Fast switching: the Hybrid Photonics Labs at Skoltech where the new optical transistor was created. (Courtesy: Skoltech) A new optical transistor has been designed by researchers in Russia, Switzerland, and Germany. The team, led by Anton Zasedatelev at Skoltech in Moscow, used a combination of laser beams, an optical cavity, and a specialized organic polymer
Science
The agency has extended until Oct. 8 the deadline for proposals for the Transport Layer Tranche 1 WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency revised a request for proposals that previously had sought bids for 144 satellites. It is now seeking proposals for 126 satellites, and will procure the other 18 at a later time. SDA
WASHINGTON — An Atlas 5 successfully launched the latest in the Landsat series of Earth science satellites Sept. 27, continuing a program that started nearly half a century ago. The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 401 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:12 p.m. Eastern, quickly
Taken from the September 2021 issue of Physics World. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app. As scientists, one of the most frustrating things we can be told is “nice idea, but the technology to achieve it doesn’t exist yet”. Academic researchers rarely have enough time
Space Logistics’ Mission Robotic Vehicle has a robotic payload developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman today has two Mission Extension Vehicles in orbit providing station-keeping services for two Intelsat geostationary satellites that were running low on fuel. The company meanwhile is preparing to launch a new servicing vehicle equipped
WASHINGTON — Members of the House Science Committee asked the new administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make more use of commercial satellite data and take action on space traffic management. At a Sept. 23 hearing of the committee’s environment subcommittee, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), ranking member of the full committee, questioned
Interesting formations: an example of droplet shapes that are produced when an electric field is applied to an oil mixture. (Courtesy: Aalto University) When a simple system of two liquids is driven out of equilibrium, it can generate a far more diverse array of structures than previously thought, new experiments have shown. The discovery was
The geostationary orbit tanker is being designed to carry more than 200 pounds of hydrazine WASHINGTON — Orbit Fab, a startup offering a refueling service in space, will launch a propellant tanker to geostationary orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 lunar lander mission projected for late 2022 or early 2023. “Geostationary orbit is where most
The awards made by the Space Enterprise Consortium are for prototypes that will be jointly funded by the government and the contractors WASHINGTON — Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance were selected to participate in technology development projects to advance rocket engine testing and launch vehicle upper stages, the U.S. Space Force
Memory assessment: A volunteer fitted with an EEG cap, with George Stothart from the University of Bath who developed the passive Fastball test. (Courtesy: Nic Delves Broughton/University of Bath) A new memory assessment technique could pave the way for earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the underlying cause of around 60% of dementia cases. The approach
If the market grows large enough, a dedicated lunar-to-LEO tanker industry could evolve Trade. It enables, disseminates, and helps pay for new technologies and skills. It encourages sciences, the arts, and communications across oceans and cultures. It is a requirement for the evolution and supply of settlements and cities. Like technology and physical expansion, trade
WASHINGTON — The secretary-general of the United Nations lumped space tourism alongside corruption and loss of freedoms as part of a “malady of mistrust” facing the world, another sign of the backlash in some quarters to private human spaceflight. In an address to the United Nations General Assembly Sept. 21, Secretary-General António Guterres singled out
Award winning: The Golden Ring by Shuchang Dong is the 2021 winner of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year. (Courtesy: Shuchang Dong) Chinese photographer Shuchang Dong has beaten thousands of amateur and professional photographers from around the world to win the 2021 Astronomy Photographer of the Year. The award – now in its 13th year
WASHINGTON — NASA needs to ensure that commercial space stations are ready before the International Space Station is retired to avoid a “space station gap” with geopolitical consequences, industry officials and other advisers warn. NASA’s low Earth orbit commercialization strategy calls for the development of one or more commercial space stations by late this decade,
Contract with propulsion startup Aliena powers September 2022 launch of OrbAstro’s first 12U microsat WASHINGTON — OrbAstro, a space-as-a-service startup with visions of flying “tiny satellites in large flocks,” is ready to launch its first half-dozen smallsats in 2022 With a January launch lined up in India, spots reserved on upcoming SpaceX rideshare missions and
In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast the historian Alex Wellerstein explains how the US has kept its nuclear secrets since the Second World War. The author of Restricted Data: the History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States, he explains how the country has walked the fine line between trying to prevent
WASHINGTON — Blue Origin is seeking to overturn NASA’s award of a lunar lander contract to SpaceX by arguing that SpaceX’s proposal failed to meet requirements for reviews that made it “unawardable.” The U.S. Court of Federal Claims released Sept. 22 a significantly redacted version of Blue Origin’s complaint filed with the court Aug. 13.
Andrew Cox: There is no way to have a fruitful discussion with industry if I can’t talk about the threat NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The first briefing with space and defense contractors planned by the Space Force’s Warfighting Analysis Center Oct. 27 will be at a classified facility in the Washington, D.C. area. The means