Science

Out of this world: a bottle of Chateau Petrus 2000, which spent 14 months aboard the International Space Station. (Courtesy: Space Cargo Unlimited) In November 2019, 12 bottles of Chateau Petrus 2000 – a wine from Bordeaux, France, which would set you back a few thousand pounds per bottle — hitched a ride to the

LeoStella can produce 40 satellites a year but designed its factory so it can increase capacity to 200 a year WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s space agency is taking an unusual approach to buying satellites. Rather than select a manufacturer to build the entire constellation, the Space Development Agency plans to buy batches of satellites from

Investment in space exploration and development has become a significant global phenomenon in recent years. NASA’s budget has seen several years of healthy back-to-back increases. Silicon Valley and Wall Street are pouring billions into space startups. This largesse has prompted several notable thinkers to raise important questions about investing public and private money into aspirational

By Allison Kubo Hutchison Synthetic diamond created using vapour deposition process. Steve Jurvetson, Apollo synthetic diamond, CC BY 2.0 In late 1940, the Debeers Diamond company started using the slogan “Diamonds are forever” to popularize diamond engagement rings. What they didn’t know is that in terms of quantum mechanics that might be true. Diamonds are

Many children are naturally curious and have vivid imaginations – two qualities that make them well-suited for careers in physics. So why do many children eschew science when they are asked what they want to be when they grow up? That is a research interest of Carol Davenport at the UK’s Northumbria University, who talks

WASHINGTON — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will make one final close approach to the asteroid it collected samples from next week before heading back to Earth. On April 7, the spacecraft will pass 3.7 kilometers above the location on the asteroid Bennu called Nightingale where, in October, the spacecraft briefly touched down and collected as much

Space Command: “This arrangement codifies the relationship by placing a Japanese liaison officer directly into the conversations we are having on space operations.” WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Command announced April 1 it has signed an agreement with Japan that will increase collaboration on space security. Under the agreement, an officer from the Japan Air Self-Defense

By: Hannah Pell “Go out and make the world a better place.” So ends the foreword to CDR Primer, an online, freely available digital booklet co-authored by more than a dozen climate scientists, social scientists, engineers, and writers in dialogue about carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technology and its important role in addressing our climate crisis.

Zooming in: Google’s Sycamore processor. (Courtesy: Erik Lucero/Google) An international team of researchers has used Google’s Sycamore quantum computer to power an online Zoom meeting for the first time. The US tech giant’s device, which consists of 53 programmable superconducting quantum bits, has already been shown to outperform classical computers at certain tasks. The new

WASHINGTON — A NASA audit concluded that costs imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the agency could reach $3 billion, with several major science and exploration programs announcing for much of that cost. A March 31 report by the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated that the agency expects that the pandemic’s effects on

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s decision to continue the National Space Council has won approval, and relief, from the space industry, who see it as the latest sign that the White House is not contemplating major changes to space policy. A National Security Council spokesman said March 29 that the council would continue in the

WASHINGTON — The private venture that purchased a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to low Earth orbit has finalized the crew for that mission, scheduled to launch as soon as September. The Inspiration4 mission, which describes itself as the “world’s first all-civilian mission to space,” revealed the crew that will accompany its sponsor, entrepreneur Jared Isaacman,

SEOUL, South Korea — Hanwha Systems, the South Korean conglomerate that added a bankrupt phased-array antenna maker to its growing portfolio last year, is planning to build and deploy a constellation of 2,000 satellites in low Earth orbit by 2030 to provide connectivity to urban cargo-delivery drones and passenger airplanes.   To that end, the defense

By Allison Kubo Hutchison Noah Friedlander, San Francisco from the Marin Headlands in March 2019, CC BY-SA 4.0  As you walk the pavement of your city, the buildings rising around you, the impact of a city on the landscape is clear. It changes the skyline and the view. But how does it change the ground

Dreamland: artistic impression of the surface of Gliese 486b. The exoplanet could have glowing rivers of lava. (Courtesy: RenderArea) A newly discovered exoplanet called Gliese 486b could offer the best opportunity yet for studying the atmosphere of a terrestrial planet beyond the solar system. An international team, made up of astronomers at the CARMENES project

TAMPA, Fla. — Inmarsat is launching legal action over the Dutch government’s plan to auction 3.5 GHz spectrum, which the British satellite operator uses for maritime safety services. The London-based company said it will seek a judge’s ruling on the potential illegality of the plan to sell the spectrum to terrestrial 5G providers next year. 

DoD spokesman John Kirby: “Secretary Austin was pleased to receive a briefing about the space domain.” WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week received a detailed briefing on DoD space programs and national security threats in the space domain. This was Austin’s first high-level briefing on space issues since taking office.  “Secretary Austin was