February 11th, 2015
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Scientists on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta comet mission suggest that Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko could lose up to over 65 feet (20 meters) of surface material from its previously unilluminated south side when it heats up, starting in May 2015. This possible estimate of erosion of 67P comes via data acquired by Rosetta’s Optical, Spectroscopic and […]
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Look for a February 11 liftoff of the European Space Agency’s space plane – the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, or IXV. It will be launched on a Vega launcher at 13:00 GMT (14:00 CET) for a suborbital flight to test technologies and critical systems for Europe’s future automated reentry systems. From liftoff to splashdown in the […]
China’s “service module” that is orbiting the Moon has conducted a series of tests – all in prelude to a robotic lunar sample mission eyed for 2017. According to a statement of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND), the orbiter modulated its speed, height, and overall orbit around the […]
This week, at the 18th Annual Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, D.C., the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) highlighted its Airborne Launch Assist Space Access program (ALASA). The current ALASA design envisions launching a low-cost, expendable launch vehicle from conventional aircraft. Serving as a reusable first stage, the plane would […]
Spaceport America is seeking approval from the New Mexico Legislature of a special appropriation of $1.783 million to cover the shortfall resulting from the delay due to the Virgin Galactic/SpaceShipTwo mishap last October. “If the funding is approved, it will only be drawn upon if the spaceport does not make up the difference in additional […]
The FAA’s Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST) has given thumbs-up regarding private sector operations on the Moon. In a December 22 letter to Bigelow Aerospace, the FAA’s AST — in consultation with the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies, including NASA and NOAA – “is […]
Europe’s Philae lander sits somewhere on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – its battery depleted as of November 15, 2014. But there are high hopes that the lander can muster up sufficient energy to “phone home” as the comet continues its journey towards the Sun. According to Project Manager, Stephan Ulamec from the German […]
A team of Belgium researchers is on tap next year to toss into space what they advertise as the first space billboard. “CubeSats can clearly play a very important role in the future of space research and with SpaceBillboard, we want to give CubeSats and space research an extra boost,” the group says on their […]
Stand by for flight of the cutting edge Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, or IXV mission. The European Space Agency (ESA) has green-lighted the February 11 liftoff of the test vehicle atop a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Here’s what’s cool about this ESA high-speed plunge from space. This IXV mission will test cutting-edge […]
While an international human mission to the surface of Mars in the 2030s deserves a thumbs up, green-light go, that trek to the Red Planet will require sufficient and stable long- term funding, as well as a critical series of risk-reduction activities in the 2020s. A key example is a long-duration crew habitation system in […]
