Space News for Sunday, June 18, 2023

Space Force extends Palantir’s data-as-a-service contracts

Original Publication Date: 2023-06-17 12:31

The Space Systems Command has added one more year to Palantir’s existing contracts. Under these data-as-a-service contracts, the Space Force is transitioning legacy data stovepipes. Industry analyst Louie DiPalma estimated that Palantir has been awarded more than $195 million.

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Beginnings: Life on Our World and Others

With more than 5,000 exoplanets confirmed, possible places where other life might reside have skyrocketed. With more sophisticated telescopes scanning the sky and in development, we have better tools than ever to understand these distant worlds. To seek answers to that age-old question “Are we alone?” with these new tools, what do we need to know?

Discovery Alert: Webb Maps and Finds Traces of Water in an Ultra-hot Gas Giant's Atmosphere

WASP-18 b is a gas giant exoplanet 10 times more massive than Jupiter that orbits its star in just 23 hours. Researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study the planet as it moved behind its star. Temperatures there reach 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,700 C)

Astronomers Discover Planets in NASA Kepler's Final Days of Observations

The trio of exoplanets – worlds beyond our solar system – are all between the size of Earth and Neptune and closely orbit their stars. The final observing campaign of NASA's Kepler Space Telescope lasted only a month. As the spacecraft began to run low on attitude control fuel, it couldn't maintain its position long enough to collect useful observations.

Life in the Universe: What are the Odds?

The good news: We know vastly more than any previous generation about exoplanets. The bad news: We have yet to find another ‘Earth’ with life, intelligent or not. Observing signs of possible microbial life in exoplanet atmospheres is currently just out of reach. No convincing evidence of advanced technology has yet crossed our formidable arrays of telescopes in space or on the ground.

SpaceX, Blue Origin, others highlighted in new NASA low-Earth orbit partnerships

Original Publication Date: 2023-06-16 16:31

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced its intention to partner with seven U.S. Aerospace companies in order to advance human spaceflight and the commercial low-Earth orbit economy. The seven companies selected through the CCSC-2 program are as follows: Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Space Corporation, SpaceX, Special Aerospace Services, ThinkOrbital Inc., and Vast Space LLC.