June 1st, 2023
Author: 
Last January, a novel prototype of space solar power-beaming technology was placed into Earth orbit. Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) has announced the experiment has wirelessly transmitted power in space and beamed detectable power to Earth for the first time. Called MAPLE, short for Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment, it is one of […]
Posted in 
Has something happened to NASA’s Mars Ingenuity helicopter? The Internet’s Mars Guy looks into recent challenges communicating with Ingenuity. But why the mini-chopper hasn’t flown in more than a month. Is it a communication issue or something worse? For that Mars Guy episode, go to: https://youtu.be/gQ3TrmOe_sw Long range plan In response to these […]
China’s Shenzhou-16 crewed spaceship successfully docked with the Tiangong space station on Tuesday. Following launch, the mission conducted a fast (6.5 hours) automated rendezvous and docked with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination with three modules and three spacecraft. Riding atop a Long March 2F Y16 carrier rocket, […]
China plans to send astronauts to the Moon before 2030. That’s the word from an official with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Monday, just prior to the country lofting a new crew to their space station. The statement by Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, came during a media briefing on […]
The first multiple-asteroid tour and landing mission to the main belt of space rocks beyond Mars is being blueprinted by the United Arab Emirates. This impressive task is called the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, EMA for short. That spacecraft will take a seven-year sojourn to the […]
A RAND report flags a lack of transparency that makes it impossible to independently evaluate and analyze whether policymakers, spaceflight participants, industry, or the public have enough information to make informed decisions about the safety of commercial spaceflight. “Individuals who choose to go to space, and the general public, may not have sufficient […]
NOTE: China has announced the Shenzhou-16 crew: Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao will stay in orbit on China’s station for five months. According to the China Global Television Network (CGTN), 56-year-old Jing Haipeng will be the first Chinese astronaut to fly 4 times in space: on the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008; commanded the […]
NASA’s Office of Inspector General has issued the report: NASA’s Management of the Space Launch System Booster and Engine Contracts. In December 2022, Artemis I—an uncrewed Orion capsule powered by the SLS rocket—successfully completed a 25-day mission that included an elliptical orbit of the Moon. “The mission came after launch delays of nearly 4 […]
China is ready to launch its piloted Shenzhou-16 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station. All appears going smoothly at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gansu Province. Rocket launch teams conducted a full-system drill on Friday to test its preparedness in the Shenzhou-16 countdown to launch in the coming days. The drill included […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale crater is now performing Sol 3839 tasks. This month has been busy for the robot reports Scott VanBommel, a planetary scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. “Our rover has been hard at work since arriving at its current location around the first of the month. In the […]
