NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft takes big step toward 2024 launch
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is one step closer to starting its journey to Jupiter’s icy moon.
Giant galaxy cluster collision triggers vast shock wave stretching over a million light-years long
The clash of two galaxy clusters in Abell 2146 is teaching astronomers about the kinds of “collisionless” shock waves that occur in our own solar system.
With Voyager 1 data mystery, NASA relies on slow, long-distance conversation
NASA’s Voyager 1 team is trying to work out why the spacecraft appears to be confused about its location in space, but the mission’s distance from Earth makes solving the issue challenging.
Impulse Space raises an additional $10 million for orbital transfer vehicles
PASADENA, Calif. — In-space transportation company Impulse Space, which raised $20 million in a seed round earlier this year, announced June 17 it raised another $10 million to help accelerate work on orbital transfer vehicles.
Astronomers want “strong finish” for SOFIA
In a June 15 statement, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) acknowledged the impending end of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing 747 with a 2.7-meter infrared telescope mounted in its fuselage. NASA announced April 28 an agreement with its partner on SOFIA, the German space agency DLR, to cease flight operations of SOFIA at the end of September. That announcement came a month after NASA’s fiscal year 2023 budget request proposed ending the project.
D-Orbit charts ambitious course for space logistics business
SAN FRANCISCO – Space logistics company D-Orbit announced a $2 million contract June 9 with the European Space Agency to upgrade production of its ION Satellite Carrier.
Op-ed | A new way to incentivize safer conditions for operating in space
The rising number of satellites launched in recent years, driven by the emergence of new actors and commercial satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit, has amplified concerns about preserving the long-term use of the space environment. Each year, the space industry sees record numbers of satellite launches, while not enough satellites are removed from already congested orbits at the end of their lives.
Arizona wildfire reaches some of famed Kitt Peak’s telescopes
Kitt Peak National Observatory, in the southern part of the state, includes more than two dozen telescopes and has hosted astronomers for more than six decades. But now the site is facing the Contreras Fire, which began on June 11 and has been steadily growing due to high winds and lots of dry vegetation.
Quadsat gets ESA funding for ready-to-fly antenna testing kits
TAMPA, Fla. — Danish startup Quadsat said June 16 it has secured European Space Agency funding to productize the drones it uses to calibrate and test satellite antennas.
Astronomers renew concerns about Starlink satellite brightness
PASADENA, Calif. — As SpaceX gears up for another launch of Starlink satellites, astronomers are concerned the company maybe backsliding in its efforts to reduce the brightness of those satellites.
South Korean rocket’s second launch rescheduled for June 21
SEOUL, South Korea — The second launch of South Korea’s first domestically built rocket is set for June 21, a delay of a week due to strong winds and a technical glitch.
NASA assigns two astronauts to Starliner test flight
PASADENA, Calif. — NASA has assigned two veteran astronauts to the first crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in the latest reshuffling of personnel assigned to the long-delayed mission.
Sierra Space to start astronaut training program
The company announced June 14 it was opening a commercial human spaceflight training center and astronaut training academy at its offices at the Kennedy Space Center. Janet Kavandi, a former NASA astronaut and president of Sierra Space, will lead the center.
ESA and NASA to cooperate on Earth science and lunar mission
After a meeting of the ESA Council in Noordwijk, Netherlands, NASA and ESA announced two new cooperative agreements. One, called the Framework Agreement for a Strategic Partnership in Earth System Science, outlines cooperation between the agencies on topics that include continuity of measurements and exchange of data. It builds upon a joint statement of intent the agencies signed in July 2021.
