SPACENEWS

ESA / Keeping information secure in today’s interconnected world is becoming ever more important, so ESA is supporting efforts to ensure that future communications are kept confidential. A new generation of supercomputing power, delivered by quantum computers, is currently being developed that will be almost unimaginably powerful at cracking the most complex problems upon which Read More

ESA A series of fascinating new learning resources are enabling teachers in the UK to encourage the next generation of climate pioneers. The freely available lesson plans and activities – which add to ESA’s portfolio of space-powered climate learning materials – were highlighted at the Climate Change Teacher Conference, a live-streamed online summit for British Read More

May 26th 2021 A gorgeous blue sky on time liftoff at 2:59 PM EDT or 18:59 UTC for SpaceX and their 28th V1.0 Starlink mission carrying another batch of 60 internet satellites which now makes 1,666 in the SpaceX constellation. First stage booster B-1063.2 made a perfect landing on the autonomous drone ship JRTI Just Read More

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“The Company or Virgin Galactic”) today completed its third spaceflight and the first ever spaceflight from Spaceport America, New Mexico. Today’s flight sees New Mexico become the third US state to launch humans into space. VSS Unity achieved a speed of Mach 3 after being released from the mothership, Read More

ESA With alarm bells ringing about the rapid demise of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, satellite data have revealed how the intrusion of warmer Atlantic waters is reducing ice regrowth in the winter. In addition, with seasonal ice more unpredictable than ever, ESA’s SMOS and CryoSat satellites are being used to improve sea-ice forecasts, Read More

ESA / Lunar Eclipse Webcast 26 May 11:30 CEST start Watch ESA’s real-time coverage of the total lunar eclipse live at midday on Wednesday, 26 May, including fascinating insights into Earth’s enigmatic satellite, the Moon. Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon is engulfed by Earth’s shadow and the only sunlight that reaches its surface passes Read More

ESA A bold proposal to create a commercially viable constellation of lunar satellites has taken a step closer. Two consortia of companies will be supported by ESA to devise detailed definitions of how to provide telecommunications and navigation services for missions to the Moon, under the agency’s Moonlight initiative. Such a lasting lunar link will Read More

…on Tuesday May 18th 2021 from SLC-41 Cape Canaveral Florida! May 17th 2021 Monday ULA had to scrub the launch attempt during the Centaur liquid oxygen (LOX) chilldown operations, the team identified an anomalous system response that could not be resolved within the launch window from a faulty temperature sensor on the ground side. Liftoff Read More

ESA / First Solar Orbiter movies showing coronal mass ejections (CMEs) A pair of CMEs were detected by multiple instruments during February’s close flyby of the Sun CMEs are eruptions of particles from the solar atmosphere that blast out into the Solar System and have the potential to trigger space weather at Earth Solar Orbiter Read More

The launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V carrying the SBIRS GEO Flight 5 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has been scrubbed. During Centaur liquid oxygen (LOX) chilldown operations, the team identified an anomalous system response that could not be resolved within the launch window. Launch is Read More