More countries encouraged to commit to halt destructive ASAT tests
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-15 10:00
U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution in December 2022 encouraging countries not to conduct destructive direct-ascent (DA) ASAT tests. A total of 155 nations voted in favor of the resolution while nine, including China and Russia, voted against it. So far, 13 nations have made that commitment, most recently Italy in April.
Space Force working to define what it means to be a guardian
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 22:00
The U.S. Space Force is trying to establish its brand and build an identity. As the smallest branch, the Space Force has a flatter structure and senior officers wear several hats. The service is responsible for organizing, training and equipping forces to conduct operations in the space domain.
Tomorrow.io raises $87 million for weather satellite constellation
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 17:50
Tomorrow.io raised $87 million in a Series E funding round to support its campaign to gather weather data. Boston-based Tomorrow.io launched its first radar satellite, R-1, April 15. In May, the company won $10.3 million in U.S. Space Force funding for two weather satellites.
Muon celebrates launch of first satellite in Climate Constellation
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 13:30
Muon Space is a Silicon Valley startup building a climate-monitoring constellation. The company sent its first satellite into orbit June 12 on the SpaceX Transporter-8. In two launches scheduled for 2024, Muon plans to begin testing sensors. Muon is unique, CEO Johnny Dyer says, in focusing on both science and engineering.
China begins constructing commercial launch pad for solid rockets
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 12:49
China has broken ground on a new launch pad dedicated to commercial solid rockets. The new pad for solid rockets and its related infrastructure is expected to be finished within 180 days. The new project is part of the wider Hainan Commercial Launch Site for which two pads are currently under construction.
Deloitte calls on companies to draft long-term space strategies
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 10:00
Deloitte Space report urges companies to draft long-term space strategies. Report: Many companies will continue to build and launch spacecraft. Others will support the space sector or consume space-related products and services. Deloitte anticipates a gold rush for space resources.
World Economic Forum offers new debris mitigation guidelines
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 08:32
World Economic Forum releases new guidelines to reduce creation of orbital debris. Recommendations include limiting lifetime of satellites in orbit after they have completed missions. Document has support of some, but not all, major satellite operators. Document calls on governments to adopt the new post-mission disposal guidelines.
Intelsat’s 2Ku connectivity upgrade to Japan Airlines – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-15 00:00
Intelsat has reached an agreement with long-time customer Japan Airlines. Approximately 50 Boeing 737s and 767s will be upgraded to the company's 2Ku inflight connectivity solution. The 2Ku service includes a mechanically-steered, phased-array antenna.
Tyvak International supporting the Spei Satelles space mission – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 00:00
A satellite created with the help of Terran Orbital Corporation’s (NYSE: LLAP) Italian subsidiary, Tyvak International, was successfully launched on June 12th from Vandenberg SFB. The satellite will carry Pope Francis’s iconic “Statis Orbis” coronavirus pandemic prayer heavenward.
Intelsat starts testing NASA air pollution monitor – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 00:00
Intelsat has successfully powered up the first, space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants across North America. TEMPO data will play an important role in scientific studies of phenomena such as rush-hour pollution and the movement of emissions from forest fires and volcanoes.
FOSSA Systems launches their nexgen IoT satellites – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-06-14 00:00
FOSSA Systems’ new LEO satellites, launched on June the 12th from Vandenberg Air Force Base to an altitude of 537 km. The new platform developed by FOSSA provides a considerable increase in capabilities over its predecessors in terms of power generation and capacity. FOSSA is a pioneer in a market that currently has 10 billion connected devices and expects to surpass the 25 billion milestone by 2025.
NASA Cassini Data Reveals Building Block for Life in Enceladus’ Ocean
Co-authors in Europe and Japan carried out laboratory experiments to show that Enceladus’ ocean has phosphorus, bound inside different water-soluble forms of phosphate. Phosphorus may also be possible in other icy ocean worlds in the outer solar system, particularly those that formed from primordial ice containing carbon dioxide.
JPL Creates World’s Largest PDF Archive to Aid Malware Research
The data set totals about 8 terabytes, making it the largest publicly available corpus of its kind. The work will be used to help anticipate emerging online threats and improve PDF technology. Privacy researchers, for example, could study these files to determine how file-creation and editing software can be improved to better protect personal information.
NASA’s Curiosity Captures Martian Morning, Afternoon in New ‘Postcard’
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took a last look at “Marker Band Valley’ before leaving it behind. The postcard is an artistic interpretation of the landscape, with color added over two black-and-white panoramas. The views were taken on April 8 at 9:20 a.m. And 3:40 p.m. Local Mars time.