Science

Companies are selected based on data provided to DoD leaders by the Defense Contract Management Agency and the Defense Logistics Agency. WASHINGTON — Companies are selected to receive emergency coronavirus rescue funds from the Defense Department based on multiple factors, said the Pentagon’s top procurement official Ellen Lord. “We have a team” that reviews data

Lorenzo Buffoni and Michele Campisi of Italy’s University of Florence have studied the thermodynamics of the D-Wave 2000Q quantum processor – which comprises 2000 interconnected superconducting circuits that each serve as a quantum bit (qubit). Here they tell Physics World what motivated them to study “reverse annealing” on the processor and how their results could

WASHINGTON — Atlanta, Georgia startup Carbice has developed a nanotech-based thermal-management material scheduled to launch on five satellites by the end of this year. The material, called Carbice Carbon, is designed to fill air gaps between computer chips, replacing epoxy- or graphite-based materials to dissipate heat from electronics. Carbice’s thermal material is made of aluminum

By the end of the year, the National Reconnaissance Office plans to issue “multiple operational commercial imagery contracts to support defense, security and many other U.S. government missions,” said Pete Muend, director of NRO’s Commercial Systems Program Office. “We’re very excited to begin to leverage all the capabilities that our U.S. domestic commercial industry base

In the lab. Courtesy: University of Warwick Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) is routinely employed to identify individual molecules, but it cannot usually resolve their internal structure. An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the universities of Warwick and Cardiff in the UK has now shown that a variation of high-resolution STM can in fact deliver information

WASHINGTON — Smallsat builder Blue Canyon Technologies is moving employees into a recently opened factory designed to build 100 satellites a year, and more in the future.  The Crescent Satellite Constellation manufacturing facility in Lafayette, Colorado, near the city of Boulder, opened June 3, Matt Beckner, Blue Canyon chief operating officer, told SpaceNews.  Because the

WASHINGTON — European smallsat builder GomSpace has entered a settlement agreement with Aerial & Maritime, a company Gomspace helped start and for which it had already built eight satellites.  GomSpace said June 16 that Aerial & Maritime will be liquidated, and that GomSpace will retain ownership of the eight satellites, designed to track ships and

Unwanted change: solar geoengineering could affect the nature of heat waves in some locations. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/kwest) Using aerosols to reflect sunlight and cool the planet will weaken storm tracks in the temperate latitudes in both hemispheres, an international team of scientists warn. Their modelling suggests that while such solar geoengineering schemes could reduce the severity

WASHINGTON — Two years after a space policy directive gave it responsibility for space traffic management, the Commerce Department says it is making progress on implementing that policy as it continues to seek additional funding from Congress. On June 18, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross visited the headquarters of Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI) outside of Philadelphia

WASHINGTON — Boeing announced late June 19 several changes in management of its work on the International Space Station and CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle. In a memo to employees of Boeing Space and Launch, Jim Chilton, senior vice president in charge of the division, announced that Mark Mulqueen will retire from the company July

Shut the lid: viruses could be lurking in this spotless loo. (Courtesy: Evert Meijs/ CC BY-SA 3.0) Here is another very good reason to wash your hands after using the facilities – and you might also want to wear a mask. Yun-Yun Li, Ji-Xiang Wang and Xi Chen of Southeast University in Nanjing, China have

A conversation with Col. Eric Felt, director of AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate The U.S. Space Force is small in size but big on technology. To stay ahead of rivals that are trying to compete with U.S. military might, the Space Force needs a research-and-development organization that brings a broad pipeline of ideas. That essentially is

Aevum, Astra, X-Bow, Rocket Lab, Space Vector and VOX Space each will receive contracts to launch two rideshare missions. WASHINGTON — Six space launch companies were selected to receive Defense Department contracts funded under the Defense Production Act to shore up domestic industries financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aevum, Astra, X-Bow, Rocket Lab, Space

In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast Giovanna Fragneto explains why neutrons are an ideal probe for studying the SARS coronavirus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Fragneto is leader of the Large Scale Structures group at the Institut Laue-Langevin, which is a world-leading centre for neutron science in Grenoble, France. In

WASHINGTON — Two entrepreneurs who founded a high-altitude ballooning company nearly a decade ago have started a second such venture, hoping to realize their original vision of giving the public a taste of spaceflight. Space Perspective, founded by Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, announced its plans June 18 to develop a system to fly people

WASHINGTON — NASA officials say they’re confident that the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission will launch this summer amid the special measures the agency had to take to keep the mission on track during the coronavirus pandemic. The mission is currently scheduled for launch July 20 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 from Cape

Taken from the June 2020 issue of Physics World, where it appeared under the headline “Shock and awe?”.. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app. How do you react when something unexpected happens in physics? Robert P Crease runs through the gamut of emotions

“The use of space by the United States and our allies and partners is underpinned by sustained, comprehensive U.S. military strength.” WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has released an updated space strategy that replaces the 2011 document issued by the Obama administration. The Defense Space Strategy unveiled June 17 provides broad guidance to DoD for