Kayhan raises $7 million and offers autonomous traffic-coordination service
SAN FRANCISCO –Kayhan Space raised $7 million in an extension to the spaceflight safety startup’s seed round and unveiled an autonomous space-traffic coordination framework.
India to launch test of Gaganyaan crew capsule’s emergency escape system this year
After successful robotic missions to study the sun and the moon, India is making progress toward its delayed human spaceflight program, which now aims to send three astronauts to low Earth orbit (LEO) before the end of 2024.
Virgin Galactic to launch next space tourist mission on Oct. 5
There will be three space tourists aboard, one apiece from the U.S., the U.K. and Pakistan. Galactic 04 will therefore break new ground: Nobody from Pakistan has made it to the final frontier before, according to Virgin Galactic
SpaceX to offer mid-inclination smallsat rideshare launches
During a presentation at the 37th Annual Small Satellite Conference Aug. 9, Jarrod McLachlan, director of rideshare sales at SpaceX, said the company will start launching a series of missions dubbed “Bandwagon” that will complement its existing Transporter line of rideshare missions.
BAE Systems to acquire Ball Aerospace for $5.5 billion
WASHINGTON — BAE Systems, a defense and security conglomerate based in the United Kingdom, announced Aug. 17 it intends to acquire Ball Aerospace for $5.5 billion.
Hubble images a museum of galaxies, and some are gravitationally warped (photo)
No matter how often the Hubble Space Telescope provides us with mind-numbing views of our universe, the excitement of seeing a new one always feels fresh. Such is the case for an image released by NASA on August 18, 2023.
Odds of ‘strong’ El Niño now over 95%, with ocean temperatures to ‘substantially exceed’ last big warming event
This year’s El Niño may drive ocean temperatures to “substantially exceed” those recorded during the last strong event in early 2016, scientists have warned.
How many potentially dangerous asteroids narrowly miss Earth each year?
Asteroids are chunks of rock left over from the formation of our Solar System. Approximately half a billion asteroids with sizes greater than four metres in diameter orbit the Sun, travelling through our Solar System at speeds up to about 30 kilometres per second – about the same speed as Earth.
NASA flew a modified U-2 spy plane into thunderstorms to study super-energetic gamma-rays
An international group of researchers captured ‘the most detailed’ data on gamma-rays and thunderclouds ever.
Fountains of diamonds erupt from Earth’s center as supercontinents break up
Diamonds form deep in Earth’s crust, approximately 93 miles (150 kilometers) down. They are brought up to the surface very quickly in eruptions called kimberlites. These kimberlites travel at between 11 and 83 mph (18 to 133 km/h), and some eruptions may have created Mount Vesuvius-like explosions of gases and dust, said Thomas Gernon, a professor of Earth and climate science at the University of Southampton in England.
China’s rover maps 1,000 feet of hidden ‘structures’ deep below the dark side of the moon
Since it first landed in 2018, China’s Chang’e-4 — the first spacecraft to ever land on the far side of the moon — has been taking stunning panoramas of impact craters and sampling minerals from the moon’s mantle. Now, the spacecraft has enabled scientists to visualize the layer cake of structures that comprise the upper 1,000 feet (300 meters) of the moon’s surface in finer detail than ever before.
Turns out you can transmit sound in a vacuum, just not very far
For the first time, scientists have shown that sound can travel through the emptiness of a vacuum. However, the rule-breaking trick requires specific circumstances and can only be carried out over extremely small distances.
Gravitational wave detectors on the moon could be more sensitive than those on Earth
Scientists developing more sensitive next-generation gravitational wave detectors struggle with technical challenges that might be easily overcome by putting such detectors on the moon. Here is why a gravitational wave observatory on Earth’s natural companion might be a good idea.
James Webb Space Telescope offers a mesmerizing look at the Ring Nebula (photos)
Approximately 2,200 light-years from where you’re sitting lie the Cheerio-shaped remains of a dying star — remnants that form a structure famously known as the Ring Nebula. And on Monday (Aug. 21), scientists announced the James Webb Space Telescope has struck gold once again, earning a rather beautiful new view on this iconic cosmic halo.