Science

WASHINGTON — Innovative Rocket Technologies, known as iRocket, has signed an agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory to jointly develop and test rocket propulsion hardware.  The New York-based startup, founded in 2018, develops rocket engines and plans to build a small launch vehicle. iRocket signed a four-year cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA,

Communication competition Organizers and winners of the 2023 MedPhys Slam. From left to right: Rachel Trevillian, Kelsey Bittinger, Jason Luce, Ellie Bacon, Aroon Pressram, Emilie Carpentier and Emily Thompson. (Courtesy: Sarah Aubert/AAPM STSC) Launched in 2018, the MedPhys Slam is now an established feature of the AAPM Annual Meeting. The popular session is a communication

TAMPA, Fla. — Small satellite builder Astro Digital plans to add an Astroscale docking plate to upcoming spacecraft to make it easier for them to use in-orbit services being developed by Astroscale and others. The companies said July 31 the first docking plate would be attached to an undisclosed satellite later this year for a

WASHINGTON — As the Senate advances a bill that would direct NASA to support missions to remove orbital debris, the agency is outlining the role it will take assisting the Commerce Department on a new space traffic coordination system. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Orbital Sustainability, or ORBITS, Act on a voice vote during

Data transmission by laser: The researchers tested data transmission by laser over 53 kilometres from the Jungfraujoch to the Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern. Courtesy: ETH Zürich Researchers in Switzerland have transmitted and received optical data at rates of more than 10 Tbit/s between an Alpine peak and an observatory at the University of Bern –

WASHINGTON — President Biden finally settled the drawn-out fight over the location of U.S. Space Command headquarters: It’s staying in Colorado Springs, and not moving to Huntsville, Alabama. Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder in a statement July 31 said Biden made the decision after considering the views of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other

SEOUL, South Korea — India successfully launched seven Singaporean satellites into low Earth orbit July 29 on its workhorse PSLV rocket. It was the nation’s sixth orbital launch of the year, which were all successful, and occurred two weeks after the launch of the Indian robotic lunar lander Chandrayaan-3, which is flying toward the lunar

Lots of potential: Abdul Manan Dar from Linköping University in Sweden examines an organic-based multielectrode array attached to a Venus flytrap (courtesy: Thor Balkhed/Linköping University) The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) was once described by Charles Darwin as “one of the most wonderful [plants] in the world”. Consisting of two lobes that attach together to form

WASHINGTON — Two crewed missions remain on track to launch to the International Space Station over the next month and a half after addressing technical issues that included a Soyuz coolant leak. At a July 25 briefing, NASA officials said they are planning the launch of the Crew-7 mission to the ISS no earlier than

WASHINGTON — Chris Kubasik, CEO of defense contractor L3Harris Technologies, on July 27 extended “a warm welcome to Aerojet’s team of over 5,000 employees who will soon become part of L3Harris.” After clearing regulatory approvals, L3Harris officially acquired Aerojet Rocketdyne, the last independent U.S. supplier of missile propulsion systems.  Aerojet Rocketdyne, headquartered in El Segundo,

Join the audience for a live webinar at 2 p.m. BST/3 p.m. CEST on 4 September 2023 for a full clinical report on the setup, commissioning, and clinical implementation of the RadCalc software Want to take part in this webinar? Join Dr Florian Kamp, head of medical physics at the University Hospital of Cologne, as

WASHINGTON — United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said he has “a bunch of questions” about the latest changes announced by the Space Force for the procurement of national security space launch services. Speaking on the CNBC “Manifest Space with Morgan Brennan” podcast that aired July 27, Bruno was asked to comment on the Space

TAMPA, Fla. — SpaceX launched EchoStar’s more than nine metric ton Jupiter-3 spacecraft July 28 and successfully dropped off the world’s heaviest commercial communications satellite in geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Maxar Technologies-built satellite lifted off on a dedicated Falcon Heavy at 11:04 p.m. Eastern from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, separating from the rocket about three

Time’s arrow: Researchers in Germany and the Netherlands have explored the relationship between thermodynamics (represented by the smashing glass) and quantum mechanics in a photonic quantum processor. (Courtesy: Florian Sterl/Sterltech Optics) Physicists in the Netherlands and Germany have shown that the theories of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics are both valid ways of describing the behaviour

WASHINGTON — Sierra Space won an Air Force contract to continue development of an engine that could be used in the upper stage of future launch vehicles. Colorado-based Sierra Space received a $22.6 million contract from the Air Force Test Center July 25 to mature the design of its VR35K-A engine. The contract will allow

WASHINGTON — Argentina signed the U.S.-led Artemis Accords outlining best practices for space exploration, part of a recent surge of countries joining the agreement. Daniel Filmus, Argentina’s minister for science, technology and innovation, signed the Artemis Accords in a ceremony July 27 at Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential office in Buenos Aires. Argentine President Alberto Fernández

Beamline innovation Vivek Maradia (left), Serena Psoroulas (right) and colleagues at PSI are developing a way to achieve higher doses and shorter treatment times for cancer patients undergoing proton therapy. (Courtesy: Paul Scherrer Institute/Markus Fischer) At the beginning of 2023 there were 89 proton therapy clinics worldwide (according to the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group). Proton

WASHINGTON — The next competition for a NASA line of planetary science missions could suffer a multi-year delay because of constrained budgets, an agency official said July 27. NASA has planned to release the announcement of opportunity, or AO, for the fifth New Frontiers mission in November, after releasing a draft version for public comment