Science

WASHINGTON — Rocket propulsion startup Ursa Major confirmed on June 9 that it has laid off workers as it reorganizes the company.  Ursa Major is a venture-funded maker of rocket engines for small and medium launch vehicles. The company was founded in 2015 and manufacturers engines in Berthoud, Colorado. The company has won several U.S.

Physicist and creativity coach Dennis Sherwood gives Hamish Johnston his top tips on generating novel ideas and stimulating creativity in science Bright ideas As a physicist, you may need to come up with a “big idea” for your research project, to get a grant or to persuade a company to finance it. (Courtesy: iStock/Anastassiia) Most

Dale Skran is the National Space Society’s chief operating officer and senior vice president. Dale worked at Bell Labs for 17 years and held executive positions at Ascend Communications, Sonus Networks, and CMware, Inc.  David Huntsman is a Space Frontier Foundation member who serves on the Alliance for Space Development’s board of directors. The Outer

WASHINGTON — A bill introduced June 9 by a group of Republican House members would turn the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration into an independent agency, but keep its commercial space responsibilities in the Commerce Department. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and 13 other Republican

One they made earlier: micro model of the Belle II experiment at KEK, Japan made using LEGO blocks. (Courtesy: KIT ETP Belle II team) Only last month we had a design for a LEGO quantum computer and now comes a micro model of the Belle II experiment at the KEK particle-physics lab in Japan. The miniature

WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Force deputy chief of space operations Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt during a recent trip to Germany and the United Kingdom heard a consistent message from allies: They don’t expect the United States to bear all the costs of protecting satellites from cyber attacks and other threats.  In an interview with SpaceNews,

WASHINGTON — NASA and congressional officials are still grappling with the implications of a debt-ceiling agreement that enacts spending caps, but acknowledged it likely means the agency will get less money than it requested for 2024. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, signed into law by President Biden June 3, suspends the debt ceiling through

In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast the instrument scientist Roland den Hartog talks about the challenges of deploying superconductor-based detectors on satellites to do X-ray astronomy. Based at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) in Leiden, he also explains how astronomers use X-rays to observe the “hot and energetic universe”. This

WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office in its annual assessment of Pentagon procurements provided an update on the Space Force’s satellite programs and found a few red flags.  The watchdog agency in the report released June 8 examined 101 of the Pentagon’s largest programs.  With regard to satellite procurements, it warned that the geostationary missile-warning

SAN FRANCISCO – Earth observation startup Albedo is expanding its staff and facilities in Colorado. In preparation for launching its first satellite into very low Earth orbit to collect high resolution optical and thermal imagery in 2025, Albedo is hiring. “We’ve gone from the low 20s at the beginning of the year to over 40

Acoustic specialists at the global defence and security company QinetiQ use their knowledge and expertise to minimize the noise made by ships, submarines and other maritime platforms Silent waters: acoustic specialists at QinetiQ combine computational analysis and simulation with experimental test and evaluation to reduce the sound produced by submarines and other maritime platforms. (iStockphoto/imaginima)

SAN FRANCISCO – Nuview, a startup planning to establish a constellation of light detection and ranging (lidar) satellites, announced investments from U.S. and European venture capital funds as well as actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio. “We see a lot of opportunity in collaborating with Mr. DiCaprio over the next several years in raising awareness both

WASHINGTON — After a recent downturn, there are signs of a rebound in space investment, but analysts and investors see a new focus on smaller, more selective rounds. Investment in the space sector has fallen in recent quarters due to factors such as the rise in interest rates and the poor performance of some companies

Quantum microscopists: Postdoctoral researcher Zhe He and team leader Lihong Wang in the laboratory. (Courtesy: Caltech) Since the inception of quantum mechanics, physicists have sought to understand its repercussions for our universe. One of the theory’s stranger consequences is entanglement: the phenomenon whereby a pair or group of particles becomes connected in such a manner

TAMPA, Fla. — Apogeo Space, an Italian venture with plans for nearly 100 tiny satellites for connecting remote monitoring devices, said June 5 it had signed a deal to deploy nine picosatellites next year with an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) from Momentus. The satellites are due to launch on a Vigoride tug slated to join

WASHINGTON — An independent review has concluded NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission is back on track for a launch this October after software problems, exacerbated by institutional issues at JPL, delayed its launch last year. NASA released June 5 a report by the independent review board (IRB) commissioned by the agency last year after Psyche missed

Money matters: Sony Innovation Fund along with other investment groups have provided $42m to the UK quantum computing firm Quantum Motion (courtesy: Quantum Motion) The Japanese electronics giant Sony has announced its first steps into quantum computing by joining other investment groups in a £42m venture in the UK quantum computing firm Quantum Motion. The

SAN FRANCISCO – EOS Data Analytics is acquiring imagery from the first satellite in the Silicon Valley company’s agriculture-focused constellation. The satellite, built by Dragonfly Aerospace of South Africa, also served as the first on-orbit propulsion demonstration by Ukrainian startup Space Electric Thruster Systems. EOSDA, Dragonfly and Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) are part of