Science

COLORADO SPRINGS — Currently more known for the high-resolution cameras it builds than for spacecraft, Dragonfly Aerospace’s plan to move into microsatellite manufacturing got a major boost in April when it was sold to serial entrepreneur Max Polyakov.  The deal helps fund the development of satellite buses and upgrade Dragonfly Aerospace facility in South Africa,

Expecting to fly: Koji Murata showing a metal-framed wood panel that will be sent to the Kibō platform in late 2021. (Courtesy: Kyoto University) Wood is an amazing material. It can be strong, flexible or lightweight – and sometimes all of the above depending upon the tree. Wood can be used on its own, or

COLORADO SPRINGS — Amazon is urging the Federal Communications Commission to dismiss SpaceX’s revised plans for its second-generation Starlink constellation, saying they are too broad and speculative. SpaceX proposed two potential configurations for nearly 30,000 follow-on satellites Aug. 18, which Amazon said breaks FCC rules that require details of a proposed amendment to be settled

COLORADO SPRINGS — Shares in small launch vehicle and spacecraft developer Rocket Lab dropped in their first day of trading Aug. 25, but the company’s chief executive says it remains focused on its long-term plans enabled by going public. Rocket Lab made its debut on the Nasdaq exchange Aug. 25 after completing its merger with

Distance matters: a new study recommends that devices such as mobile phones should be kept at least 15 cm from implanted pacemakers and defibrillators. (Courtesy: iStock/grinvalds) Modern consumer electronics can produce magnetic fields strong enough to interfere with implanted medical devices, but the effect only poses a low risk to patients. That is the conclusion

COLORADO SPRINGS — Intelsat has amended its restructuring plan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection later this year, securing the support of holders of nearly 75% of its debt.  Similar to the plan the satellite operator announced Feb. 12, the restructuring would slash its debt by more than half from nearly $15 billion to $7

COLORADO SPRINGS – Phase Four plans to fuel its Maxwell engine with a green propellant developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, under a contract the Southern California startup won Aug. 18 at the U.S. Space Force’s first SpaceWERX Pitch Day. By fueling Maxwell engines with the green propellant, called Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic

Tough times: researchers are less productive when they have children, a survey suggests, but women find the going tougher as they generally do more childcare than male parents (Courtesy: istock/Steve Debenport) Academics with children become less productive and do work of lower impact as their childcare responsibilities increase. That’s the finding of a survey of

COLORADO SPRINGS — Efforts to digitize spacecraft manufacturing processes to support remote workers during the pandemic are also creating operational advantages for deep space missions, according to a Lockheed Martin executive. Lisa Callahan, Lockheed Martin Space’s vice president and general manager of commercial civil space, said during an Aug. 24 Space Symposium session that COVID-19

COLORADO SPRINGS — Virgin Orbit will use the proceeds of a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company to expand its launch business and develop a satellite constellation for internet-of-things and Earth observation services. Virgin Orbit announced Aug. 23 that it will merge with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC, in a deal expected to close

Effective theorists: Sonia Bacca (left), Bijaya Acharya (centre) and Joanna Sobczyk. (Courtesy: Sabrina Hopp/Angelika Stehle) The interaction between an electron and a calcium-40 nucleus has been calculated from first principles for the first time. Physicists in Germany and the US led by Joanna Sobczyk, Sonia Bacca and Bijaya Acharya at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz used

SPAC deals have grown notably in the space sector as they provide companies faster access to the public markets. COLORADO SPRINGS — Aerospace and defense companies have raised more than $11 billion in the first quarter of 2021 through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies. The SPAC trend does not appear to be letting up,

COLORADO SPRINGS — Small launch vehicle developer Virgin Orbit will go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a deal that includes an investment by Boeing, the company announced Aug. 23. Virgin Orbit will merge with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC that holds $383 million in capital. A concurrent private

Metal-rich monster: The asteroid 16 Psyche is due to get a visit from the Psyche spacecraft in 2026. (Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech)”> Metal-rich monster: The asteroid 16 Psyche is due to get a visit from the Psyche spacecraft in 2026. (Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Astronomers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) to gain a more detailed picture

TAMPA, Fla. — Arianespace launched its ninth mission for broadband startup OneWeb Aug. 21, expanding its low Earth orbit constellation to 288 satellites. A total of 34 satellites for OneWeb launched on a Soyuz rocket at 6:13 p.m. Eastern from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. They separated from the launcher during nine successful sequences, according to Arianespace,

In early August, Russian media reported that the country’s space agency, Roscosmos, had yet to order new spacesuits for its cosmonauts to replace the aging suits required for space station spacewalks. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, turned to Twitter to refute the claims, saying that cosmonauts “will not have to perform spacewalks in their underwear.”

Matin Durrani recalls his brushes with the Nobel-prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg, who died on 23 July 2021 at the age of 88. A passion for physics: Steven Weinberg at the 2016 March meeting of the American Physical Society in Baltimore, US (Courtesy: Matin Durrani/IOP Publishing) For reasons I can no longer quite remember, I was

There’s no such thing as a free launch — especially when it comes to suborbital joy rides Whether or not you agree with Elon Musk that we need higher volume and lower cost access to space so that a small portion of humanity can flee our imperiled planet and become planetary refugees, at least he