Science

Congress mandated the transfer in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency, formed inside the Pentagon in 2019 to help accelerate the use of commercial space technology, was officially transferred to the U.S. Space Force on Oct. 1. Congress mandated the transfer in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act due

The companies will perform a Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission in 2023 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Sept. 30 it selected Firefly Space Transport Services and Millennium Space Systems to conduct a demonstration of a rapid-response space mission to low Earth orbit in 2023. The companies will perform a Tactically Responsive Space

With the 2022 Nobel prizes due to be announced, Physics World editors looks at the physicists who’ve won prizes in fields other than their own. Michael Banks examines how Joseph Rotblat bagged the Nobel Peace Prize Nuclear fallout: physicist Joseph Rotblat campaigned for most of his life against the use of nuclear weapons (courtesy: Pugwash Conferences on Science

WAILEA, Hawaii — The Federal Communications Commission’s adoption of a new rule for disposal of low Earth orbit satellites is well-intentioned but pushing the limits of its authority, says the director of the Office of Space Commerce. In a talk at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference here Sept. 30, Richard

WASHINGTON — A deep-space telescope developed in the United States and relocated to Australia has been declared operational this month. “With testing complete, the Space Surveillance Telescope will allow greater space domain awareness,” Australia’s Department of Defence said in a statement Sept. 30. The Space Surveillance Telescope, or SST, will join the network of sensors

Stepping back: a poor grade in an introductory course can reduce the chance of underrepresented groups going on to obtain a science degree (courtesy: iStock/Steve-Debenport) People from under-represented minority groups who earn low marks in introductory science degree courses are less likely to continue studying science compared to white male students who earn similar marks.

Saltzman succeeds Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, who is retiring after 38 years of service WASHINGTON — The Senate on Sept. 29 confirmed the nomination of Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman for promotion to general and assignment as the chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force.  The Senate by unanimous consent confirmed Saltzman and other

KIHEI, Hawaii — The Federal Communications Commission adopted a new rule Sept. 29 that will shorten the time for satellite operators to deorbit low Earth orbit satellites from 25 to 5 years. Commissioners voted 4-0 to adopt the draft rule, published earlier this month, intended to address growing debris in LEO. Under the new rule,

Whorls of FLASH: (a) Optimized scan patterns; (b) comparison of standard (non-optimized) line-by-line and scan-pattern optimized (SPO) patterns. The resulting pencil-beam scanning dose rate (PBS-DR) distributions are shown as coloured overlays. (Courtesy: Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.08.053) The ultrahigh dose rates used in FLASH radiotherapy may increase the therapeutic window by protecting normal

WAILEA, Hawaii — With space essential to military operations, better understanding of what objects are in orbit and the threats they may pose is “foundational” for space security, a Space Force general said. Speaking at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference here Sept. 28, Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, commander of

WASHINGTON — Kayhan Space, and partners Astroscale US and the University of Texas at Austin, won a U.S. Space Force contract to develop software for in-orbit servicing vehicles, the companies announced Sept. 28. The team won a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase 1 award worth $250,000 under the Space Force’s Orbital Prime program. Under

Join the audience for a live webinar at 2 p.m. BST on 13 October 2022 with Annette Bramley, to talk about collaborative research Want to take part in this webinar? Learning to enhance the collaborative process. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Lightspring) Collaboration is a defining feature of 21st century research, with more and more people routinely traversing formal

KAHULUI, Hawaii — With the Space Launch System now safely back inside the Vehicle Assembly Building ahead of Hurricane Ian, NASA is now studying what work to do on the rocket to prepare for a next launch attempt unlikely to occur before mid-November. The SLS and Orion spacecraft arrived back in the VAB at 9:15

WASHINGTON — NASA is, for now, moving ahead with plans for a launch of the next crew to the International Space Station early next week as it watches an approaching hurricane. NASA held a flight readiness review Sept. 26 for the Crew-5 mission, scheduled for launch Oct. 3. The Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry NASA

Alien vistas: the universe as seen by Gaia. (Courtesy: ESA/Gaia/DPAC; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO/A. Moitinho) Earth is “well-hidden” to extraterrestrial observers using photometric microlensing to hunt for habitable planets that might support life, an international team of researchers has concluded. The findings could also help to narrow down the best areas of the galaxy to

LAUREL, Md. — A NASA spacecraft collided with a moon orbiting a near Earth asteroid Sept. 26 in a demonstration of a technology that could one day be used to protect the Earth from a hazardous object. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft hit Dimorphos, an asteroid about 160 meters across orbiting the larger

WASHINGTON — NASA will move the Space Launch System rocket from its launch pad back the Vehicle Assembly Building as a precaution for an approaching hurricane, a decision that may delay the Artemis 1 mission until November. NASA announced Sept. 26 that mission managers decided, after days of deliberation, to move the SLS from Launch