NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has started testing robots that would gather rock and sediment samples from Mars and deliver them back to Earth. Tests are being performed on the lander and rocket that will be used for the Mars Sample Return campaign. Specifically, scientists and engineers from JPL are fine-tuning the components to allow them […]
NASA has introduced a new 3D visualization tool that can give viewers real-time information about asteroids and comets that approach Earth’s orbit. The Eyes on Asteroids website gives users a live update on what is orbiting the Earth and what new objects the space agency has spotted. Individuals can also tap or click on a […]
The U.S. Space Command is looking to transform its service affiliated component commands into functional components in a bid to unify military space functions. Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, USSPACECOM Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. John Shaw highlighted the need for capability integration to leverage what each service […]
The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which has passed the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate, includes a provision that would require the Department of Defense to submit a report on the military’s use of commercial satellite communications services. Congress is particularly interested in the DOD’s use of satellites in non-geostationary orbits, including […]
The Space Development Agency plans to acquire new satellites to bolster the Department of Defense’s ability to track incoming ballistic missiles. Specifically, the agency is looking to buy 28 satellites for the constellation known as Tracking Layer Tranche 1, envisioned to form a long chain of missile-tracking space sensors, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. In a draft […]
NASA has awarded APR Consulting its potential 10-year, $500 million Temporary Support and Services contract. Work will support the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Aaron Stone, chief operating officer of APR Consulting, said the contract will allow the company to support JPL’s efforts to support the development of spacecraft and space-based hardware. […]
NASA launched an X-ray astronomy satellite on Dec. 9 aimed at studying high-energy objects in space. The Ball Aerospace-built Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer spacecraft took off via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A joint effort with the Italian space agency ASI, the IXPE mission is aimed at measuring […]
The Department of Defense has tapped BAE Systems to qualify a more compact, new generation of integrated circuit technology that will be used in space. Ricardo Gonzalez, director of space systems at the Manassas, Virginia-based company, said transitioning to a smaller IC architecture will create room for additional transistors per chip and reduce power consumption […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration‘s next-generation asteroid impact monitoring system has gone online. The system is designed to improve the agency’s ability to assess the impact risk of asteroids that can come close to Earth. To date, nearly 28,000 near-Earth asteroids have been identified by survey telescopes that continually scan the night sky, adding […]
Colorado-headquartered United Launch Alliance on Dec. 7 launched an Atlas V rocket as part of the Space Test Program-3 mission for the U.S. Space Force. The $1.1 billion STP-3 mission flew to geosynchronous Earth orbit on the Atlas V 551 rocket with five strap-on solid boosters, carrying classified national security payloads and a National Aeronautics […]
