Italy’s post-pandemic space industry boost
TAMPA, Fla. — An Italian Earth observation project funded by pandemic relief euros has ordered at least 34 satellites and a pair of Vega launches in recent months.
China to hunt for Earth-like planets with formation-flying telescopes
The Miyin project envisions sending four light-collecting telescopes and a beam combiner to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2. Flying in formation, the spacecraft will use interferometric techniques to provide high angular resolution mid-infrared observations to directly image and characterize exoplanets around stars up to 65 light-years away.
SpaceX to take over West Coast launch pad previously used by ULA
WASHINGTON — SpaceX is getting a second launch pad on the West Coast after gaining approval to lease Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, a historic site previously occupied by United Launch Alliance.
Spain’s Satlantis expands into thermal imagery with UK investment
TAMPA, Fla. — Spanish Earth observation satellite provider Satlantis has bought a majority stake in British university spin-out SuperSharp to expand into the thermal imaging market.
Spaceport Cornwall expands facilities following Virgin Orbit failure
TAMPA, Fla. — Spaceport Cornwall, which provided the runway for Virgin Orbit’s failed launch from the U.K. in January, opened a new operations facility April 27 to attract more businesses in the wake of its flagship customer’s bankruptcy.
Russia commits to ISS extension to 2028
WASHINGTON — The Russian government has agreed to continue participation in the International Space Station to at least 2028, the last partner to agree to an extension of the station’s operations.
Orienspace of China targets first launch in second half of the year
The Gravity-1 rocket will launch from a mobile sea platform developed as part of sea launch facilities developed at Haiyang in Shandong province during the second half of 2023, CEO Yao Song said in a mid-April meeting with provincial government leaders. Earlier announcements point to a fourth quarter launch.
How do you create lunar gravity in a plane? A veteran zero-G pilot explains
BORDEAUX, FRANCE – Parabolic flight pilots are a rare breed. There are only eight of them in Europe capable of sharing the aircraft’s controls during these nerve-wracking series of up-and-down maneuvers that create brief spells of weightlessness and reduced gravity conditions. These aviators include the cream of the crop of Europe’s military and test pilots and even one active astronaut. Probably the most experienced of these magnificent eight is Eric Delesalle, the head pilot at Bordeaux-based company Novespace, a spin-off from French space agency CNES and Europe’s only provider of parabolic flights for scientific, and sometimes entertainment purposes.
Moonquakes could ‘smooth out’ the surfaces of Jupiter and Saturn’s icy moons
Moonquakes may be be smoothing out the surfaces of moons orbiting gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, new research has revealed. The findings could solve a long-standing mystery regarding why many of these icy moons have such smooth terrain.
Musk predicts next Starship launch in a “couple months”
WASHINGTON — SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said the first integrated test flight of his company’s Starship vehicle met his expectations despite a cascading series of engine failures and other malfunctions that eventually caused the rocket to lose control.
Lunar eclipses 2023: When, where & how to see them
The next lunar eclipse will be a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 5 and will be visible across parts of Africa, Asia and Australia.
ESA troubleshooting JUICE radar antenna
WASHINGTON — A radar antenna on a European mission to Jupiter has yet to fully deploy after launch, although project officials say they still have plenty of options to fix the problem.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches first ViaSat-3 satellite
TAMPA, Fla. — SpaceX launched the Americas-focused ViaSat-3 broadband satellite on a Falcon Heavy rocket April 30 following delays partly caused by severe weather that included lightning and tornado warnings.
Jupiter moon Europa’s buried ocean may alter rotation of its icy shell
The vast, swirling ocean within Jupiter’s moon Europa may be affecting the rotation of its icy crust, scientists say.