Science

Chairman Adam Smith said Space Force leaders so far have not pushed back against Rep. Crenshaw’s ‘Starfleet’ amendment WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Space Force leaders so far have not pushed back against proposed legislation that would require the space service to use the Navy’s rank structure. The Space

Limitless: Paul Thibado holds prototype energy-harvesting chips. (Courtesy: Russell Cothren) The rippling thermal motion of a tiny piece of graphene has been harnessed by a special circuit that delivers low-voltage electrical energy. The system was created by researchers in US and Spain, who say that if it could be duplicated enough times on a chip,

The Space Operations Command, or SpOC, will be led by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force on Oct. 21 is standing up its first field command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.  The Space Operations Command, or SpOC, will be led by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting. He will officially assume command

SpaceX will use Microsoft Azure’s orbital emulator — a digital environment that allows the user to visualize an entire satellite architecture, test satellite designs and artificial intelligence algorithms.  WASHINGTON — SpaceX earlier this month won a $149 million contract from the Defense Department’s Space Development Agency to build four satellites to detect and track ballistic and

A linear accelerator with the portal dosimetry panel (EPID) deployed. (Courtesy: Murillo Bellezzo, Maastro Clinic) Radiation therapy is a complex procedure, with a series of equipment and dosimetry checks performed before every treatment to ensure its safety and accuracy. However, there’s still potential for errors to occur during the actual radiation delivery, such as changes

“We’re discussing with the Air Force the path forward for certification,” said Megan Mitchell, Blue Origin’s director of government and legislative affairs.  WASHINGTON — The Air Force in August selected United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as its launch providers for the next five years. Blue Origin competed for the job but lost and, as a

HELSINKI — Chinese large state-owned enterprise CASIC laid out a new set of commercial space plans for the next five years at a conference Monday. The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC) outlined plans for developing launch services, satellite constellations and a reusable space plane at the 6th China International Commercial Aerospace Forum, which

Star struck: Betelgeuse’s sudden drop in brightness, dubbed the “great dimming”, has enthralled astronomers since it was first observed late last year (Courtesy: ESO/M. Montargès et al.) An international team of astronomers has proposed a telescope to monitor the bright star Betelgeuse to provide clues about the cause of its sudden drop in brightness. The

SAN FRANCISCO – Orbital Sidekick is speeding up its campaign to build and launch a constellation of six hyperspectral imaging satellites thanks to a $16 million U.S. government contract announced Oct. 15. The government funding, which Orbital Sidekick matched with private investment, comes from the U.S. Air Force commercial investment group AFVentures’s Strategic Financing program

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched another set of Starlink satellites Oct. 18 as the investigation into another Falcon 9 launch abort more than two weeks ago continues. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 8:25 a.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the payload of

Emmy Noether: a new book celebrates the life of the mathematician. (Courtesy: Kids Can Press) Tuesday was Ada Lovelace Day, which celebrates achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Named after the 19th-century polymath Ada Lovelace, the annual initiative also seeks to engage with the challenges of attracting more women into STEM

SAN FRANCISCO — AAC Clyde Space announced plans Oct. 15 to acquire SpaceQuest, a satellite technology developer based in Fairfax, Virginia, for $8.4 million, pending the approval of shareholders and the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Luis Gomes, AAC Clyde Space CEO, and Craig Clark, AAC Clyde Space chief strategy officer,

WASHINGTON — NASA has awarded more than $400 million in contracts to both demonstrate technologies needed for future lunar exploration and to send an ice-drilling payload to the south pole of the moon. NASA announced Oct. 16 that it awarded a task order worth $47 million to Intuitive Machines, one of 14 companies in the

MRI biomarker: objectively segmented diffuse white matter abnormality (red) in the periventricular white matter displayed in sagittal (A), coronal (B), and axial orientations (C) in a 26 weeks’ gestation very preterm infant. (Courtesy: Nehal Parikh) A new software quantification tool has been developed by researchers in the US for analyzing white-matter abnormalities in very preterm

One of the most anticipated announcements is the official name of Space Force members WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force plans to make “a lot of announcements” during the month of December as the service approaches its one-year anniversary, Deputy Chief of Space Operations Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said Oct. 16. “We’re going to

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration released Oct. 15 the final version of updated commercial launch and reentry regulations, although those in industry say the regulatory reform process is far from over. The FAA released the final version of its Streamlined Launch and Reentry Licensing Requirements, or SLR2, regulations on its website, with formal publication

Zhifeng Ren, director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH. Credit: University of Houston With the world’s reserves of light oil diminishing, oil companies are increasingly turning to heavier varieties – which make up 70% of global oil reserves – to meet rising energy demands. Existing extraction technologies for heavy oil are, however, inefficient,

WASHINGTON — NASA is planning a hotfire test of the core stage of the Space Launch System in the middle of November, a schedule it says keeps it on track for its first launch late next year. During an Oct. 13 media teleconference, officials with NASA, Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne said they are making good