Science

The Space Force’s launch enterprise is trying to gain better insight into the next wave of space innovation and figure out how the military could acquire those capabilities.  WASHINGTON — SpaceX and United Launch Alliance were selected as U.S. national security launch providers based on their ability to deliver spacecraft to specific Earth orbits. How

Wild Turkey / Image Credit: Andrea Westmoreland via Flickr There are 60-foot high balloons floating above packed city blocks, cranberries on the stove, inside-the-turkey stuffing, mashed potatoes, outside-the-turkey stuffing, football, abominably huge turkeys, and one lucky bird. The best part of Thanksgiving dinner? Leftover Thanksgiving dinner. But those leftovers take hard work– that hot, perfect,

This year the Materials Research Society will replace its traditional Boston-based Fall Meeting with a virtual conference and exhibition Virtual exhibit: this year’s Spring and Fall Meetings of the Materials Research Society will be combined into one online event. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Ambelrip) For nearly 50 years, researchers from around the world have converged in Boston for

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab says its attempt to recover the first stage from its latest Electron launch was a “complete success,” but that the company still has work to do before it’s ready to attempt to reuse the stage. On Rocket Lab’s latest launch Nov. 19, the rocket’s first stage made a controlled reentry after

The Space and Missile Systems Center said Germany on Sept. 30 ordered an undisclosed quantity of Military Code (M-Code) capable GPS user equipment. WASHINGTON — Germany has ordered jam-resistant Global Positioning System receivers from the United States military, becoming the first buyer of the advanced GPS user equipment under the Foreign Military Sales program, the

Who hasn’t wished the doctor would prescribe a week of vacation or a trip to Walt Disney World to cure an ailment? For patients with kidney stones, that might be just around the corner. According to research published in 2016 in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, a trip to your local amusement park might

Compact imaging spectrometer combines a catadioptric lens and a special flat immersion reflection grating. Credit: Ronald B. Lockwood, MIT Lincoln Laboratory A new, slimline imaging spectrometer developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US boasts the same performance as the most advanced devices of its kind while being much more

WASHINGTON — Despite a lull in orbital launch activity at Vandenberg Air Force Base, officials with the U.S. Space Force foresee a “very promising future” for both commercial and government launches there. The Falcon 9 launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean science satellite Nov. 21 was the first orbital launch from Vandenberg since another

Gen. John Raymond said the Space Force wants to be able to collect more data but also analyze it quickly and share it with allies and civilian space organizations.  WASHINGTON — Space tracking sensors and artificial intelligence systems that analyze data are becoming high priorities for the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command, officials

Join the audience for a live webinar at 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. EST on 2 December 2020 exploring the physical principles of electrochemical acoustic interrogation Want to take part in this webinar? Acoustics and batteries. (Courtesy: Columbia Electrochemical Energy Centre) Although classic battery engineering is firmly rooted in chemical engineering and chemistry, the last decade

AN FRANCISCO – Hyperspectral satellite startup Orbital Sidekick (OSK) announced a contract Nov. 19 to work with an industry-led consortium to develop tools for daily monitoring of oil and gas pipelines. “This is an important validation of our commercial application and viability,” Dan Katz, OSK CEO and co-founder, told SpaceNews. “We are not merely a

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched Nov. 21 the latest in a series of satellites developed by the United States and Europe to track rising sea levels. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 4 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 12:17 p.m. Eastern. Its payload, the

Robot-like fish provide insight into how fish can save energy by swimming in schools. Credit: Liang Li, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) Swimming in schools helps fish avoid predators, but it also allows them to conserve energy. This is the finding of researchers in Germany, China and Hungary who used fish-like robots to

SAN FRANCISCO – AAC Clyde Space announced a 19 million euro ($22.5 million) contract backed by the U.K. Space Agency to develop a 10-cubesat communications and Earth-observation constellation. As part of the three-year project called xSPANCION, AAC Clyde Space will develop and manufacture satellites to provide space-based services to companies eager to harness satellites to

VALLETTA, Malta — The head of Italian rocket manufacturer Avio assured customers Nov. 19 that the company was working hard to return Vega to service following the rocket’s second failure in its last three launches.   In a video statement, Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said that in initial investigation into Vega’s Nov. 16 failure had identified

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab launched its Electron rocket Nov. 19, placing nearly 30 smallsats in orbit while making its first attempt to recover the rocket’s first stage. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, at 9:20 p.m. Eastern on a mission called “Return to Sender” by the

WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer Astra will make its second orbital launch attempt in December, three months after an initial launch attempt failed shortly after liftoff. The company announced Nov. 19 that it has completed testing of the vehicle, known as Rocket 3.2, and will soon ship it from its California headquarters to Pacific