Science

SEATTLE — NASA has selected Axiom Space to carry out the fourth in a series of private astronaut missions to the International Space Station in 2024. NASA announced Aug. 3 it selected the Houston-based company for the mission, currently scheduled for no earlier than August 2024. The four-person mission, flying on a SpaceX Crew Dragon

Nina Heinig is a materials researcher who manages the Waterloo Advanced Technology Laboratory (WATLab), which is a multidisciplinary materials characterization and fabrication research centre in Waterloo, Canada. She tells Hamish Johnston about WATLab’s instruments and services and how they are used by researchers in a wide range of fields Multidisciplinary characterization Nina Heinig at WATLab

TAMPA, Fla. — SES needs to conduct extra tests before launching its next pair of O3b mPower satellites, the operator said Aug. 3, to investigate a glitch that is sporadically tripping off power modules on its first four in medium Earth orbit. Newly appointed CEO Ruy Pinto said the issue is limited to some of

SEATTLE — Northrop Grumman is planning upgrades to its Cygnus cargo vehicle, such as increased payload capacity, to support both the International Space Station and future commercial space stations. In presentations at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference Aug. 2, company representatives outlined efforts to enhance the capabilities of the decade-old spacecraft to

A visualization of spatial modulations in the superconducting pairing potential of UTe2, a recently-discovered topological superconductor. (Courtesy: Nature 618, 921–927 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05919-7) Researchers in the US, UK and Ireland have identified a new crystalline superconducting state in uranium ditelluride (UTe2). The existence of this state challenges the conventional picture of superconductivity and could have implications

WASHINGTON — The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity selected four vendors to develop technologies and new approaches for tracking small debris objects in space. A-Tech, Advanced Space, SRI International, and West Virginia University Research Corporation won four-year contracts of undisclosed value for the Space Debris Identification and Tracking (SINTRA) program. The four vendors were selected

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