Science

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA has restarted the countdown for the first launch of its Space Launch System vehicle and Orion spacecraft after concluding a faulty sensor caused the first attempt to scrub earlier in the week. Countdown clocks started ticking down after a mission management team meeting Sept. 1, setting up a launch

The UK military doctrine says space power is ‘part of a wider, whole-of-government strategy’ WASHINGTON — The United Kingdom on Sept. 1 released “UK Space Power,” the military’s keystone doctrine publication focused on the space domain.  The 91-page public document lays out in broad terms the role of the UK military in protecting space from

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Firefly Aerospace has hired an executive with extensive experience in aerospace and defense as its next CEO as the company gears up for its second orbital launch attempt. Firefly announced Sept. 1 that it hired Bill Weber as its new chief executive, effective immediately. Weber takes over from Peter Schumacher, a partner

Sculpting matter: The image on the left illustrates twisted light with an angular momentum of two, which was used in the team’s calculations. The image on the right shows a BEC that has been impinged by the twisted light and has split into four solitons. (Courtesy: University of Strathclyde) Researchers in the UK have done

TAMPA, Fla. — Intelsat said the Galaxy 15 broadcast satellite that stopped responding to commands earlier this month shut down its payload Aug. 31, reducing the risk of interfering with signals from other spacecraft. However, Galaxy 15 continues to drift out of its geostationary orbit slot at 133 degrees West, and “will soon begin transiting

WASHINGTON — As a second session of a United Nations working group on reducing space threats approaches, U.S. government officials say they’re looking for ways to encourage more countries to back a ban on anti-satellite weapon tests. Vice President Kamala Harris announced April 18 that the United States would refrain from conducting direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT)

Composite layered 2D materials that are resistant to breaking and extremely stretchable. (Courtesy: Dong Li, Nanyang Technological University) Natural layered materials such as bone and mother-of-pearl have many functions. Alongside helping organisms protect and defend themselves, some, such as the shells of marine animals, can also sequester carbon by combining proteins and inorganic composites. Researchers

TAMPA, Fla. — Royal Caribbean Group said Aug. 30 it has become the first cruise liner to adopt SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband services. The company plans to install Starlink by the end of March on some 50 ships operated under its Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands. Future vessels operated under these

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Astra Space announced Aug. 29 it won a contract from Airbus OneWeb Satellites to provide electric propulsion systems for the Arrow line of small satellites. Astra said that Airbus OneWeb Satellites will acquire an unspecified number of its Astra Spacecraft Engines, an electric propulsion system, for Arrow satellites. Astra did not disclose

Hamish Johnston reviews Pandora’s Toolbox: the Hopes and Hazards of Climate Intervention by Wake Smith Unknown outcomes Climate-intervention methods could provide hope or hazards. (Courtesy: iStock/fergregory) The rapid reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero is the only practical way to halt climate change. But thanks to two centuries of burning fossil fuels, we have

TAMPA, Fla. — Startups developing constellations for providing connectivity directly to standard cellphones say they stand to benefit from SpaceX entering their market. The business opportunity SpaceX’s Elon Musk sees validates an emerging market that would be big enough for multiple players, according to U.S.-based startups AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global. While these ventures have

HELSINKI — China’s main space contractor plans to revamp a highly successful, 30-year-old Long March rocket model to adapt to the trend towards reusability in the launch sector.  The 63rd and latest Long March 2D lifted off from the fog-shrouded Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, north China, late on Aug. 23 Eastern time, with insulation tiles

Sketch of the concept: a disordered medium (top) is made perfectly transmitting by placing a custom-made anti-reflection coating in front of it (bottom). (Courtesy: TU Wien) A new technique that completely prevents waves from being reflected off surfaces could improve wireless signal reception and biomedical imaging techniques. Developed by researchers in Austria and France, the

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A launch vehicle in development for more than a decade is now less than a day from attempting to lift off for the first time on the Artemis 1 mission. At an Aug. 28 briefing, agency officials said launch preparations remained on track for liftoff of the Space Launch System,

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA started the countdown Aug. 27 for its first attempt to launch its Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for an uncrewed flight around the moon. The countdown for the Artemis 1 launch formally started at 10:23 a.m. Eastern after a meeting of the mission management team. Liftoff is

Defect bits: representation of two n-bits along a defect line (shown in black). Shown are the orientations of the rod-like molecules that comprise liquid crystals. (Courtesy: Žiga Kos and Jörn Dunkel/Science Advances) Topological defects in liquid crystals are mathematically analogous to quantum bits, researchers in the US have shown theoretically. If a system based on

SAN FRANCISCO – With recent grants from government agencies, Dawn Aerospace is refining its nitrous-based satellite propulsion technology. Dawn, based in New Zealand and the Netherlands, announced in May the first in-orbit demonstration of its B20 thrusters on a D-Orbit ION Satellite Carrier. Since reaching that milestone, the company has been signing up new propulsion

TAMPA, Fla. — A U.S. appeals court Aug. 26 upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s year-old decision to let SpaceX deploy more satellites at lower altitudes to improve the Starlink broadband constellation’s performance.  The FCC’s decision allowed SpaceX to operate all its approved Ku-band and Ka-band satellites at around 550 kilometers above the Earth. Previously, SpaceX