Space News from SpaceDaily.com
August 17, 2017
ROCKET SCIENCE
New thruster design increases efficiency for future spaceflight



Washington DC (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
Hall thrusters (HTs) are used in earth-orbiting satellites, and also show promise to propel robotic spacecraft long distances, such as from Earth to Mars. The propellant in a HT, usually xenon, is accelerated by an electric field which strips electrons from neutral xenon atoms, creating a plasma. Plasma ejected from the exhaust end of the thruster can deliver great speeds, typically around 70,000 mph. Cylindrical shaped Hall thrusters (CHTs) lend themselves to miniaturization and have a smaller su ... read more

VENUSIAN HEAT
NASA studies CubeSat mission to solve Venusian mystery
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
Venus looks bland and featureless in visible light, but change the filter to ultraviolet, and Earth's twin suddenly looks like a different planet. Dark and light areas stripe the sphere, indicating ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
A fleeting blue glow
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
In the 2009 film "Star Trek," a supernova hurtles through space and obliterates a planet unfortunate enough to be in its path. Fiction, of course, but it turns out the notion is not so farfetched. ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Astronomers catch exploding supernova early
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
For the first time, astronomers have observed a cosmic event in great detail that they only had glimpses of before: a supernova and its explosive ejecta slamming into a nearby companion star. The di ... more
EARTH OBSERVATION
NASA-led airborne mission studies storm intensification in northern hemisphere
Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
A group of NASA and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists are teaming up this month for an airborne mission focused on studying severe storm processes and intensification. Th ... more
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ROCKET SCIENCE
'Dragon captured' as cargo arrives at space station
Miami (AFP) Aug 16, 2017
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo vessel, carrying the first super-computer to space as part of its 6,400 pound (2,900 kilograms) payload arrived Wednesday at the International Space Station. ... more
MOON DAILY
Reality Bites for Google Lunar X-Prize
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
Once again, the ever-fluid deadline for the Google Lunar X-Prize (GLXP) has been extended. This award is now getting well beyond its use-by date. The GLXP was already on shaky ground before this. Th ... more
SPACEWAR
Kestrel Eye satellite launched to International Space Station aboard SpaceX
Washington (UPI) Aug 15, 2017
The U.S. Army has successfully launched a Kestrel Eye reconnaissance microsatellite aboard a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station. ... more
ENERGY TECH
Updated computer code improves prediction of particle motion in plasma experiments
Plainsboro NJ (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
A computer code used by physicists around the world to analyze and predict tokamak experiments can now approximate the behavior of highly energetic atomic nuclei, or ions, in fusion plasmas more acc ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
Disruptioneering: Streamlining the Process of Scientific Discovery
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO) has announced the first programs under its new Disruptioneering effort, which pushes for faster identification and exploration of bold and risky ideas with the ... more
UAV NEWS
Balloons and drones and clouds
Albuquerque NM (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
Last week, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories flew a tethered balloon and an unmanned aerial system, colloquially known as a drone, together for the first time to get Arctic atmospheric tem ... more


New SQUID-based detector opens up new fields of study with new level of sensitivity

TECTONICS
World's largest volcanic range may lurk beneath Antarctic ice
Edinburgh, UK (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
West Antarctica's vast ice sheet conceals what may be the largest volcanic region on earth, research has revealed. The continent's ice covers almost 100 newly discovered volcanoes, the largest of wh ... more
EARLY EARTH
ASU graduate student leads study estimating oxygen loss in ancient global ocean
Tempe AZ (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
A loss of oxygen in global ocean seawater 94 million years ago led to a mass extinction of marine life that lasted for roughly half a million years. Scientists have found several potential explanati ... more
TECTONICS
New plate adds plot twist to ancient tectonic tale
Houston TX (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
A microplate discovered off the west coast of Ecuador adds another piece to Earth's tectonic puzzle, according to Rice University scientists. Researchers led by Rice geophysicist Richard Gordon disc ... more
EXO WORLDS
Deep-sea animals eating plastic fibers from clothing
Washington (UPI) Aug 15, 2017
Far beneath the ocean waves lies the benthic zone - the cold dark region at the bottom of the sea that is home to some of the most important marine organisms, called meiofauna. No larger than a few grains of table salt, the tiny creatures live in and around seabed sediment and play a crucial role breaking down organic matter in the deep ocean and recycling nutrients throughout the marine food chain. ... more


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SpaceX launches super-computer to space station
Miami (AFP) Aug 14, 2017
SpaceX on Monday blasted off its unmanned Dragon cargo ship toward the International Space Station, carrying a host of science experiments and the most powerful computer ever sent into orbit. "Three, two, one, and liftoff," a SpaceX commentator said as the white Falcon 9 rocket climbed into the blue sky over Cape Canaveral, Florida at 12:31 pm (1631 GMT). Three minutes after launch, the ... more
Washington (AFP) Aug 15, 2017
NASA: let's say something to Voyager 1 on 40th anniversary of launch
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Disruptioneering: Streamlining the Process of Scientific Discovery
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 17, 2017
NASA Offers Space Station as Catalyst for Discovery in Washington
New thruster design increases efficiency for future spaceflight
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
Hall thrusters (HTs) are used in earth-orbiting satellites, and also show promise to propel robotic spacecraft long distances, such as from Earth to Mars. The propellant in a HT, usually xenon, is accelerated by an electric field which strips electrons from neutral xenon atoms, creating a plasma. Plasma ejected from the exhaust end of the thruster can deliver great speeds, typically around 70,00 ... more
Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
SHIIVER tank arrives at NASA's Marshall Center for spray-on foam insulation
Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 16, 2017
Russia's S7 group plans to resume Zenit launches from Sea Launch platform
Miami (AFP) Aug 16, 2017
'Dragon captured' as cargo arrives at space station


Curiosity watches Martian clouds pass over Gale Crater
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 14, 2017
Wispy, early-season clouds resembling Earth's ice-crystal cirrus clouds move across the Martian sky in some new image sequences from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. These clouds are the most clearly visible so far from Curiosity, which landed five years ago this month about five degrees south of Mars' equator. Clouds moving in the Martian sky have been observed previously by Curiosity and oth ... more
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 14, 2017
Opportunity takes in the panoramic view while crossing some rocky terrain
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 17, 2017
For Moratorium on Sending Commands to Mars, Blame the Sun
Paris (ESA) Jul 14, 2017
Tributes to wetter times on Mars
China's satellite sends unbreakable cipher from space
Beijing (XNA) Aug 14, 2017
Chinese scientists have become the first to realize quantum key distribution from a satellite to the ground, laying the foundation for building a hack-proof global quantum communication network. The achievement based on experiments conducted with the world' s first quantum satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), was published in the authoritative academic journal Nature on T ... more
Xi'an, China (XNA) Aug 14, 2017
Xian Satellite Control Center resolves over 10 major satellite faults in 50 years
Beijing (XNA) Jul 10, 2017
China develops sea launches to boost space commerce
Beijing (XNA) Jul 07, 2017
Chinese satellite Zhongxing-9A enters preset orbit
Blue Sky Network Reaffirms Commitment to Brazilian Market
San Diego CA (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Blue Sky Network, an industry leading global provider of satellite asset tracking and fleet management solutions, announced that the company's new management team, led by President Gregoire Demory, would attend the LABACE trade show August 15th to 17th in Sao Paulo. LABACE is Latin America's largest, and the world's second largest, business aviation trade show. "Our new management and sale ... more
New Delhi (Sputnik) Aug 14, 2017
India to Launch Exclusive Satellite for Afghanistan
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jul 18, 2017
ASTROSCALE Raises a Total of $25 Million in Series C Led by Private Companies
Paris (ESA) Jul 14, 2017
LISA Pathfinder: bake, rattle and roll
Researchers 3-D print first truly microfluidic 'lab on a chip' devices
Salt Lake City UT (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
Researchers at BYU are the first to 3D-print a viable microfluidic device small enough to be effective at a scale much less than 100 micrometers. Microfluidic devices are tiny chips that can sort out disease biomarkers, cells and other small structures in samples like blood by using microscopic channels incorporated into the devices. The accomplishment, which is a major breakthrough toward ... more
Houston TX (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
2-faced 2-D material is a first at Rice
Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
Archinaut Project conducts first large-scale 3D build in space-like environment
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
Fewer defects from a 2-D approach


Tidally locked exoplanets may be more common than previously thought
Seattle WA (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
Many exoplanets to be found by coming high-powered telescopes will probably be tidally locked - with one side permanently facing their host star - according to new research by astronomer Rory Barnes of the University of Washington. Barnes, a UW assistant professor of astronomy and astrobiology, arrived at the finding by questioning the long-held assumption that only those stars that are mu ... more
Washington (UPI) Aug 15, 2017
Deep-sea animals eating plastic fibers from clothing
Washington (UPI) Aug 11, 2017
TRAPPIST-1 twice as old as our solar system
Arecibo PR (SPX) Jul 17, 2017
A New Search for Extrasolar Planets from the Arecibo Observatory
New Horizons Video Soars over Pluto's Majestic Mountains and Icy Plains
Laurel MD (SPX) Jul 17, 2017
In July 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft sent home the first close-up pictures of Pluto and its moons - amazing imagery that inspired many to wonder what a flight over the distant worlds' icy terrain might be like. Wonder no more. Using actual New Horizons data and digital elevation models of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, mission scientists have created flyover movies that offer s ... more
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 13, 2017
Juno spots Jupiter's Great Red Spot
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Jul 13, 2017
New evidence in support of the Planet Nine hypothesis
Edinburgh UK (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Scientists probe Neptune's depths to reveal secrets of icy planets


25 Years of Global Sea Level Data, and Counting
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 14, 2017
This past week marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of a revolutionary ocean research vessel - a space "ship." As the NASA/CNES Topex-Poseidon satellite ascended into orbit, it ushered in a new era of oceanography with the first highly accurate, global measurements of sea levels. That mission and its three successors, all named Jason, have continuously mapped global ocean currents and ... more
Cape Cod MA (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
New technique offers clues to measure the deoxygenation of the ocean
Cambridge, UK (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
Meadow of dancing brittle stars shows evolution at work
Tallahassee FL (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
Ancient ocean deoxygenation provides an urgent warning
Harris delivers navigation package for third GPS III satellite
Washington (UPI) Aug 11, 2017
Harris has delivered its third navigation package to Lockheed Martin for use on U.S. Air Force GPS III satellites expected to first launch next year. The navigation system is mostly digital and has computers and atomic clocks shielded against radiation. "We are now in full production and on target to deliver the fourth GPS III navigation payload to Lockheed Martin this fall," Har ... more
Washington (UPI) Jul 17, 2017
IAI, Honeywell Aerospace team for GPS anti-jam system
Colorado Springs CO (SPX) Aug 09, 2017
Lockheed Martin Begins Modernizing Receivers for U.S. Air Force's GPS Signal Monitoring Stations
Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 21, 2017
Russia, China to Set Up Pilot Zone to Test National Navigation Systems


Reality Bites for Google Lunar X-Prize
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
Once again, the ever-fluid deadline for the Google Lunar X-Prize (GLXP) has been extended. This award is now getting well beyond its use-by date. The GLXP was already on shaky ground before this. The latest announcement only deepens the wounds to this increasingly questionable project. When it was announced in 2007, the GLXP was an inspiration. It gave publicity and credibility to the rapi ... more
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Lunar dynamo's lifetime extended by at least 1 billion years
New Brunswick NJ (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Moon's magnetic field lasted far longer than once believed
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 09, 2017
Astronauts to bring asteroid back into lunar orbit
Asteroid Apophis has One in 100,000 chance of hitting Earth
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
The huge nearly 400-meter wide asteroid Apophis is still on a list of hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs), regarded as a potential threat to our planet. However, new calculations made by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist, show that Apophis' odds of Earth impact are lower than previously estimated. "We cannot yet exclude the possibility that it could impact our planet, but we ... more
Paris (AFP) Aug 10, 2017
Asteroid to shave past Earth on Oct 12: ESA
Washington (UPI) Aug 11, 2017
How to watch this weekend's Perseid meteor shower
Paris (ESA) Aug 14, 2017
Asteroid 2012 TC4 will fly past Earth in October 2017


NASA-led airborne mission studies storm intensification in northern hemisphere
Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Aug 17, 2017
A group of NASA and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists are teaming up this month for an airborne mission focused on studying severe storm processes and intensification. The Hand-On Project Experience (HOPE) Eastern Pacific Origins and Characteristics of Hurricanes (EPOCH) field campaign will utilize NASA's Global Hawk autonomous aircraft to study storms in the Northern ... more
Toulouse, France (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Airbus completes MetOp-C platform/payload coupling
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
Ozone treaty taking a bite out of US greenhouse gas emissions
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Successful filming of fastest aurora flickering
Studying the sun's atmosphere with the total solar eclipse of 2017
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
A total solar eclipse happens somewhere on Earth about once every 18 months. But because Earth's surface is mostly ocean, most eclipses are visible over land for only a short time, if at all. The total solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, is different - its path stretches over land for nearly 90 minutes, giving scientists an unprecedented opportunity to make scientific measurements from the ground. ... more
Washington (UPI) Aug 15, 2017
Solar eclipses baffle, captivate humans throughout history
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
Day to night and back again: Earth's ionosphere during the total solar eclipse
Newark NJ (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
An NJIT researcher throws a global ham radio 'party' to study the eclipse


Astronomers catch exploding supernova early
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
For the first time, astronomers have observed a cosmic event in great detail that they only had glimpses of before: a supernova and its explosive ejecta slamming into a nearby companion star. The discovery was made possible by a specialized survey taking advantage of recent advances in linking telescopes across the globe into a robotic network. David Sand, an assistant professor at the Uni ... more
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
A fleeting blue glow
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 14, 2017
New mission going to the space station to explore mysteries of 'cosmic rain'
Pune, India (SPX) Jul 14, 2017
Vast new super cluster of galaxies named Saraswati
High resolution without particle accelerator
Jena, Germany (SPX) Aug 09, 2017
A visit to the optometrist often involves optical coherence tomography. This imaging process uses infrared radiation to penetrate the layers of the retina and examine it more closely in three dimensions, without having to touch the eye at all. This allows eye specialists to diagnose diseases such as glaucoma without any physical intervention. However, this method would have even greater po ... more
Durham NH (SPX) Aug 16, 2017
Innovative way to understand nature of an entire tiny particle
Orlando FL (SPX) Aug 09, 2017
Researchers set record for fastest light pulse
Swansea UK (SPX) Aug 07, 2017
First observation of the hyperfine splitting in antihydrogen
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