LEO). The ISS National Lab and NASA work in unison to utilize the orbiting outpost to its fullest capacity, and the achievements from this year demonstrate the increasing demand for access to space for R and D amon

West Lafayette IN (SPX) Dec 31, 2023
The year 2023 proved to be an important one for space missions, with NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returning a sample from an asteroid and India's Chandrayaan-3 mission exploring the lunar south pole, and 2024 is shaping up to be another exciting year for space exploration. Several new missions under NASA's Artemis plan and Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative will target the Moon.

Boston MA (SPX) Jan 01, 2024
Scientists at MIT, the University of Birmingham, and elsewhere say that astronomers' best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence, rather than the presence, of a chemical feature in their atmospheres. The researchers propose that if a terrestrial planet has substantially less carbon dioxide in its atmosphere compared to other planets in th

Washington DC (UPI) Dec 28, 2023
Less than three hours after the launch of a mysterious space plane atop a Falcon Heavy rocket, SpaceX launched a second launch Thursday night, at 11:01 p.m. EST, deploying its latest batch of Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit. The secretive space plane went into orbit earlier in the evening via a Falcon Heavy rocket as part of a payload that also includes scores of livin

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 28, 2023
SpaceX has successfully launched the USSF-52 mission using its Falcon Heavy rocket, marking a significant achievement in the ongoing collaboration between Space Systems Command (SSC) and SpaceX. The launch occurred at 8:07 p.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, demonstrating the capabilities and resilience of the Falcon Heavy rocket. This successful launch

Image: It’s all relative

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 28, 2023
Amazon Web Services (AWS), a leader in cloud computing and a subsidiary of Amazon, has announced an expansion of its AWS Ground Station service. The company has launched its 12th antenna location in the US West (Alaska) region, marking a notable extension of its global network. This development is set to offer satellite operators, governments, businesses, and universities enhanced opportunities

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 19, 2023
DARPA's Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program seeks to determine whether an underexplored approach to quantum computing can achieve utility-scale operation - meaning its computational value exceeds its cost - faster than conventional predictions. In the initial phase, each company presented a design concept describing their plans to create a utility-scal

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 27, 2023
Above: Space Development Corp., has reported the successful testing of its proprietary propulsion control system, a key component for its much-anticipated Prometheus free-flying orbital mission slated for the fourth quarter of 2024. This testing milestone marks a crucial step forward in the mission's development, underpinning Above: Space's commitment to advancing space technology. The Pro

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 27, 2023
The former OSIRIS-REx spacecraft sets off on a journey to study asteroid Apophis and take advantage of the asteroid's 2029 flyby of Earth, the likes of which hasn't happened since the dawn of recorded history. At the end of a long-haul road trip, it might be time to kick up your feet and rest awhile - especially if it was a seven-year, 4 billion-mile journey to bring Earth a sample of aste