Copernical Team
ASTRA announces major new equity facility
Astra Space, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTR) has entered into a common stock purchase agreement with B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC ("B. Riley Principal Capital II"). The agreement governs a Committed Equity Facility that provides Astra the right, in its discretion and without obligation, to sell and issue up to $100 million of its Class A common stock over the course of 24 months to B. Riley Principal Slingshot Aerospace acquires Numerica's space division and UK-Based Seradata
Slingshot Aerospace, Inc., a company building space simulation and analytics products to accelerate space sustainability, has announced that the company has acquired Numerica's Space Domain Awareness (SDA) division and UK-based Seradata.
Numerica's SDA division includes the world's first and only commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) daytime and nighttime optical s SpaceX debris discovered in Australian sheep paddock
A charred chunk of space junk found jutting from a paddock by an Australian sheep farmer was confirmed to be part of one of Elon Musk's SpaceX missions by authorities Thursday.
The ethereal-looking debris, believed to have plummeted to Earth on July 9, was found last week in Dalgety - a remote area near Australia's Snowy Mountains, about five hours' drive southwest of Sydney.
"It was ki As reflective satellites fill the skies, UA students helping astronomers adapt
As satellites crawl across the sky, they reflect light from the sun back down to Earth, especially during the first few hours after sunset and the first few hours before sunrise. As more companies launch networks of satellites into low-Earth orbit, a clear view of the night sky is becoming rarer. Astronomers, in particular, are trying to find ways to adapt.
With that in mind, a team of Uni ULA launches missile warning satellite for US Space Force
United Launch Alliance launched a missile warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force on Thursday morning. ULA launched SBIRS GEO-6, into orbit on its Atlas V rocket on time at 6:29am. The SBIRS GEO-6 is an enhanced satellite built by Lockheed Martin that uses the LM 2100 Combat Bus to provide "even greater resiliency and cyber-hardening against growing threats" As reflective satellites fill the skies, students are making sure astronomers can adapt
As satellites crawl across the sky, they reflect light from the sun back down to Earth, especially during the first few hours after sunset and the first few hours before sunrise. As more companies launch networks of satellites into low-Earth orbit, a clear view of the night sky is becoming rarer. Astronomers, in particular, are trying to find ways to adapt.
Team troubleshoots asteroid-bound Lucy spacecraft across millions of miles
Following the successful launch of NASA's Lucy spacecraft on Oct. 16, 2021, a group of engineers huddled around a long conference table in Titusville, Florida. Lucy was mere hours into its 12-year flight, but an unexpected challenge had surfaced for the first-ever Trojan asteroids mission.
Data indicated that one of Lucy's solar arrays powering the spacecraft's systems—designed to unfurl like a hand fan—hadn't fully opened and latched, and the team was figuring out what to do next.
Teams from NASA and Lucy mission partners quickly came together to troubleshoot. On the phone were team members at Lockheed Martin's Mission Support Area outside of Denver, who were in direct contact with the spacecraft.
NASA's PUNCH mission announces rideshare with SPHEREx and new launch date
NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission will share a ride to space with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Re-ionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission. The missions will launch no earlier than April 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9.
Video: Does space trash ever naturally break down?
Remember when Elon Musk launched a car into space? That car's not just peacefully drifting through a vacuum—it's hurtling around the sun at 63,592 miles per hour, being bombarded by solar radiation. It might be in pieces, but these are not the same pieces it would be in if it were down here on Earth. That's because the environment in space breaks down materials differently.
But how long does it take to break down, and how is that car looking right about now?
Explore further
Space debris is coming down more frequently. What are the chances it could hit someone or damage property?
In the past week alone, we've seen two separate incidents of space debris hurtling back to Earth in unexpected places.
On Saturday there was the uncontrolled re-entry of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket over Malaysia. Yesterday outlets reported on some spacecraft parts that turned up in regional New South Wales—now confirmed to be from a SpaceX Crew-1 mission.
As the space industry grows, it's safe to say such incidents will only become more frequent—and they could pose a risk. But how much of a risk, exactly?
Chunks of metal hurtling towards us
Space debris refers to the leftover components of a space system that are no longer required. It might be a satellite that has reached the end of its life (such as the International Space Station), or parts of a rocket system that have fulfilled their purpose and are discarded.
To date, China has launched three Long March 5B rockets, and each has been deliberately left in an uncontrolled orbit.
