SpaceX’s Falcon 9 completed the delivery of NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem spacecraft into a sun-synchronous orbit on Thursday. The NASA spacecraft carries instruments to study ocean colors as it monitors biological activity, including phytoplankton, clouds and aerosols, in the atmosphere. The PACE development, which started 20 years ago, encountered multiple bumps along the […]
Greece has become the 35th country to commit to a set of principles guiding international cooperation on space exploration. Giorgos Gerapetritis, the Greek foreign affairs minister, signed the Artemis Accords on Friday during a strategic dialogue with the U.S. Department of State, NASA said Friday. According to Gerapetritis, the Accords will guide international collaboration leading […]
The Space Systems Command is eyeing ways to expand the Space Force’s GPS spacecraft constellation and is seeking industry ideas for launching demonstration satellites rapidly at low cost. According to a request for information posted on Sam .gov, the SSC wants industry inputs about GPS satellite systems on medium-Earth orbit, designed with lifespans of three […]
Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, is working with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman to explore the possibility of the U.S. Space Force having its own National Guard unit. The 2024 defense authorization bill mandates the Department of Defense to carry out a […]
NASA will deploy the Lunar Node-1 experiment when it launches the second Commercial Lunar Payload Service in mid-February. LN-1 is a cube satellite-sized radio beacon that supports precise geolocation and navigation observation for landers, space infrastructure and astronauts. It can also be used to aid orbital maneuvers and support spacecraft landing on the moon. LN-1 […]
Ball Aerospace has delivered Space Systems Command’s Weather System Follow-on Microwave satellite, one of the two satellites it is making for the U.S. Space Force’s next-generation operational environmental satellite system. Thai Sheridan, vice president and general manager for military space, said the satellite offers a new level of environmental intelligence for military forces across all […]
NASA has selected the first 11 projects under its Science Mission Directorate’s Bridge Program for new research partnerships between the agency and U.S. institutions with no previous NASA funding. The new program seeks to improve the diversity, inclusion and accessibility of the science and engineering communities. According to NASA, the initiative will usher in new […]
NASA’s Radio Frequency Mass Gauge, designed to measure fuel floating inside a spacecraft, will be tested via the IM-1 lunar landing mission, which has a reserved multi-day launch window in mid-February. The mission provides the opportunity for the first long-duration test on a standalone spacecraft for the gauge, which depends on radio waves and tank […]
Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines will launch its Nova-C lunar lander in February, carrying NASA’s Navigation Doppler Lidar along with other payloads. Developed by the Langley Research Center, the NDL is designed to support spacecraft landing on extraterrestrial surfaces using light detection and ranging technology instead of traditional radar-based landing systems, potentially improving accuracy. As […]
Joseph Pelfrey has assumed the directorship of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Marshall, with 7,000 employees and contractors, manages a roughly $5 billion portfolio of human spaceflight, science and technology development programs and New Orleans’ Michoud Assembly Facility, which makes major components of the Artemis program’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, […]
