Space News from SpaceDaily.com
May 17, 2020
ROCKET SCIENCE
Atlas 5 launches X-38B for USSF-7 mission



Canaveral AFS FL (SPX) May 17, 2020
The US Air Force on Sunday successfully launched its high-tech drone X-37B, placing the reusable vehicle into orbit for its sixth secretive mission in space. The drone, which resembles a smaller version of the manned space shuttles retired by the US space program in 2011, was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the Air Force said. It will spend months in orbit, remotely conducting a series of experiments. ... read more

ROCKET SCIENCE
Hypersonic Test Center for US Army speeds ahead
College Station TX (SPX) May 15, 2020
Construction of the Bush Combat Development Complex is set to begin this fall after The Texas A and M University System Regents cast three votes to help transform how the U.S. Army prepares for futu ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
Searching with Sasquatch: Recovering Orion
Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) May 18, 2020
For Artemis missions, NASA's Orion spacecraft will be traveling at 25,000 mph as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere, which will slow it down to 325 mph. Parachutes will then bring it down to about 2 ... more
MARSDAILY
The horst and graben landscape of Ascuris Planum
Berlin, Germany (SPX) May 15, 2020
These images show a landscape deformed by strong tectonic activity in the area north of Labeatis Fossae in the Tempe Terra region of Mars. They were acquired by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HR ... more
MARSDAILY
ExoMars rover upgrades and parachute tests
Paris (ESA) May 18, 2020
The second ExoMars mission, scheduled for launch to the Red Planet in 2022, is taking advantage of the extra time to upgrade some of the rover's instruments and get ready for the next parachute high ... more
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TIME AND SPACE
Why clouds form near black holes
Washington DC (SPX) May 15, 2020
Once you leave the majestic skies of Earth, the word "cloud" no longer means a white fluffy-looking structure that produces rain. Instead, clouds in the greater universe are clumpy areas of greater ... more
TIME AND SPACE
In star clusters, black holes merge with neutron stars, unseen
Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) May 18, 2020
Mergers between black holes and neutron stars in dense star clusters are quite unlike those that form in isolated regions where stars are few. Their associated features could be crucial to the study ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
NASA's TESS enables breakthrough study of perplexing stellar pulsations
Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 14, 2020
Astronomers have detected elusive pulsation patterns in dozens of young, rapidly rotating stars thanks to data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The discovery will revolution ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Astronomers find regular rhythms among pulsating stars
Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 14, 2020
By listening to the beating hearts of stars, astronomers have for the first time identified a rhythm of life for a class of stellar objects that had until now puzzled scientists. "Previously w ... more
SPACEWAR
Atlas 5 to launch the 6th Orbital Test Vehicle
Cape Canaveral AFS FL (SPX) May 15, 2020
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 501 rocket is scheduled to launch the USSF-7 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Space Launch Complex-41 on May 16, 8:24 a.m. EDT. This mission is a collabor ... more
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MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS
IBCS Goes Agile
Falls Church VA (SPX) May 14, 2020
A year ago, after the U.S. Department of Defense called for a movement to Agile development methodologies, one of the Northrop Grumman IBCS software teams was part of a pilot program with the U.S. A ... more
SPACEWAR
US Space Force Commander says Russia's 'unsafe behavior has not slowed down' during pandemic
Moscow (Sputnik) May 14, 2020
One of the US Space Force's leading commanders recently blasted Russian space activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming Moscow has an "increasing penchant for unsafe and what I would conside ... more
SPACEWAR
Air Force continues to advance Science and Technology strategy
Wright-Patterson AFB OH (SPX) May 15, 2020
In the spring of 2019, the Air Force released the Air Force Science and Technology Strategy to secure continued technological advantage over rapidly developing state competitors in 2030 and beyond t ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW
FSU researchers find even small disturbances can trigger catastrophic storms
Tallahassee FL (SPX) May 14, 2020
You've probably seen the satellite images that show a hurricane developing: thick white clouds clumping together, arms spinning around a central eye as it heads for the coast. After decades of ... more
EPIDEMICS
"Lean lab" approach enables quick research ramp down
Boston MA (SPX) May 15, 2020
When MIT announced in March that most research labs on campus would need to ramp down to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, Canan Dagdeviren's lab was ready. For the past two years, Dagdevir ... more


NASA funds four research projects on COVID-19 impacts

MOON DAILY
Laser-powered rover to explore Moon's dark shadows
Paris (ESA) May 15, 2020
A laser light shone through the dark could power robotic exploration of the most tantalising locations in our Solar System: the permanently-shadowed craters around the Moon's poles, believed to be r ... more
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MICROSAT BLITZ
Momentus and Alba Orbital sign contract for up to 10 PocketQubes
Santa Clara CA (SPX) May 15, 2020
Momentus and Alba Orbital have signed a contract for three Alba Albapods to ride on plaza deck of the Falcon 9 vehicle, which will launch in December 2020 from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral ... more
ROCKET SCIENCE
Pryer Aerospace signs long-term agreement with Blue Origin to support New Glenn Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicle
Tulsa OK (SPX) May 14, 2020
Pryer Aerospace has signed a multi-year contract with Blue Origin. Under this contract, Pryer will provide large complex machined parts and leading edge structures for New Glenn, Blue Origin's massi ... more
SPACEMART
RUAG Space offers new electronics for constellations
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) May 14, 2020
For constellations of hundreds or thousands of small satellites, products in high volumes, lower cost, on-time and on-quality delivery are needed. RUAG Space, a leading supplier to the space industr ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Mysterious delta Scuti stars start to surrender secrets
Birmingham UK (SPX) May 14, 2020
The key to unlocking the secrets of a large group of pulsating stars has been discovered by an international team of astrophysicists. Pulsations are a common feature of stars. They are natural ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Where neutrinos come from
Moscow, Russia (SPX) May 14, 2020
Russian astrophysicists have come close to solving the mystery of where high-energy neutrinos come from in space. The team compared the data on the elusive particles gathered by the Antarctic neutri ... more
24/7 Nuclear News Coverage
24/7 War News Coverage
24/7 War News Coverage

Searching with Sasquatch: Recovering Orion
Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) May 18, 2020
For Artemis missions, NASA's Orion spacecraft will be traveling at 25,000 mph as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere, which will slow it down to 325 mph. Parachutes will then bring it down to about 20 mph. During the parachute deploy sequence, hardware will be jettisoned and fall into the Pacific Ocean below while the recovery ship awaits near the landing site. Keeping the ship and recovery ... more
+ Roscosmos confirms signing contract for NASA Astronaut's flight to ISS
+ Spacesuit for the ground
+ JAXA HTV-9 spacecraft carries science, technology to ISS
+ Northrop Grumman's cargo capsule departs space station
+ Marshall team prepares for upcoming Commercial Crew Launch
+ NASA Funds Artemis Student Challenges to Inspire Space Exploration
+ Google affiliate abandons futuristic neighborhood project
Hypersonic Test Center for US Army speeds ahead
College Station TX (SPX) May 15, 2020
Construction of the Bush Combat Development Complex is set to begin this fall after The Texas A and M University System Regents cast three votes to help transform how the U.S. Army prepares for future combat. Regents voted to amend the system's capital budget, adding $79.3 million to build the nation's biggest enclosed-tube hypersonic testing facility as well as testing grounds for both ai ... more
+ NASA takes preliminary steps to resume SLS Core Stage testing work
+ Pryer Aerospace signs long-term agreement with Blue Origin to support New Glenn Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicle
+ Digipen student project heading to space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket
+ Bipartisan space launch legislation introduced
+ Aerojet Rocketdyne tests advanced large solid rocket motor
+ Atlas 5 launches X-38B for USSF-7 mission
+ Australia Defence Dept signs agreement with Gold Coast space company


ExoMars rover upgrades and parachute tests
Paris (ESA) May 18, 2020
The second ExoMars mission, scheduled for launch to the Red Planet in 2022, is taking advantage of the extra time to upgrade some of the rover's instruments and get ready for the next parachute high-altitude drop tests. The new launch date on the horizon is allowing more margin for replacements and repairs to the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. The solar panels that will help the ro ... more
+ The horst and graben landscape of Ascuris Planum
+ Study suggests terrestrial life unlikely to contaminate Mars
+ The little tires that could go to Mars
+ The strange structure of large impact craters on Mars observed by Opportunity
+ Rover avoids sand traps with 'rear rotator pedaling'
+ Researchers simulate the core of Mars to investigate its composition and origin
+ Salty Liquids on Mars - Present, but not habitable?
China's tracking ship Yuanwang-5 back from rocket monitoring mission
Nanjingm China (XNA) May 14, 2020
Space-tracking ship Yuanwang-5 returned to its port Tuesday, after finishing the latest monitoring mission in the Pacific Ocean for the Long March-5B rocket launch. The ship has operated 81 days at sea, sailing over 20,000 nautical miles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no port calls were made during the voyage, and more than 80 percent of crew members did not disembark for over 100 days, sa ... more
+ China's Kuaizhou rocket industrial park partially operational
+ China's experimental new-generation manned spaceship works normally in orbit
+ Long March-5B rocket enables China to construct space station
+ China's new spacecraft returns to Earth: official
+ China's space test hits snag with capsule 'anomaly'
+ China launches new rocket as it eyes moon trip
+ China says launch of key new space rocket 'successful'
Strings of pearls in the night sky - the Starlink satellite project
Wessling, Germany (SPX) May 18, 2020
Every two weeks, late in the evening, people are able to see a swarm of strikingly bright points of light crossing the night sky. An array of images and spectacular videos of such sightings circulate on social media. Word soon gets around that these glowing strings of light are not, in fact, an alien fleet. Rather, they are the Starlink satellites from SpaceX, the US space company run by Elon Mu ... more
+ RUAG Space offers new electronics for constellations
+ Bankrupt OneWeb seeks DoD financing to keep assets from Chinese purchase
+ Blackjack focuses on risk reduction flights and simulations
+ Airbus supplies EU with satellite communications
+ Intelsat files for bankruptcy, seeks to restructure
+ ESA Startup competition: next steps
+ Inmarsat launches solution for the rail industry
AFRL satellite duo probing Earth's radiation belts
Kirtland AFB NM (SPX) May 18, 2020
The Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) spacecraft continues its scientific investigations despite the COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted every aspect of life around the world. DSX launched into a 6000 km by 12000 km orbit on June 25, 2019 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy as part of the STP-2 mission sponsored by the DoD Space Test Program, with ... more
+ Rocket Crafters concludes tests of 3D-printed hybrid engine
+ Russia Probes Explosion of One of Its Used Boosters in Orbit
+ Space age for metals, foams and the living
+ Study suggests polymer composite could serve as lighter, non-toxic radiation shielding
+ Liquid metal research invokes 'Terminator' film - but much friendlier
+ Northrop Grumman Expands Next Generation Jammer Low Band Team
+ Russian rocket breaks up in Earth orbit: space agency


TRAPPIST-1 planetary orbits not misaligned
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 15, 2020
Astronomers using the Subaru Telescope have determined that the Earth-like planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system are not significantly misaligned with the rotation of the star. This is an important result for understanding the evolution of planetary systems around very low-mass stars in general, and in particular the history of the TRAPPIST-1 planets including the ones near the habitable zone. ... more
+ Amsterdam researchers observe iron in exoplanetary atmosphere
+ Scientists reveal solar system's oldest molecular fluids could hold the key to early life
+ New 'planetary quarantine' report reviewing risks of alien contamination
+ Life on the rocks helps scientists understand how to survive in extreme environments
+ Study: Life might survive, and thrive, in a hydrogen world
+ Exoplanets: How we'll search for signs of life
+ Microorganisms in parched regions extract needed water from colonized rocks
SOFIA finds clues hidden in Pluto's haze
Moffett Field CA (SPX) May 14, 2020
When the New Horizons spacecraft passed by Pluto in 2015, one of the many fascinating features its images revealed was that this small, frigid world in the distant solar system has a hazy atmosphere. Now, new data helps explain how Pluto's haze is formed from the faint light of the Sun 3.7 billion miles away as it moves through an unusual orbit. Remote observations of Pluto by NASA's teles ... more
+ New evidence of watery plumes on Jupiter's moon Europa
+ Telescopes and spacecraft join forces to probe deep into Jupiter's atmosphere
+ Newly reprocessed images of Europa show 'chaos terrain' in crisp detail
+ Mysteries of Uranus' oddities explained by Japanese astronomers
+ Jupiter probe JUICE: Final integration in full swing
+ The birth of a "Snowman" at the edge of the Solar System
+ New Horizons pushing the frontier ever deeper into the Kuiper Belt


Shrub encroachment on grasslands can increase groundwater recharge
Riverside CA (SPX) May 18, 2020
Grasslands across the globe, which support the majority of the world's grazing animals, have been transitioning to shrublands in a process that scientists call "woody plant encroachment." Managed grazing of drylands is the most extensive form of land use on the planet, which has led to widespread efforts to reverse this trend and restore grass cover due to the belief that it results in les ... more
+ Scientists successfully develop 'heat resistant' coral to fight bleaching
+ Sudan rejects Ethiopia's proposal to fill mega-dam
+ Five surfers die in Dutch beach tragedy
+ Harnessing wave power to rebuild islands
+ Laos to press ahead with 'destructive' new dam on Mekong
+ China's new ocean-monitoring satellite passes factory tests
+ Shrinking snowcaps fuel harmful algal blooms in Arabian Sea
Galileo in high latitudes and harsh environments
Prague, Czech Republic (SPX) May 18, 2020
Access to the Galileo signal in a multi-constellation environment is providing benefits and opportunities for businesses, thanks to the enhanced performance and increased accuracy on offer. Here we look at the experience of one GIS technology company in northern Europe that has been leveraging Galileo to increase the positioning accuracy of its solutions. Use of a Galileo-enabled receiver ... more
+ New BeiDou satellite starts operation in network
+ Velodyne Lidar announces multi-year sales agreement with GeoSLAM
+ Galileo positioning aiding Covid-19 reaction
+ GPS celebrates 25th year of operation
+ Galileo Green Lane, easing pressure at the EU's internal borders
+ India develops unique model to hit enemy targets without positioning error
+ Quantum entanglement offers unprecedented precision for GPS, imaging and beyond


Innovators around the world help NASA improve a moon digging robot
Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) May 15, 2020
With its Artemis program, NASA will quickly and sustainably return to the lunar surface. To prepare for sustainable operations on the Moon, NASA is advancing technologies needed to explore and work on the lunar surface. This includes developing capabilities to "live off the land," which requires being able to dig up resources in the lunar soil, or regolith. Supporting these efforts, resear ... more
+ New evidence shows giant meteorite impacts formed parts of the moon's crust
+ Violent meteorite impacts forged parts of the lunar crust
+ Astrobotic to develop new commercial payload service for NASA human lunar lander
+ Laser-powered rover to explore Moon's dark shadows
+ Faces behind NASA's Gateway
+ Chang Zheng-5B, China's Response to the US Lunar Project
+ 'Space Architects' Design Origami-Inspired Foldable Lunar Habitat, Will Test in Arctic
Hayabusa2 reveals more secrets from Ryugu
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 12, 2020
In February and July of 2019, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft briefly touched down on the surface of near-Earth asteroid Ryugu. The readings it took with various instruments at those times have given researchers insight into the physical and chemical properties of the 1-kilometer-wide asteroid. These findings could help explain the history of Ryugu and other asteroids, as well as the solar system at la ... more
+ Hayabusa2's touchdown on Ryugu reveals its surface in stunning detail
+ The discovery of Comet SWAN by solar-watcher SOHO
+ NASA DART mission may cause first ever human-induced meteor shower
+ Last Supermoon of 2020 will wash out asteroid showers
+ Asteroid grazes path of satellites in geostationary ring
+ NASA's Swift mission tallied water from interstellar Comet Borisov
+ Hubble watches Comet ATLAS disintegrate into more than two dozen pieces


Magnetic north and the elongating blob
Paris (ESA) May 15, 2020
For some years now, scientists have been puzzling over why the north magnetic pole has been making a dash towards Siberia. Thanks, in part, to ESA's Swarm satellite mission, scientists are now more confident in the theory that tussling magnetic blobs deep below Earth's surface are at the root of this phenomenon. Unlike our geographic north pole, which is in a fixed location, magnetic north ... more
+ Cold War nuke tests changed rainfall
+ NASA CubeSat Mission to Gather Vital Space Weather Data
+ Common CFC replacements break down into persistent pollutants
+ Tiny NASA satellite captures first image of clouds and aerosols
+ Space video streaming company Sen awards Momentus orbital deployment contract
+ exactEarth joins Mayflower Autonomous Ship Project
+ Aeolus goes public with global wind data
Sun is less active than similar stars
Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany (SPX) May 01, 2020
The extent to which solar activity (and thus the number of sunspots and the solar brightness) varies can be reconstructed using various methods - at least for a certain period of time. Since 1610, for example, there have been reliable records of sunspots covering the Sun; the distribution of radioactive varieties of carbon and beryllium in tree rings and ice cores allows us to draw conclus ... more
+ Switchbacks and spikes: Parker Solar Probe data consistent with 20-year-old theory
+ New research helps explain why the solar wind is hotter than expected
+ SwRI to build Space Weather Follow-On L1 for NOAA
+ SwRI-led PUNCH mission achieves milestone
+ High-Res Images Reveal Fine Plasma Threads in Sun's Atmosphere
+ A journey into the northern lights
+ NASA Selects Mission to Study Causes of Giant Solar Particle Storms


NASA's James Webb Space Telescope fully stowed
Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 15, 2020
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has been successfully folded and stowed into the same configuration it will have when loaded onto an Ariane 5 rocket for launch next year. Webb is NASA's largest and most complex space science telescope ever built. Too big for any rocket available in its fully expanded form, the entire observatory was designed to fold in on itself to achieve a much smaller ... more
+ Bending the bridge between two galaxy clusters
+ Where neutrinos come from
+ Powerful new AI technique detects and classifies galaxies in astronomy image data
+ Mysterious delta Scuti stars start to surrender secrets
+ Astronomers find regular rhythms among pulsating stars
+ NASA's TESS enables breakthrough study of perplexing stellar pulsations
+ South Africa's MeerKAT Solves Mystery of "X-Galaxies"
Why clouds form near black holes
Washington DC (SPX) May 15, 2020
Once you leave the majestic skies of Earth, the word "cloud" no longer means a white fluffy-looking structure that produces rain. Instead, clouds in the greater universe are clumpy areas of greater density than their surroundings. Space telescopes have observed these cosmic clouds in the vicinity of supermassive black holes, those mysterious dense objects from which no light can escape, wi ... more
+ In star clusters, black holes merge with neutron stars, unseen
+ Physicists observe quantum entanglement of 15 trillion atoms
+ The Space Station's coolest experiment gets astronaut-assisted upgrade
+ ESO instrument finds closest black hole to Earth
+ Four years of calculations lead to new insights into muon anomaly
+ First direct look at how light excites electrons to kick off a chemical reaction
+ The weight of the Universe
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