By: Hannah Pell Two years ago on November 16th, 2018, representatives from more than 60 member nations of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (International Bureau of Weights and Measures) convened in Versailles, France to make a very important decision. Representatives in attendance to the 26th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) unanimously
Science
Clocking dark matter: optical clocks join the hunt for dark matter. (Courtesy: N Hanacek/NIST) An optical clock has been used to set new constraints on a proposed theory of dark matter. Researchers including Jun Ye at JILA at the University of Colorado, Boulder and Andrei Derevianko at the University of Nevada, Reno, explored how the
WASHINGTON — Satellite megaconstellation company OneWeb should emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy “any day now,” a company executive said Nov. 18, its business plan validated by a growing demand for broadband connectivity. During a Washington Space Business Roundtable webinar, Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, vice president for regulatory affairs at OneWeb, said the company was wrapping up paperwork
ULA said the delay in Dream Chaser’s first mission will not prevent Vulcan from getting certified on time for its first national security mission in 2022. WASHINGTON — United Launch Alliance’s new rocket, the Vulcan Centaur, has to fly at least twice before it is certified by the U.S. Space Force to launch national security
Pictorial representation of the molecule-based magnet and its magnetic properties. Credit: Rodolphe Clérac Researchers have shown that certain metal-organic materials can act as permanent magnets at temperatures of up to 242°C, while remaining magnetized in external magnetic fields as strong as 7500 oersteds – 25 times higher than other “molecular magnets” reported previously. Both values
WASHINGTON — The outgoing chair of the House space subcommittee says she would be interested in taking a position in the incoming Biden administration involving space, including at NASA. Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) chairs the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee in the current Congress and also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, but lost
SAN FRANCISCO – Orbit Fab, a startup preparing to establish fuel depots in space, announced an agreement Nov. 17 with Spaceflight Inc. to send its first microsatellite into orbit in 2021. Under the agreement, Orbit Fab’s first operational fuel depot, Tanker 001 Tenzing, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as early as June 2021. Tanker
The twisted spirals made in this work exhibit interesting, tuneable superconductive properties. Courtesy: S Jin Researchers have found a way to grow layers of two-dimensional (2D) materials with predictable interlayer twists, dispensing with the need to stack and twist separately-grown layers by hand. The new technique uses curved growth surfaces and could provide a significant
On Oct. 15, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released the much-anticipated update to its rules for rocket safety, which streamline launch and reentry licensing. These clarified rules provide a solid foundation for the commercial rocket launch industry — ensuring that launch companies can understand and follow the rules while keeping critical national infrastructure and American
On Nov. 15, the world watched with admiration as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s historic Kennedy Space Center carrying a four-person crew. The occasion marked an important milestone — the first orbital FAA-licensed human spaceflight launch. This achievement demonstrates America’s leadership in a new era of space exploration
Firing synapse: artistic conception of a graphene-based memristor. (Courtesy: Jennifer M McCann/Penn State) A graphene-based memory resistor (memristor) that can exist in many different states has been designed and demonstrated by Thomas Schranghamer, Aaryan Oberoi and Saptarshi Das at Pennsylvania State University in the US. Using simulations and experiments, the team showed how the device
WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four American and Japanese astronauts is on its way to the International Space Station after a successful Falcon 9 launch Nov. 15. The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 7:27 p.m. Eastern. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named “Resilience” by its
Lamborn held a “Space Force Workforce Development Roundtable” event Nov. 12 at the U.S. Air Force Academy. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force and the space industry have a growing need for expertise in the science and technology fields and should develop a plan to fill that demand, said Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.). Different organizations
Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy will be dual-hatted as the commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command and Marine Corps Forces Space Command. WASHINGTON — The United States Marine Corps activated a new unit called Marine Corps Forces Space Command as a subordinate organization to U.S. Space Command, the service announced Nov. 13. The new organization
WASHINGTON — The first launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from a site in the United States won’t take place until 2021 because of problems with the flight termination system NASA requires the rocket to use. Rocket Lab had planned to conduct the first launch from its Launch Complex (LC) 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia,
Lasting legacy: Masatoshi Koshiba was instrumental in the construction of the Kamiokande neutrino experiment in central Japan. (Courtesy: CERN/Patrice Loïez) The Japanese physicist Masatoshi Koshiba, who shared 2002 Nobel prize for the detection of cosmic neutrinos, died on 12 November aged 94. One of the founders of neutrino astronomy, Koshiba’s most famous work involved detecting
Updated 7 p.m. Eastern with briefing comments. WASHINGTON — NASA has postponed the launch of its first operational commercial crew mission by a day, citing weather conditions that delayed the arrival of the droneship used for the recovery of the Falcon 9 first stage. NASA said Nov. 13 that it was pushing back the Crew-1