Astronomers want “strong finish” for SOFIA

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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.

Op-ed | A new way to incentivize safer conditions for operating in space

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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.

ESA and NASA to cooperate on Earth science and lunar mission

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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.