Soyuz crew blasts off; marking 60 years of spaceflight
A three-man crew will blast off to the International Space Station on Friday in a capsule honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space
40th anniversary of first space shuttle orbital mission a bittersweet occasion
The 40th anniversary Monday of the first orbital flight of a space shuttle – Columbia – evokes the accomplishments of the program, but also a grim reminder of tragedies during its existence.
Satellite News
Exploration News
NASA delays Mars copter flight for tech check
NASA has delayed by at least several days the first flight of its mini-helicopter on Mars after a possible tech issue emerged while testing its rotors, the US space agency said Saturday.
All aboard! Next stop space…
Several hundred people have already booked their tickets and begun training for a spectacular voyage: a few minutes, or perhaps days, in the weightlessness of space
Launcher News
Early Combined Tests Mimic Ariane 6 Liftoff
These tests are part of the critical path towards the first flight of Europe’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle. They validate the interfaces and mechanical behaviour during separation of this complex cryogenic connection system. More extensive combined tests will be carried out at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana which will include the fluidic supplies. The cryogenic connection system sustains the launch vehicle on the launch pad during the countdown to launch. Umbilicals supported
High Five! Arianespace Orbits 36 Satellites on its 5th Launch for OneWeb
Soyuz begins its ascent from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome on this morning’s mission to deploy 36 more satellites for OneWeb’s connectivity constellation. Arianespace kicked off its 2021 launch activity with another deployment of 36 constellation satellites at the service of OneWeb, continuing support for this operator’s ultimate ambition of bringing space down to Earth for the benefit of all.
Air Force’s hypersonic missile booster fails to launch from B-52 in first test
The Air Force’s first booster vehicle in a hypersonic weapons test this week failed to launch
NewSpace News
OFFICINA STELLARE To Supply Medium + Long-Range Telescopes + More…
OFFICINA STELLARE SpA has been awarded the contract for the supply of a set of medium and long-range telescopes to be installed in a test facility located in the southern hemisphere — this contract has a total value of approximately $1.5 million
Space Safety News
German Space Agency Selects LM iSpace System for Space Situational Awareness
To obtain real-time awareness of the more than 300,000 objects orbiting the earth, the German Space Agency at DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt / German Aerospace Center) has selected Lockheed Martin’s iSpaceTM command and control system. The iSpace system tracks thousands of objects orbiting the earth by collecting data from a worldwide network of government, commercial and scientific community surveillance sensors.
Science & Technology News
NASA’s Roman Mission Predicted to Find 100,000 Transiting Planets
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will create enormous cosmic panoramas, helping us answer questions about the evolution of our universe. Astronomers also expect the mission to find thousands of planets using two different techniques as it surveys a wide range of stars in the Milky Way. Roman will locate these potential new worlds, or exoplanets, by tracking the amount of light coming from distant stars over time. In a technique called gravitational microlensing, a spike in light
Space vs. Materials – Orbital Testing Outside Space Station
Space leaves its mark on materials: exposure to such a harsh environment can darken, crack or crater their surfaces – or even erode them away entirely. The nothingness of hard vacuum can also provoke ‘outgassing’ vapours from materials that might degrade delicate mission systems. Accordingly ESA and the French space agency CNES are giving European researchers the chance to pit the latest aerospace materials directly against space. “In-flight degradation can result in oxidation due to atomic
