Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced on Sunday that the tanks of a rocket that launched a scientific satellite back in 2011 have disintegrated in Earth’s orbit above the Indian Ocean.
The 18th Space Control Squadron of the US Air Force said on Saturday that it is now tracking 65 separate pieces associated with the rocket’s upper stage. “No indication caused by collision,” the squadron wrote in a May 9 tweet confirming the news.
“Currently we are working to collect data to confirm the quantity and orbit parameters of the fragments,” Russia’s space agency said in a statement, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.
The agency said researchers in a recent study it sponsored found that urea, the main organic compound in urine, would make the mixture for a “lunar concrete” more malleable before it hardens into its sturdy final form.
WASHINGTON — SpaceX on May 6 was awarded an $8.9 million contract modification that gives the U.S. Space Force direct insight into the inner workings of the company’s commercial and civil space missions.
The contract for “non-National Security Space fleet surveillance” gives the Space Force access to SpaceX missions until November.
“This contract provides for non-NSS fleet surveillance efforts across the SpaceX family of launch vehicles for non-NSS missions,” said the contract announcement. The $8.9 million is an addition to an existing $297 million contract awarded to SpaceX in February 2019 for three national security launches.
China plans to send an astronaut to the Moon in about a decade and then build a base there. Its lunar rover on the far side has driven about 450 metres so far.
The next big mission for Beijing is to land a probe on Mars, with liftoff expected this year.
Space agency tests new design that is billed to replace current Shenzhou module, a copy of Russia’s Soyuz.
The U.S. space agency National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to participate in a virtual hackathon May 30–31 dedicated to putting open data to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge, participants from around the world will create virtual teams that – during a 48-hour period – will use Earth observation data to propose solutions to COVID-19-related challenges ranging from studying the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and its spread to the impact the disease is having on the Earth system. Registration for this challenge opens in mid-May.
“There’s a tremendous need for our collective ingenuity right now,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “I can’t imagine a more worthy focus than COVID-19 on which to direct the energy and enthusiasm from around the world with the Space Apps Challenge that always generates such amazing solutions.”
The unique capabilities of NASA and its partner space agencies in the areas of science and technology enable them to lend a hand during this global crisis. Since the start of the global outbreak, Earth science specialists from each agency have been exploring ways to use unique Earth observation data to aid understanding of the interplay of the Earth system – on global to local scales – with aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak, including, potentially, our ability to combat it. The hackathon will also examine the human and economic response to the virus.
“Some people look to the stars and ask, ‘What if?’” the video says. “Our job is to have an answer.” Space Force officials shared the video on social media with a link to a recruitment website here.
It’s official: The U.S. Space Force wants you to join the ranks of the newest branch of the American Armed Forces.
A Milky Way magnetar called SGR 1935+2154 may have just massively contributed to solving the mystery of powerful deep-space radio signals that have vexed astronomers for years.
On 28 April 2020, the dead star — sitting just 30,000 light-years away — was recorded by radio observatories around the world, seemingly flaring with a single, millisecond-long burst of incredibly bright radio waves that would have been detectable from another galaxy.
In addition, global and space X-ray observatories recorded a very bright X-ray counterpart.
An MIT research proposal outlines a new method for rendezvousing with interstellar objects (ISOs) like ‘Oumuamua using a solar slingshot technique. By using solar sails to position deep-space probes on the edge of the solar system, the idea is to use the gravitational pull of the Sun to accelerate the spacecraft and set it on an intercept course with an interstellar visitor.
When ‘Oumuamua passed by in 2017, it was a truly historic event. For the first time, an object from interstellar space was detected entering the solar system. Traveling on a hyperbolic trajectory, it flew through the inner system before returning to the outer darkness, never to return. As it did so, observatories around the world focused on the object, giving scientists their first close-up glimpse at something that didn’t originate in our system.
However, a glimpse was all they had time for. Ideally, a long, leisurely look would have been preferable, but there wasn’t any time to even plan a mission to send a spacecraft to visit ‘Oumuamua – much less launch one. Worse, such a mission would have faced major technical challenges. Not the least of which being the requirement of a massive rocket to reach the needed velocity to overtake the object.
