Science

Bulging waves: artist’s impression of the gravitational waves given off by the merger of two supermassive black holes. ESA’s LISA space mission may be able to detect evidence of tidal distortions in black-hole mergers. (Courtesy: ESA) Some spinning binary black holes can tidally deform as they merge together – according to new calculations by Alexandre

TAMPA, Fla. — Private investors deployed another $1.9 billion in SpaceX, OneWeb and other space infrastructure companies in the first three months of 2021, according to data from New York-based Space Capital. The company, which invests in early-stage ventures in addition to providing market intelligence, includes rocket and satellite builders in how it defines space

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected SpaceX as the sole company to win a contract to develop and demonstrate a crewed lunar lander, while keeping the door open for others to compete for future missions. NASA announced April 16 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX for Option A of the Human Landing System (HLS) program,

Too cool: Xiulin Ruan holds a sample of the whitest paint ever. (Courtesy: Purdue University/Jared Pike) One way to keep cool this summer is to coat your roof with what is claimed to be the whitest paint ever made. Created by engineers at Purdue University in the US, the coating reflects 98.1% of sunlight –

Todd Harrison: The U.S. government needs to be clear about which Chinese space developments pose a threat and which merely show that China is pursing an ambitious civil space program. WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community in a report listed China’s space program as a top security concern for the United States. Some space experts

By Allison Kubo Hutchison Left: Glowing basaltic eruption in Iceland taken at night (image: Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir / twitter). Right: Grey ash clouds rise into the atmosphere over St. Vincent (image: University of West Indies Seismic Research Center / twitter). In Iceland, where we lay our scene, lava spills orange and black tendrils from three

WASHINGTON — More than a year after selecting SpaceX to deliver cargo to the lunar Gateway, NASA has yet to formally start that contract as it performs a broader review of its Artemis program. NASA announced in March 2020 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX for the agency’s Gateway Logistics Services program to transport

Have physicists at Fermilab found evidence for a new force? In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast Sam Grant of University College London explains why he and his colleagues on Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment are excited about their recent measurement of the muon’s magnetic moment and what it could mean for the future

SAN FRANCISCO – A consortium led by the State of California, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Planet announced plans April 15 for a constellation of hyperspectral satellites to pinpoint, quantify and track point sources of methane and carbon dioxide. The constellation is one element of Carbon Mapper, a public-private partnership aimed at providing information to

By Hannah Pell  On 7 April 2021, physicists at Fermi National Laboratory announced the first results of their Muon g-2 (“g minus 2”) experiment, which have hinted that muons may behave in a way not predicted by the Standard Model, a self-consistent yet incomplete theory of fundamental particles and their interactions. You can picture a

Derek Tournear: ‘I’m really interested in industry feedback when we when they see our acquisition strategy’ WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency is considering buying its next 150 satellites from three different vendors, but that could change after the agency evaluates companies’ bids, SDA director Derek Tournear said April 14. Speaking at the Washington

Fry up: cooked egg white is dynamic gel that continues to evolve long after solidifying (Courtesy: cyclonebill-Vagtel-spejlæg CC BY-SA 2.0) New research shows that the humble egg white could hold the answer to a long-standing mystery about the evolution of gels. In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, scientists at the University of Tübingen

WASHINGTON — Blue Origin completed another test flight of its New Shepard vehicle April 14, putting the company on the verge of finally flying people. Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle lifted off from the company’s West Texas test site, known as Launch Site One by the company, at 12:51 p.m. Eastern. The capsule, separating from

Sound technology: the optomechanical ultrasound sensor array chip with optical fibre block array access. (Courtesy: IMEC) A highly sensitive optomechanical ultrasound detector integrated onto a silicon photonic chip has been developed by researchers in Belgium and Germany. The team, led by Wouter Westerveld at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) in Leuven, showed that its device

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin announced a new line of satellites designed for space-based surveillance. The mid-size satellite bus is aimed at the military market and would be interoperable with military weapons systems such as fighter jets and air defense systems. The company is pitching the new mid-size satellite as an alternative to tactical surveillance platforms

SAN FRANCISCO – York Space Systems has learned a lot from operating its first production-model spacecraft in orbit for two years. The biggest takeaway, though, has been the need to automate satellite handling on the ground. “In the first few months, it became clear it was going to require as many as 15 different people

From proton-based cancer therapy to small-animal PET scanners, US technology company H3D is seeking out growth opportunities in the medical imaging market Made to measure: H3D founder and CEO Willy Kaye (right) runs a product demonstration for workers at a nuclear power plant. Alongside its established customer base in defence, nuclear power and nuclear safeguarding

SAN FRANCISCO — Orbital Sidekick announced a $16 million Series A funding round April 13 led by Singapore investment giant Temasek that clears the way for the company to complete development of its first constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites. “Temasek is a great foothold within the Asia Pacific region,” Daniel Katz, Orbital Sidekick CEO and