Undersecretary of Defense Heidi Shyu established a Defense Science Board task force on ‘commercial space system access and integrity’ WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s top research official has directed the Defense Science Board to examine the military’s growing demand for commercial space technology and its implications, and to recommend steps DoD should take to ensure access
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TAMPA, Fla. — Greg Wyler’s megaconstellation startup E-Space said Dec. 5 it plans to buy radio frequency module developer CommAgility in a $14.5 million deal. The acquisition gives E-Space 5G software and experience that “would have taken years to recreate,” Wyler said in a statement. CommAgility, which employs 50 people and is currently part of
Before and after: images of Amazonis Planitia taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The image on the left shows the region before the impact while the image on the right shows the effect of the meteorite. (Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) Two meteorite impacts on the Martian surface have given scientists a better understanding of the interior structure
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission has partially approved SpaceX’s application for the second generation of its Starlink constellation, allowing the company to launch up to a quarter of the proposed 30,000 satellites while deferring action on the rest. In a Dec. 1 order, the FCC granted permission to SpaceX to launch 7,500 satellites of
Satzman: The value of space “has been proven out” WASHINGTON — The war in Ukraine has put on display military forces’ growing reliance on satellites and has created incentives to disrupt opponents’ access to space systems, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, said Dec. 3. “I think this
In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, collision expert Michael Hall explains how Newtonian physics is used to piece together what happened in motor vehicle accidents, sometimes revealing insurance fraud. Hall is a physicist and head of research at GBB – a company in Preston, UK, that provides impartial scientific, forensic and engineering
TAMPA, Fla. — OneWeb said SpaceX is slated to launch 40 of its satellites as early as Dec. 6 to complete almost 80% of its low Earth orbit broadband (LEO) constellation. All 40 satellites have been encapsulated for a Falcon 9 launch no earlier than 5:37 p.m. Eastern from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, OneWeb said
U.S. Space Forces-Central will be based at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida WASHINGTON — United States Central Command, responsible for military operations in the Middle East and South Asia, on Dec. 2 activated a Space Force component known as U.S. Space Forces-Central The Space Force unit will be based at U.S. Central Command headquarters at
Starshield will leverage the Starlink internet constellation to develop new products for the military market WASHINGTON — SpaceX on Dec. 2 revealed a new business segment called Starshield aimed at U.S. national security government agencies. This sector of SpaceX intends to leverage the Starlink internet constellation in low Earth orbit to develop products and services
Bovine powerhouse: researchers in China are developed a self-powered “smart watch” for cows. (Courtesy: iStock/Gerard-Koudenburg) Are you one of those people who tracks all their activities with a smart watch to ensure that they are getting enough exercise. I am borderline obsessive in that way and cows might be next – if researchers at Southwest
WASHINGTON — NASA’s Orion spacecraft started its trip back to Earth Dec. 1 with the first of two maneuvers that will put the spacecraft on course for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in a week and a half. The main engine in Orion’s service module fired at 4:53 p.m. Eastern for 1 minute at
WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab, a launch services company and space hardware manufacturer, announced Dec. 1 it is creating a separate entity to focus on U.S. defense and intelligence agency customers. The new business sector, called Rocket Lab National Security, also will work with U.S. allies, the company said. Rocket Lab, which went public in August
MycelioTronics Fungal-grown mycelium skins provide a biodegradable substrate for electronic sensors and batteries. (Courtesy: Soft Matter Physics Division, Johannes Kepler University Linz. Images taken by Doris Danninger) Fungal mycelium skins can be used as substrates for electronic devices, physicists and materials scientists in Austria have shown. The team used the thin skins to create autonomous
WASHINGTON — The French government said Nov. 29 it will join the United States and several other countries in a pledge not to conduct anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons tests that can leave hazardous debris in orbit. In a statement, France’s foreign and defense ministries jointly announced that the country would not carry out destructive direct-ascent ASAT
WFOV will operate as an early warning satellite to detect ballistic missile launches WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force has received initial images from a new missile-warning satellite launched in July, Millennium Space Systems announced Nov. 29. The Boeing-owned company is the manufacturer of the Wide Field of View (WFOV), a mid-sized spacecraft equipped with
Teleporting qubits: artist’s impression a wormhole created in a quantum processor. (Courtesy: A Mueller/Caltech) The equivalent to a wormhole in spacetime has been created on a quantum processor. Researchers in the US used an advanced quantum teleportation protocol to open the wormhole and send quantum signals through it. By studying the dynamics of the transmitted
WASHINGTON — The European Commission awarded a contract to Arianespace Nov. 29 for launches of five Copernicus Earth observation spacecraft on Vega C rockets between 2024 and 2026. The contract, Arianespace Chief Executive Stéphane Israël said in a press conference, secures the position of the European Commission, which operates both Copernicus and the Galileo navigation
HELSINKI — China has six astronauts aboard its recently-completed space station for the first time following the arrival of three crew members aboard Shenzhou-15. Shenzhou-15 launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 10:08 a.m. Eastern Nov. 29. Rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong space station was completed at 4:42 p.m.,