Satellite News
Final Pleiades Neo satellites ready to join rest of family
The last two satellites of the Airbus-built, owned and operated Pleiades Neo constellation are on track for launch later this year, following successful final tests in Toulouse’s clean rooms. Following the seamless parallel integration of both Pleiades Neo 5 and 6 satellites, and the successful conclusion of the environment (thermal vacuum, acoustic, vibration) test campaign, both final spacecraft are now ready to complete the Pleiades Neo constellation.
Airbus to Further Develop LISA Gravitational Wave Observatory Mission
Airbus has been awarded a contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to further develop the implementation of LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), one of the most ambitious science missions ESA has planned to date. With Phase B1 now underway, the detailed mission design and final technology development activities for the gravitational wave observatory are due to be completed by 2024, with launch planned for the late 2030s. Gravitational waves were first postulated by Albert
Hubble Reaches New Milestone in Mystery of Universe’s Expansion Rate
Completing a nearly 30-year marathon, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has calibrated more than 40 “milepost markers” of space and time to help scientists precisely measure the expansion rate of the universe – a quest with a plot twist. A grid of 36 galaxy images, 4 rows of 9 images each. Pursuit of the universe’s expansion rate began in the 1920s with measurements by
OneWeb and Telefonica collaborate to extend connectivity across Europe and Latin America
Launcher News
New cargo spacecraft being built
China has begun to assemble a new cargo spacecraft that will be tasked with servicing the Tiangong space station, according to a key figure in the space station program
Exploration News
Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule takes off on long-awaited test flight
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft thundered into orbit Thursday from Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, aiming to dock at the International Space Station on a years-late test flight to prove the capsule’s systems before flying astronauts.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule completes first “nail-biting” docking at space station
Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule finally reached the International Space Station Friday night with a “nail-biting” rendezvous and docking, overcoming several technical glitches to accomplish a long-awaited objective for the spacecraft before NASA clears it to ferry astronauts to the research complex.
NewSpace News
SI Imaging Services + GHGSat Operating Together @ The World Gas Congress In South Korea
SI Imaging Services (SIIS) will operate a joint booth with GHGSat at the World Gas Congress 2022 (WGC) held at EXCO in Daegu, South Korea, from the 23rd of May for five days. The World Gas Conference is the world’s largest, international, gas conference that has
Defence Innovation Agency signs with Exotrail for software solution for French Space Command
Exotrail signed a contract with the Defence Innovation Agency (AID), an organisation which is part of the French Ministry of Defence.
ESA spurs investment in space entrepreneurs
Dozens of people who have set up start-up companies and fledgling businesses are pitching their ideas to investors, as part of an ESA Investor Forum held in Berlin.
Smarter_satellites_ESA_Discovery_accelerates_AI_in_space
ESA launched the first artificially intelligent European Earth observation mission in September 2020. The mission consisted of two CubeSats, one of which carried the O-sat-1 artificial intelligence experiment on board. O-sat-1 enabled the mission to automatically discard cloudy images and send only useful data down to Earth. Then, in April 2021 ESA Discovery invited business and academic communities to propose innovative ideas to fly onboard ESA’s OPS-SAT mission, which is open to the public to experiment with. AI had already been used on OPS-SAT to rapidly process images of Earth in flight and to fully automate the mission; some of the new ideas also involve a variety of AI tools for novel applications.
Dawn Aerospace wins Blue Canyon’s X-SAT Saturn-Class propulsion business
Dawn Aerospace, a Netherlands-, New Zealand-and U.S.-based space transportation company, has been selected by Blue Canyon Technologies to provide turnkey chemical propulsion systems for the X-SAT Saturn satellite bus. Dawn will supply thrusters, tanks, control electronics, and full-service support in logistics and propellant loading for the ESPA Grande-class satellite
Space Perspective raises $17 million
Space Perspective has raised an additional $17 million to further development of its stratospheric passenger balloon
Chinese launch startup Orienspace raises $59.9 million in Series A round
Chinese launch vehicle developer Orienspace has raised $59.9 million in a Series A funding round, which the company says it will use for a first rocket launch and new engine development.
Space Safety News
ISS spacesuits ‘no-go’ for non-emergency spacewalks after water intrusion
The aging shuttle-era spacesuits aboard the International Space Station have been declared “no-go” for operational, normally planned spacewalks pending analysis to determine what led to excess water getting into an astronaut’s helmet during a March excursion, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Blue Origin scrubs Friday launch over vehicle issue
Aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin will delay its next sub-orbital spaceflight because of a vehicle issue, the company announced Wednesday.
India hit by more suspected space debris
Indian authorities are examining several pieces of suspected space debris that fell into rural western India on May 12, with the timing of the incident suggesting they could be parts of a Chinese rocket that reentered the atmosphere that day.
Science &Technology News
Recommendation algorithms that power Amazon, Netflix can improve satellite imagery, too
Algorithms that help consumers decide what to stream or buy online can do more than predict customers’ habits: They can help satellites see the Earth better, according to a Rutgers study.
‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner’ composer Vangelis dies aged 79
“Blade Runner” and “Chariots of Fire” composer Vangelis, the Oscar-winning electronic music pioneer whose distinctive musical style defined a generation of film soundtracks, has died aged 79.
Could_people_breathe_the_air_on_Mars
Among the seven instruments on board the Perseverance rover is MOXIE, an incredible device that takes carbon dioxide out of the Martian atmosphere and turns it into oxygen.MOXIE works the way that scientists hope it will, future astronauts will not only make their own oxygen; they could use it as a component in the rocket fuel they’ll need to fly back to Earth. The more oxygen people are able to make on Mars, the less they’ll need to bring from Earth – and the easier it becomes for visitors to go there. But even with “homegrown” oxygen, astronauts will still need a spacesuit.
Scientists find DNA’s code for life in meteorites
Scientists at NASA and in Japan confirmed Tuesday they found all five key building blocks of DNA and RNA in space rocks that fell to Earth within the last 100 years, according to research published in the journal Nature Communications.
The Freeform 3D Printing Of Satellite Antennas In Space Is Developed By Mitsubishi Electric
On orbit manufacturing and deployment of a satellite antenna in space (from left) Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) has developed an on-orbit, additive-manufacturing technology that uses photosensitive resin and solar ultraviolet light for the 3D printing of satellite antennas in the vacuum of outer space. The novel technology makes use of a newly developed liquid resin that was custom formulated for stability in vacuum.
