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Precise Ariane 5 launch likely to extend Webb's expected lifetime![]() Paris (ESA) Dec 30, 2021 After a successful launch of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope on 25 December, and completion of two mid-course correction manoeuvres, the Webb team has analysed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for significantly more than a 10-year lifetime (the minimum baseline for the mission is five years). Webb's precise launch on an ESA-provided Ariane 5 rocket was performed by Arianespace on behalf o ... read more |
2021: A year of space tourism, flights on Mars, China's riseWashington (AFP) Dec 30, 2021 From the Mars Ingenuity helicopter's first powered flight on another world to the launch of the James Webb telescope that will peer into the earliest epoch of the Universe, 2021 was a huge year for humanity's space endeavors. ... more
Musk says his 'tiny' satellites can't block any rival spacecraftMoscow (Sputnik) Dec 30, 2021 The accusations come amid the Chinese complaint filed in the UN in December, describing how in October and July, two Starlink satellites caused the Chinese space station to adopt "preventive collisi ... more
Experiments show algae can survive in Mars-like environmentBeijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2021 Chinese researchers have demonstrated that algae can survive in a Mars-like environment during four experiments since 2019, raising the hope that mankind might be able to turn the barren planet into ... more
Virgin Orbit expected to list on NASDAQLong Beach CA (SPX) Dec 30, 2021 NextGen Acquisition Corp. II stockholders has approved the previously-announced business combination with Vieco USA, Inc., the parent company of Virgin Orbit ("Virgin Orbit" or the "Company"), at a ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Dec 29 | Dec 28 | Dec 27 | Dec 23 |
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NASA's Webb Telescope Keeping Cool with Ultra-thin DuPont Kapton Polyimide FilmsWilmington DE (SPX) Dec 29, 2021 After 30 years in development, the National Aeronautics Space Administration's (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched on December 25, 2021, from the European Space Agency's launch sit ... more
Perseverance Samples in Review: 2021Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 29, 2021 As the 2021 calendar year comes to a close, it's nice to sit back and reflect on all the progress we've made on Mars this year. It's been a busy ~300 sols for both Perseverance and our helicopter si ... more
James Webb telescope completes tower extensionWashington DC (UPI) Dec 29, 2021 The James Webb Space Telescope continued to deploy perfectly Wednesday as it flew over 360,000 miles from Earth on a million-plus-mile journey to its destination. ... more
China slams US after space station 'close encounters' with Musk's satellitesBeijing (AFP) Dec 28, 2021 Beijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two "close encounters" between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. ... more
Putin hails multiple launch test of hypersonic missileMoscow (AFP) Dec 24, 2021 President Vladimir Putin said Friday the Russian military successfully fired a simultaneous salvo of its Zircon hypersonic missiles, calling it "a big event" for the country. ... more |
![]() AFRL, Northrop Grumman demonstrate solar to radio frequency conversion |
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Satellogic to build high-throughput manufacturing plant in NetherlandsCharlotte NC (SPX) Dec 30, 2021 Satellogic, a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection, announced that it will be constructing a high-throughput satellite manufacturing facility in the Netherlands. This 57 ... more
China launches Tianhui 4 satellite into orbitBeijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2021 China launched the Tianhui 4 satellite into space on Wednesday evening from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, according to China Aerospace Science and Technolo ... more
MIT engineers produce the world's longest flexible fiber batteryBoston MA (SPX) Dec 21, 2021 Researchers have developed a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the form of an ultra-long fiber that could be woven into fabrics. The battery could enable a wide variety of wearable electronic devi ... more
Visual displays in space station cultureChicago IL (SPX) Dec 28, 2021 The International Space Station Archaeological Project is the first archaeological study of a human habitat in space. Because of the prohibitive cost of travelling to space, archaeologists have had ... more
NASA Builds Artemis III Core Stage Forward SkirtMichoud LA (SPX) Dec 28, 2021 NASA and Boeing crews have successfully placed the forward skirt for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Artemis III rocket into the Vertical Assembly Center robotic weld tool for its next phase of pro ... more |
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2021: A year of space tourism, flights on Mars, China's rise Washington (AFP) Dec 30, 2021
From the Mars Ingenuity helicopter's first powered flight on another world to the launch of the James Webb telescope that will peer into the earliest epoch of the Universe, 2021 was a huge year for humanity's space endeavors.
Beyond the science milestones, billionaires battled to reach the final frontier first, an all-civilian crew went into orbit, and Star Trek's William Shatner waxed profo ... more |
Webb telescope launch again pushed back Washington (AFP) Dec 21, 2021
The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, which astronomers hope will herald a new era of discovery, was again pushed back Tuesday until at least Christmas Day due to "adverse weather conditions" at the launch site in French Guiana, NASA said.
The new target date, if determined to be viable, would be an actual Christmas gift for scientists who have been waiting three decades to see the l ... more |
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Perseverance Samples in Review: 2021 Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 29, 2021
As the 2021 calendar year comes to a close, it's nice to sit back and reflect on all the progress we've made on Mars this year. It's been a busy ~300 sols for both Perseverance and our helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity!
One of Perseverance's mission objectives is to collect and store samples of the martian surface for eventual return back to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. T ... more |
Shenzhou XIII taikonauts complete second extravehicular mission Beijing (XNA) Dec 27, 2021
Taikonauts Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu have completed their extravehicular activities (EVAs) and returned to the space station core module Tianhe, the China Manned Space Agency said on early hours of Monday.
This was the fourth time that the taikonauts conducted EVAs during the construction of the country's space station and the second by the Shenzhou XIII crew. The CMSA has declared the E ... more |
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Satellogic to build high-throughput manufacturing plant in Netherlands Charlotte NC (SPX) Dec 30, 2021
Satellogic, a leader in sub-meter resolution satellite imagery collection, announced that it will be constructing a high-throughput satellite manufacturing facility in the Netherlands.
This 57,000 square foot new location is expected to accelerate the company's assembly of satellites and accommodate its state-of-the-art manufacturing, integration, and testing equipment. In addition to havi ... more |
China slams US after space station 'close encounters' with Musk's satellites Beijing (AFP) Dec 28, 2021
Beijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two "close encounters" between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Tiangong, China's new space station, had to manoeuvre to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and with another in October, according to a note submitted by Beijing to the United Na ... more |
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Billions of starless planets haunt dark cloud cradles Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 28, 2021
In Lovecraftian horror, the Universe is filled with "dark planets" ungraced by the light of a host star. New research shows that reality might be even scarier. An international team composed of French, Japanese, and Spanish astronomers has found about 100 planets floating freely in space rather than orbiting stars. Extrapolating this sample to the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy suggests that there ... more |
Looking Back, Looking Forward To New Horizons Boulder CO (SPX) Dec 21, 2021
New Horizons remains healthy and continues to send valuable data from deep in the Kuiper Belt - more than 5 billion miles away - even as it speeds farther and farther from the Earth and Sun.
As 2021 winds down, I want to recount what the New Horizons project has accomplished this year, and also look ahead to tell you about our plans for 2022.
During a busy and productive 2021, our sc ... more |
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DARPA Selects Performers to Build, Test Manta Ray Unmanned Underwater Vehicles Washington DC (SPX) Dec 21, 2021
DARPA has awarded Phase 2 contracts to continue the Manta Ray program that began in 2020. The effort seeks to demonstrate innovative technologies allowing payload-capable autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) to operate on long-duration, long-range missions in ocean environments.
The two prime contractors, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Martin Defense Group, are each dev ... more |
Two new satellites mark further enlargement of Galileo Paris (ESA) Dec 09, 2021
Europe's largest satellite constellation has grown even bigger, following the launch of two more Galileo navigation satellites by Soyuz launcher from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on 5 December. Galileo satellites 27-28 add to an existing 26-satellite constellation in orbit, providing the world's most precise satnav positioning to more than 2.3 billion users around the globe.
ESA Dir ... more |
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MIT engineers test an idea for a new hovering Lunar rover Boston MA (SPX) Dec 27, 2021
Aerospace engineers at MIT are testing a new concept for a hovering rover that levitates by harnessing the moon's natural charge.
Because they lack an atmosphere, the moon and other airless bodies such as asteroids can build up an electric field through direct exposure to the sun and surrounding plasma. On the moon, this surface charge is strong enough to levitate dust more than 1 meter ab ... more |
DART returns first images from space Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 27, 2021
Just two weeks after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft has opened its "eye" and returned its first images from space - a major operational milestone for the spacecraft and DART team.
After the violent vibrations of launch and the extreme temperature shift to minus 80 degrees C in space, scientists and enginee ... more |
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China launches Tianhui 4 satellite into orbit Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2021
China launched the Tianhui 4 satellite into space on Wednesday evening from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
The State-owned space contractor said the satellite was deployed by a Long March 2D carrier rocket that blasted off at 7:13 pm and has entered orbit.
Tianhui 4, built by the compa ... more |
NASA enters the Solar atmosphere for the first time Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 15, 2021
For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the Sun. NASA's Parker Solar Probe has now flown through the Sun's upper atmosphere - the corona - and sampled particles and magnetic fields there.
The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the Moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching ... more |
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Inside the James Webb Space Telescope's control room Baltimore (AFP) Dec 22, 2021 "White-knuckle" - That's how Rusty Whitman describes the month ahead, after the launch of the historic James Webb Space Telescope, now tentatively set for Saturday.
From a secure control room in Baltimore, Maryland, Whitman and his colleagues will hold their breath as Webb comes online. But that's just the beginning.
For the first six months after Webb's launch, Whitman and the team at ... more |
Astronomers capture black hole eruption spanning 16 times the full Moon in the sky Perth, Australia (SPX) Dec 27, 2021
Astronomers have produced the most comprehensive image of radio emission from the nearest actively feeding supermassive black hole to Earth.
The emission is powered by a central black hole in the galaxy Centaurus A, about 12 million light years away.
As the black hole feeds on in-falling gas, it ejects material at near light-speed, causing 'radio bubbles' to grow over hundreds of mil ... more |
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