Science

Lawmakers are concerned about the infrastructure at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces in its markup of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act raises concerns about the state of the U.S. space launch infrastructure and questions DoD’s procurement of commercial space data.  The

New materials strategy produces the lowest thermal conductivity reported in an inorganic material. Courtesy: University of Liverpool A new inorganic material with the lowest thermal conductivity ever reported could be a boon to technologies that convert waste heat into power. The material, which conducts heat almost as poorly as air, was designed and synthesized in

DoD’s John Hill: ‘The U.S. government’s view is that we should be pursuing voluntary, non-binding norms’ WASHINGTON — A set of guidelines issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for responsible space operations should be part of a wider conversation about how to maintain safety and security in space, a senior Pentagon official said July 26.

The agency will be seeking bids later this year for up to 150 satellites for the Transport Layer Tranche 1 projected to start launching in late 2024.  WASHINGTON — Launch services for Space Development Agency satellites will be procured under the National Security Space Launch program run by the U.S. Space Force, according to an

New spin: artistic impression of magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene showing electrons forming spin-triplet superconducting pairs. (Courtesy: MIT) Physicists in the US and Japan have observed superconductivity in a graphene-based material during the application of very high magnetic fields. What is more, the superconductivity re-emerges after dropping to zero as the field strength is increased. The

TAMPA, Fla. — Canadian startup Exodus Orbitals plans to launch its first satellite in March to take the software-defined space trend a step further, providing a platform for third parties to upload and run their applications from orbit. Software-defined satellites can be reprogrammed in space, enabling operators on the ground to reconfigure them for different

The Space Force plans to build a network of 24/7, all-weather ground-based radar sites for space domain awareness.   WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Force officials have begun discussions with the U.K. government about the possibility of building a deep-space radar site in the United Kingdom, a spokesman confirmed July 22. The Space Force plans to develop

The virtual conference, which will take place on 25–29 July 2021, will allow medical physicists from all parts of the world to share ideas and learn about new innovations The 2021 AAPM Annual Meeting brings together medical physicists from around the globe for a virtual conference and exhibition. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/IR Stone) This year’s Annual Meeting

WASHINGTON — NASA approved plans July 22 for the launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on a second uncrewed test flight that seeks to demonstrate that the company has corrected the problems seen on the first. At the conclusion of the flight readiness review, NASA gave the go-ahead for a July 30 launch of Starliner

Scientists in China and the US have created extremely flexible and elastic microfibres from ice. These fibres, which defy the usual rigid and brittle nature of ice, exhibit excellent optical quality and have mechanical properties that are near ice’s fundamental limits. They could be used for optical applications, environmental sensors and to study ice physics,

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch its Europa Clipper mission to a potentially habitable moon of Jupiter, a choice that appeared inevitable once NASA was no longer required to use the Space Launch System. NASA announced July 23 that it awarded a launch services contract to SpaceX for the October 2024

WASHINGTON — Members of a Senate space subcommittee argued that the Commerce Department was not doing enough to implement policies on space traffic management (STM) or staffing the office responsible for it. At the July 22 hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee’s space subcommittee, senators said they were worried that slow action by the Commerce

Viscoelastic bubbles have been shown to resemble blooming flowers when they pop. (Courtesy: Fuller Lab) The Tokyo Olympics officially began today with the opening ceremony lighting up the Tokyo sky. Tomorrow also marks that start of the swimming schedule and with it countless photo finishes and races determined by mere fractions of a second. Obtaining

TAMPA, Fla. — A federal appeals court denied a motion from satellite operator Viasat to stop SpaceX from enlarging its Starlink megaconstellation. Viasat had requested a stay on a SpaceX license modification that allows it to continue building out the low-Earth-orbit constellation, while legal action seeking to compel a thorough environmental review of the broadband

By: Hannah Pell Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. In early May 2021, a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline caused massive disruption to the East Coast’s fuel supply. Pictures of cars lined up at gas stations and warnings not to “panic buy” gasoline evoked memories of the 1973 oil crisis. Colonial Pipeline Co. paid a $4.4

The contract is for a project known as enterprise ground services, or EGS.  WASHINGTON — Braxton Technologies, a company recently acquired by Parsons Corp., received a $139.4 million contract to continue development and prototyping of the U.S. Space Force’s next-generation ground system for satellite operations.  The contract announced July 21 is for a project known

Seismic results: an artist’s impression of InSight and its seismometer (the little instrument in front of it) detecting seismic waves from tectonic stresses. (Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech) The interior of Mars has been mapped with seismic waves for the first time revealing tantalising details about how Mars may have formed across billions of years. The work was

TAMPA, Fla. — NorthStar Earth & Space, a startup developing a constellation for tracking other satellites, has secured Canadian government funding for a prototype Earth observation monitoring system to combat climate change. Montréal-based NorthStar said July 22 it is working with the Canadian Coast Guard on the project, using an airborne hyperspectral sensor system to