Science

AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate will study the physics of very low Earth orbit, and will pursue sensor technologies for cislunar space WASHINGTON — The Air Force Research Laboratory announced Sept. 2 it will pursue two new space experiments — one will test the performance of satellite instruments in low orbits and the other is to

WASHINGTON — NASA’s Artemis program of human lunar exploration can help pave the way for human Mars missions, according to a new report, although some tweaks to those plans may be required. The report, released by the space exploration advocacy group Explore Mars during its virtual Humans to Mars Summit, is based on a workshop

Chemistry set: Google’s Sycamore processor. (Courtesy: Erik Lucero/Google) Simulating chemical processes is one of the most promising applications of quantum computers, but problems with noise have prevented nascent quantum systems from outperforming conventional computers on such tasks. Now, researchers at Google have taken a major step towards this goal by using the most powerful quantum

WASHINGTON — SpaceX on Sept. 3 launched 60 Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket while disclosing early testing results from the constellation for which it has now launched 713 satellites.  Falcon 9 lifted off at 8:46 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and deployed the

WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab announced Sept. 3 that it has placed its first Photon satellite into orbit, demonstrating the spacecraft’s technologies and the company’s ability to provide end-to-end space solutions. The satellite, called “First Light,” was launched as the kick stage of the Electron rocket that placed Capella Space’s Sequoia radar imaging satellite into orbit

Busted: microscope image of simulated lunar dust. (Courtesy: IMPACT lab/CU Boulder) The Moon is a dusty place, and this could be a real problem for future colonists. “Lunar dust sticks to all kinds of surfaces — spacesuits, solar panels, helmets — and it can damage equipment,” explains Xu Wang, who is a research associate in

WASHINGTON — The White House released a new space policy directive Sept. 4 intended to improve cybersecurity of space systems. Space Policy Directive (SPD) 5 is billed as the first comprehensive government policy related to cybersecurity for satellites and related systems, and outlines a set of best practices, but not firm requirements, that agencies and

By: Hannah Pell The Starting Line As I write this, twenty cars are sitting at the starting line of the Formula One (F1) 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone based in the UK. The drivers have just finished their formation lap, and the $10 million engines are idling at roughly 5000 rpm (for comparison, the

HELSINKI — China launched an experimental reusable spacecraft Friday following months of low-key preparations at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. A Long March 2F launch vehicle delivered the spacecraft into orbit following launch at an unspecified time.  Chinese state media Xinhua reported mission success just under three hours after the opening of the launch window

Freezing test. Credit: Nguyen Ba Duc Researchers in Vietnam have developed a transparent nanostructure with anti-icing properties that could keep objects such as aircraft wings and wind turbines ice-free in cold, damp conditions. The material, which is inspired by the structure of moth eyes, consists of a quartz substrate coated with a monolayer of nano-sized

New CSIS report looks at three key governance issues: orbital debris mitigation, rendezvous and proximity operations, and insurance requirements WASHINGTON — Commercial and government activities in space keep growing and yet nations are making little progress in establishing rules and norms of behavior, says the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a new report

WASHINGTON — European launch provider Arianespace conducted a successful return-to-flight mission of Vega, its light-lift rocket, on Sept. 2, completing the vehicle’s first launch in 14 months.  Vega lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:51 p.m. Eastern, carrying 53 satellites to low Earth orbit in the debut of Arianespace’s

Biggest yet: illustration of the gravitational waves given off by the pair of black holes just before they merged. (Courtesy: MIT) Gravitational waves from the most massive merger of two black holes ever seen have been detected by the LIGO–Virgo observatories. Dubbed GW190521, the event was spotted in May 2019 and involves the creation of

WASHINGTON — Newcomer satellite operator MonacoSat is close to ordering its second geostationary communications satellite, and could complete the process by year’s end, its chief executive said Tuesday.  “You cannot stop with one satellite, so now we are developing the new satellite,” Ilhami Aygün, CEO of MonacoSat, said during a Sept. 1 webinar for the

New research by the University of Oregon and partners at the United States Geologic Survey reveals the landscape dotted with 2835 volcanoes from Northern California to the border of Washington. This area is a center for volcanic activity due to the subducting Juan De Fuca plate which produces melt that rises up through the crust

The 2,400 Air Force space operators who are transferring to the Space Force are spread across 175 locations around the world WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force in the coming weeks will add more than 2,400 new members who agreed to leave the Air Force and volunteered to join the space service. With restrictions on

Three in one: photograph of a blue whirl flame. (Courtesy: University of Maryland) “Blue whirls” are small, spinning flames that were first spotted in 2016. Now computer simulations suggest that this soot-free mode of combustion involves three different flames. Joseph Chung, Xiao Zhang, Carolyn Kaplan and Elaine Oran at the University of Maryland came to this

DoD report: China intends to pursue ASAT weapons despite its rhetoric against the militarization of space. WASHINGTON — China is progressing with the development of missiles and electronic weapons that could target satellites in low and high orbits, the Pentagon says in a new report released Sept. 1. China already has operational ground-based missiles that