Ground systems could delay Artemis 2 launch
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-19 06:26
GAO: Refurbishment of ground systems like a mobile launch platform could delay Artemis 2. NASA has been working on both upgrades and repairs to ground systems. GAO report warned that any delays in the Artemis 2 launch would correspondingly delay Artemis 3. There are, though, no major changes to EGS systems planned for Artemis 3.
Astroport and Orbit Fab Join Forces for Lunar Exploration Breakthrough
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-18 16:08
Astroport and Orbit Fab will collaborate on a range of initiatives. The two companies made the announcement at the 75th International Aeronautical Congress (IAC) Astroport is a leading provider of advanced space exploration solutions. Orbit Fab is a pioneer in in-space refueling and resource utilization.
Skyrora eyes spring 2025 launch amid UK regulatory hangups
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-18 15:00
Skyrora hopes to launch its first suborbital mission from British soil in the spring. It would be the second launch attempt for the company’s 11-meter-long Skylark L rocket. The company applied for a license from the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority in August 2022.
ESA awards contract to begin work on Ramses asteroid mission
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-18 01:59
European Space Agency signs a contract with OHB to begin work on an asteroid mission. Ramses, or Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety, to the asteroid Apophis. Mission will use the spacecraft design developed for the Hera mission. Ramses will be a simplified version of Hera that uses a single-string architecture.
U.S. government eases export controls on space technologies
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-17 22:29
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced long-awaited changes to export control rules. The new regulations will make it easier for U.S. Companies to sell satellites, launch vehicles, and other space-related technologies. The changes would reclassify many space technologies as commercial items rather than weapons.
NRO pushes back on criticism of satellite intelligence delays
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-17 20:57
National Reconnaissance Office defends role in providing satellite-based intelligence. NRO Deputy Director Troy Meink spoke at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Meink addressed concerns that intelligence agencies have struggled to provide data fast enough to meet tactical needs. Meink: The issue isn’t who controls the satellites, it’s a data problem.
SpaceX’s Happy Friday, with launches of 20 Starlink smallsats including 13 Direct to Cell – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-18 00:00
SpaceX launched 20 Starlink Group 8-19 satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is the 17th flight for the first stage booster, Booster B1076, which last launched on October 18, and has seen 17 successful launches and landings. The launch cost is $52,000,000.
Hubble Captures a New View of Galaxy M90
M90 sits among the galaxies of the relatively nearby Virgo Cluster. Its orbit took M90 on a path near the cluster’s center about three hundred million years ago. The density of gas in the inner cluster weighed on M90 like a strong headwind.
Old Data Yields New Secrets as NASA’s DAVINCI Preps for Venus Trip
NASA's DAVINCI mission to Venus is due to launch in the early 2030s. Scientists re-analyzed Magellan data and supplemented it with radar images collected on three occasions from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. DAVINCI scientists then used machine-vision computer models to scrutinize the data and fill in gaps in information.
NASA’s IXPE Helps Researchers Determine Shape of Black Hole Corona
Original Publication Date: 2024-10-17 15:02
New findings using data from NASA’s IXPE mission offer unprecedented insight into the shape and nature of a structure important to black holes called a corona. A corona is a shifting plasma region that is part of the flow of matter onto a black hole, about which scientists have only a theoretical understanding. The new results reveal the corona’s shape for the first time, and may aid scientists’ understanding of the corona's role in feeding and sustaining black holes.
Does Distant Planet Host Volcanic Moon Like Jupiter’s Io?
A sodium cloud around WASP-49 b was first detected in 2017. It's likely these planetary companions have gone undetected because they are too small and dim for current telescopes to detect. It’s possible that astronomers looking at another star system could detect a gas cloud like Io’s even if the moon itself were too small to see.