Science

Riding on the shoulders of the Apollo generation, the Artemis missions will pave the way for humans to return to the moon, begin human exploration of Mars, and someday for humanity to reach the edges of our solar system and beyond. While the exploration of deep space is critical to advancing our understanding of so many unanswered questions about

The new procurement would be the follow-on to the $94 million Launch Manifest Systems Integration contract that Parsons Corp. won in 2019 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Systems Command has started market research for its next procurement of payload integration services, according to a request for information published Nov. 18. The Space Force is trying

Forked structure: scanning electron microscope image of one of the gratings used by Dmitry Pushin and colleagues. (Courtesy: D Sarenac et al/Science Advances) A beam of “twisted” neutrons with a well-defined orbital angular momentum (OAM) has been created by researchers in Canada and the US. This was done by passing a neutron beam from a

With this new CRADA, the Space Force is signaling it wants to see Blue Origin challenge ULA and SpaceX WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Nov. 18 it signed an agreement with Blue Origin that “paves the way” for the company’s New Glenn rocket to compete for national security launch contracts once it

WASHINGTON — The successful launch of the Artemis 1 mission comes just in time for the European Space Agency as it seeks support from its member states for new exploration initiatives. ESA supplied the service module on the Orion spacecraft that provides power, propulsion and other services. That service module has been performing well since

Breaking ground Officials celebrate the start of construction for the Stable Isotope Production Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. (Courtesy: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, US Dept. of Energy) Construction has begun on a new facility in the US that will produce a wide range of isotopes including radioisotopes for medical applications. When it fires up

WASHINGTON — NASA has approved plans to proceed with the next critical milestone in the Artemis 1 mission, a maneuver by the uncrewed Orion spacecraft as it flies by the moon Nov. 21. NASA announced late Nov. 19 that the Artemis 1 mission management team approved the outbound powered flyby (OPF) maneuver, a burn by

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Dragon launching soon to the International Space Station is the last cargo version of the spacecraft the company expects to build, with one more crewed spacecraft under construction. At an Nov. 18 briefing about the upcoming SpaceX CRS-26 cargo mission to the station, NASA and SpaceX announced the launch, previously scheduled

Shovel ready Matjiesfontein in the central Karoo region of the Western Cape will host a new Lunar Exploration Ground Sites antenna. (Courtesy: Munyaradzi Makoni) Officials gathered on 8 November to break ground on a new facility in South Africa that will support human spaceflight missions to the Moon and possibly Mars. Matjiesfontein in the central

WASHINGTON — The inaugural flight of the Space Launch System won positive reactions from the White House and Congress, celebrating the successful liftoff while overlooking the vehicle’s extensive delays. While there was no formal White House statement after the Nov. 16 launch of the SLS on the Artemis 1 uncrewed mission, both President Joe Biden

BREMEN, Germany — Precious Payload has announced partnerships with a pair of companies to market payload slots and launches on its online satellite launch marketplace. Precious Payload and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) announced Nov. 17 at the Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen, Germany that launches of the RFA One rocket are to be added

Sears will run Boeing’s Space, Intelligence & Weapon Systems unit WASHINGTON — Boeing announced Nov. 17 it is reorganizing its defense and space business, a sector of the company that last month reported nearly $3 billion in losses in the third quarter. The sector’s losses were blamed on poor-performing Pentagon programs and the long-delayed Starliner

The rise in commercial demand and the Russian Soyuz rocket’s sudden exit from the global stage have created a ‘perfect storm’ WASHINGTON — United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno is advising the U.S. Space Force to preemptively buy heavy launch services as rockets could be in short supply over the next several years.   “There is

BREMEN, Germany — Scotland-based launch startup Skyrora are focused on making a first orbital launch attempt late next year, building on experience from a suborbital attempt in Iceland. Skyrora’s team took their 11-meter-long Skylark L single-stage suborbital launch vehicle to Iceland’s Langanes peninsula in October to attempt to reach above the Karman line. The rocket

WASHINGTON — A NASA demonstration of an inflatable heat shield showed the technology worked and can be scaled up for missions on Earth and Mars, project leaders said Nov. 17. NASA flew the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) as a secondary payload on the Atlas 5 launch of a weather satellite

WASHINGTON — The Japanese government has formally agreed to extend its participation on the International Space Station through 2030 and provide components for the lunar Gateway. In a virtual ceremony Nov. 17, NASA and Japanese government officials signed an agreement outlining the roles that Japan will provide in the Gateway, including components for several modules

TAMPA, Fla. — Japan’s ispace expects SpaceX to launch its lunar lander Nov. 28 at the earliest for a mission to the moon’s surface roughly five months later.  The company said Nov. 17 its HAKUTO-R M1 lander is slated to fly on a Falcon 9 at 3:46 a.m Eastern from the Space Launch Complex 40

The Joint Task Force-Space Defense Commercial Operations cell conducts an exercise in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Credit: U.S. Space Force Photo by Lekendrick Stallworth Secrecy is innate to military space, and it’s been that way since the start. But officials are increasingly expressing frustration with a classification system that at times appears to be doing more