Science

As one of the key experimentalists to conceptualize and then build one of the biggest experiments in history, Nobel-prize-winning physicist Rainer Weiss’s path to success is remarkable. Now aged 90 he talks to Sidney Perkowitz about his life and work, from the unexpected sources for scientific inspiration to the challenges of large-scale experiments Day to remember

SAN FRANCISCO – The launch of the next U.S. weather satellite is coming just in time to ensure the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has two healthy spacecraft making observations from polar orbit. NOAA is preparing to launch the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 on Nov. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The satellite,

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with four people on board is on its way to the International Space Station after a successful launch Oct. 5. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 12 p.m. Eastern after a routine countdown. The Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance

Why did a tiny leak bring down a hugely successful research reactor 25 years ago? Robert P Crease reveals the lessons we can learn Not forgotten The Brookhaven High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) was decommissioned on 15 November 1997. (Courtesy: Brookhaven National Laboratory) In 1997, exactly a quarter of a century ago, a productive scientific

Companies in the space domain awareness market are eager to work with the Space Force but need a clearer picture of future demand WASHINGTON — The head of U.S. Space Systems Command Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein has directed the command’s procurement offices to “buy what we can and only build what we must.”  One area

TAMPA, Fla. — British defense firm Qinetiq is selling its Belgian commercial satellite systems division to Redwire, a U.S.-based consolidator of space infrastructure. Redwire said Oct.3 it plans to buy QinetiQ Space, which supplies small satellites and other instruments for European end-to-end space missions, for 32 million euros ($31.4 million). It is Redwire’s first acquisition

Carol Davenport explains why soft skills are as essential as technical knowhow when it comes to a successful career in physics (Courtesy: iStock/Mikhail Seleznev) Applying for a job, a placement or an internship can be a challenging and stressful task. Even if you’re successful, you’ll still have to face an interview, where a potential employer

KAHULUI, Hawaii — As SpaceX prepares to launch a new crew to the International Space Station from one pad at the Kennedy Space Center, it is starting work to upgrade another pad at Cape Canaveral as a backup. NASA and SpaceX completed the launch readiness review Oct. 3 for the Crew-5 mission, currently scheduled for

The sale of Link 16 will allow Viasat to invest in its satellite business and increase its focus on space-based networks WASHINGTON — L3Harris Technologies has agreed to acquire Viasat’s tactical data link business for $1.96 billion, the companies announced Oct. 3. Satellite operator Viasat is selling the portion of its military communications business known

Sarah Tesh reviews Swarm Rising and Swarm Enemy by Tim Peake and Steve Cole Digital drove: Tim Peake and Steve Cole’s aliens gave up their physical form to exist as a swarm of data. (Courtesy: iStock/janiecbros) Maybe it’s the massive rockets shooting out of the atmosphere, or the idea of floating in zero gravity while

KIHEI, Hawaii — NASA will wait until at least the middle of November before attempting another launch of the Space Launch System on the Artemis 1 mission, citing the impacts from Hurricane Ian. NASA announced late Sept. 30 that inspections of Kennedy Space Center facilities after the passage of the storm a day earlier turned

KIHEI, Hawaii — Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha launch vehicle reached orbit on its second launch Oct. 1, more than a year after the vehicle’s first launch failed. The Alpha rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:01 a.m. Eastern. The rocket’s upper stage achieved orbit nearly eight minutes later.

Cause for concern: Future observatories such as the Giant Magellan Telescope could be curtailed due to the impact of climate change (Courtesy: GMTO Cooperation) Climate change will negatively impact the quality of ground-based astronomical observations and is likely to increase time lost due to deteriorating site conditions. That is the conclusion of an analysis of

Congress mandated the transfer in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency, formed inside the Pentagon in 2019 to help accelerate the use of commercial space technology, was officially transferred to the U.S. Space Force on Oct. 1. Congress mandated the transfer in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act due

The companies will perform a Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission in 2023 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Sept. 30 it selected Firefly Space Transport Services and Millennium Space Systems to conduct a demonstration of a rapid-response space mission to low Earth orbit in 2023. The companies will perform a Tactically Responsive Space

With the 2022 Nobel prizes due to be announced, Physics World editors looks at the physicists who’ve won prizes in fields other than their own. Michael Banks examines how Joseph Rotblat bagged the Nobel Peace Prize Nuclear fallout: physicist Joseph Rotblat campaigned for most of his life against the use of nuclear weapons (courtesy: Pugwash Conferences on Science

WAILEA, Hawaii — The Federal Communications Commission’s adoption of a new rule for disposal of low Earth orbit satellites is well-intentioned but pushing the limits of its authority, says the director of the Office of Space Commerce. In a talk at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference here Sept. 30, Richard