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Category: space – Page 325

Researchers devise new membrane mirrors for large space-based telescopes

Researchers have developed a new way to produce and shape large, high-quality mirrors that are much thinner than the primary mirrors previously used for telescopes deployed in space. The resulting mirrors are flexible enough to be rolled up and stored compactly inside a launch vehicle.

“Launching and deploying space telescopes is a complicated and costly procedure,” said Sebastian Rabien from Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany. “This new approach—which is very different from typical mirror production and polishing procedures—could help solve weight and packaging issues for telescope mirrors, enabling much larger, and thus more sensitive, telescopes to be placed in orbit.”

In the journal Applied Optics, Rabien reports successful fabrication of parabolic membrane mirror prototypes up to 30 cm in diameter. These mirrors, which could be scaled up to the sizes needed in space telescopes, were created by using chemical vapor deposition to grow membrane mirrors on a rotating liquid inside a vacuum chamber. He also developed a method that uses heat to adaptively correct imperfections that might occur after the mirror is unfolded.

How can we make the space sector more sustainable?

Remark: This article is from The Conversation “En Anglais” written by Victor DOS SANTOS PAULINO & Nonthapat PULSIRI (V&N) — Experts from Toulouse Business School and The SIRIUS Chair (France)

When talking about space, one might think about the stars one sees at night or a good sci-fi film. But space is also crowded with satellites, spacecrafts and astronauts, whose missions can last anywhere from several days to months. Meanwhile, 8,216 unmanned satellites revolve around Earth’s orbits to improve our daily lives. Communication satellites contribute to enhancing Internet access in regions deprived of infrastructure (so-called “white areas”); meteorology satellites have become essential for weather forecasts, while navigation satellites (including GPS) are crucial for current and future transportation needs such as automatic driving vehicles.

Technological advances in the sector have unlocked many new business opportunities. The industry can now launch constellations of thousand satellites to reach corners of the earth as it had never before (e.g., Starlink), while new markets such as space mining and space tourism are steadily growing. National champions (including the United States and France) have also framed the space sector as a top economic priority. It is thought the technological benefits accrued by companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin or OneWeb, launched by billionaires such as Elon Musk, will also be able to trickle down to non-space sectors such as the energy or freight industries.

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Time-Bending Experiment: Physicists Reveal Quantum Nature of Light in a New Dimension

Imperial physicists have performed the double-slit experiment in time, using materials that can change optical properties in femtoseconds, providing insights into the nature of light and paving the way for advanced materials that can control light in both space and time.

Imperial physicists have recreated the famous double-slit experiment, which showed light behaving as particles and a wave, in time rather than space.

In a groundbreaking development, Imperial College London.

NASA funds cutting-edge Space pharmacy, futuristic asteroid defense projects

Each project will get up to $600,000 over two years to continue developing the concepts.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Innovative Advanced Concepts program has chosen six research teams to receive Phase II funds.

“NASA’s story is one of [the] barriers broken, and technologies transformed to support our missions and benefit all of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Christopher Morrison/NASA

These initiatives include a scheme to allow astronauts to manufacture their own medications in orbit and a plan to eliminate asteroids that pose a hazard to Earth, according to a press release by the U.S. Space Agency.

Boyd Bushman On Antigravity

Former Lockheed Martin Skunkworks Senior Scientist comes out about Antigravity Propulsion Devices and how they tie into what is known as “Singularity” which allow you to move anywhere within the universe instantaneously.

Humans have this technology, and have had for more than 50 years.

Nine-Year-Old Child Genius Stuns NASA Scientists While Visiting The Space Telescope Science Institute

Child protégée, David Balogun, continues to shock the world with his incredible genius.

The nine-year-old is one of the youngest high school graduates, receiving his diploma from Reach Cyber Charter School in Harrisburg, PA. After graduation, Balogun was invited by NASA and the Maryland-based Space Telescope Science Institute to visit the James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center in Baltimore. His story made headlines and Hannah Braun, the institute’s spokesperson, said the team just had to meet him.

“I had actually seen David’s story all over social media and thought, ‘Wow, I’d bet he’d find a trip to Webb’s Mission Operations Center exciting!’” Braun said to Atlanta Black Star.

China’s space agency reportedly tested a Stirling converter in orbit

Stirling converters could allow deep space missions to massively reduce their reliance on potentially scarce solar energy.

China’s Shenzhou-15 mission crew aboard the China Space Station (CSS) has reportedly completed testing on a free-piston Stirling thermoelectric converter, according to a report from state-owned media in China.

NASA and China have both experimented with Stirling converters.

Gremlin/iStock.

The successful test marks the first time China has verified this type of technology in orbit. The experimental technology, which NASA has also investigated, has the potential to provide crucial backup energy to deep space missions.

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New measurements suggests we are fundamentally wrong about the universe

Puzzle over ‘Hubble constant’ could suggest many of our basic assumptions are wrong We may be fundamentally wrong about some of the deepest parts of the universe, according to a new study. For years, scientists have been puzzled over the “Hubble tension”. That refers to the difficulty over measuring how quickly the universe is expanding: different measurements show different speeds, and scientists have been unable to say why.