Science

WASHINGTON — Boeing executives are meeting with startups at the Satellite 2022 conference with an eye toward investment and collaboration. “We’re looking for those technologies that would make our platforms and programs better,” Teresa Segura, Boeing’s Applied Innovation leader, told SpaceNews. Since spinning off its venture capital arm, HorizonX Ventures, last year to establish AEI HorizonX,

Kennedy says nuclear thermal propulsion will help accelerate the development of the lunar economy WASHINGTON — Fred Kennedy, a former Pentagon official and veteran space executive, announced March 22 he is leading a new startup to commercialize nuclear thermal rocket propulsion.  The startup, named Dark Fission Space Systems, “aims to accelerate the expansion of the

The Pentagon’s space agency is buying 126 small satellites for $1.8 billion to build a communications network in low Earth orbit known as the Transport Layer. The Space Development Agency is overseeing the Defense Department’s first major procurement of small satellites in low Earth orbit, a trend that has accelerated in the commercial industry as

Lockheed plans to offer the bus as a lower cost alternative to its traditional bespoke designs, said executive vice president Robert Lightfoot WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin plans to launch to orbit later this year a new satellite bus the company designed for both the commercial and government markets. The first launch of the LM400 will

Older than expected: artist’s impression of a magnetar in a cluster of ancient stars (in red) close to the spiral galaxy M81. The source of fast radio bursts (FRBs) first detected in 2020 is likely to be located within a dense cluster of ancient stars, according to astronomers led by Franz Kirsten at Chalmers University

WASHINGTON — European Space Agency officials said prospects are dimming for the recovery of a radar imaging satellite that malfunctioned nearly three months ago, but that efforts to save the spacecraft continue. The Sentinel-1B spacecraft malfunctioned in December, keeping the spacecraft from collecting C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. ESA said in January that they

Recent network attacks in Ukraine have been ‘an eye opener for everybody’ WASHINGTON — The U.S. government on March 17 advised satellite operators to put their guard up in the wake of a cyberattack that disrupted internet services in Europe provided by Viasat’s KA-SAT. “Given the current geopolitical situation, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Taken from the April 2022 issue of Physics World, where it will appear under the headline “Crisis in Ukraine”. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app from 1 April. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a test for those who want science and politics kept apart, says

WASHINGTON — SpaceX set records for the reuse of its Falcon 9 booster and the mass that rocket placed into orbit March 19 with the latest launch of Starlink satellites. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:42 a.m. Eastern. The launch took

WASHINGTON — The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency will begin a major upgrade of its cloud computing infrastructure after a protest over a $4.5 billion cloud-services contract was withdrawn by one of the competitors.  General Dynamics Information Technology on Dec. 8 was selected for a 10-year deal to modernize NGA’s cloud platform and data centers. The

Hot and cold: artist’s impression of the exoplanet WASP-121b and its host star. (Courtesy: NASA, ESA, and G Bacon (STSci)) Liquid metal, ruby and sapphire could rain down on one hemisphere of blisteringly hot giant exoplanet that is tidally locked in a tight orbit around its star. That is the conclusion of astronomers who have

TAMPA, Fla. — Aquarian Space said March 17 it has raised seed funding to deploy a high-speed communications network for the moon to meet anticipated demand from government and commercial lunar missions. Silicon Valley venture capital firm Draper Associates, an early SpaceX investor, has injected $650,000 in Aquarian Space to support plans to deploy its

TAMPA, Fla. — Telesat is considering ordering fewer satellites for its planned low Earth orbit broadband constellation as inflation and supply chain woes drive up the price tag and push out its completion to 2026.  During a March 18 earnings call about Telesat’s 2021 results, CEO Dan Goldberg told analysts, “we either need to raise

Schrödinger equation: which equation will be the people’s choice. (Courtesy: iStock/piranka) What is your favourite physics equation and how well would it stand up in the court of public opinion to other equations? That pressing question could soon be answered by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) in Canada, which has been running a

HELSINKI — Chinese state-owned entities are developing a growing range of solid rockets to meet growing launch demands and contribute to a wider strategy of making China a fully-fledged space power. Jielong-3, also known as Smart Dragon-3, is expected to make its first flight in September according to recent state media reports. It will be

The funding includes $6 million from the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, and $6 million from private investors WASHINGTON — Orbit Fab, a venture-funded startup offering a refueling service in space, announced it has won a $12 million deal to ensure its fueling interface works with U.S. military satellites.  The funding includes $6 million

In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, I chat with the astrophysicist Abigail Frost about a mysterious stellar system that was thought to harbour the closest black hole to Earth. Instead, Frost and colleagues have shown that the system comprises a star that has been stripped by its “vampire” partner. She explains how