Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
December 26, 2018
OUTER PLANETS
NASA spacecraft hurtles toward historic New Year's flyby



Tampa (AFP) Dec 24, 2018
A NASA spacecraft is hurtling toward a historic New Year's Day flyby of the most distant planetary object ever studied, a frozen relic of the early solar system called Ultima Thule. Four billion miles (6.4 billion kilometers) away, the unmanned spaceship, New Horizons, is poised to zoom by at 12:33 am (0533 GMT) on January 1, at a distance of just 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) from Ultima Thule. That's more than three times closer than New Horizons came to Pluto when it zipped by the dwarf plan ... read more

OUTER PLANETS
New Horizons Notebook: On Ultima's Doorstep
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 24, 2018
New Horizons carried out its last trajectory correction maneuver on approach to Ultima Thule last week, a short thruster burst to direct the spacecraft closer to its precise flyby aim point just 2,2 ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Teledyne e2v has provided New Horizons with two specialist image sensors
Chelmsford, UK (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
The American space agency's New Horizons probe remains on course for its daring flyby of Ultima Thule between 29th December 2018 and 4th January 2019. When the mission sweeps past the 30km wid ... more
DRAGON SPACE
China launches first Hongyun project satellite
Beijing (Sputnik) Dec 24, 2018
China on 22 December successfully launched the first satellite of its Hongyun project, which seeks to create a network of communication satellites on the low Earth orbit in order to provide stable i ... more
MOON DAILY
Getting a glimpse inside the moon
Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
New research from University of Alberta physicists provides the first-ever model of our Moon's rotational dynamics, taking into consideration its solid inner core. Their model helps to explain why, ... more
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IRON AND ICE
Holiday Asteroid Imaged with NASA Radar
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 24, 2018
The December 2018 close approach by the large, near-Earth asteroid 2003 SD220 has provided astronomers an outstanding opportunity to obtain detailed radar images of the surface and shape of the obje ... more
MARSDAILY
Mars Express gets festive: A winter wonderland on Mars
Paris (ESA) Dec 21, 2018
This image shows what appears to be a large patch of fresh, untrodden snow - a dream for any lover of the holiday season. However, it's a little too distant for a last-minute winter getaway: this fe ... more
MARSDAILY
Over Six Months Without Word From Opportunity
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 24, 2018
Mars atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site remains at a storm-free range around 1.0. No signal from Opportunity has been heard since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018). Opportunity likely experi ... more
MARSDAILY
3D photogrammetric evidence for trace fossils at Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater, Mars
Buckingham UK (SPX) Dec 24, 2018
On sol 1922 and 1923, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover (Curiosity) mission in Gale Crater, using its microscopic imager (MAHLI) returned over 84 images to Earth of enigmatic metallic dark- ... more
MARSDAILY
Mars 2020 rover to capture sound on the Red Planet
Alleroed, Denmark (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
In February 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Rover is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet. The spacecraft will have the capability to capture imagery and sound as the Mars 2020 vehicle descends through ... more
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IRON AND ICE
Navigating NASA's first mission to the Trojan asteroids
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
In science fiction, explorers can hop in futuristic spaceships and traverse half the galaxy in the blink of a plot hole. However, this sidelines the navigational acrobatics required in order to guar ... more
MARSDAILY
The C-Space Project Opens Mars Base as a Space Education Facility
Jinchang, China (SPX) Dec 24, 2018
The C-Space Project recently unveiled its Mars Base set in the Gobi Desert, leaving many curious about its objectives. The C-Space Project, where the C stands for Community, Culture and Creativity, ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Astronomers identify cycle of disturbances at Jupiter's equator
Leicester, UK (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
Scientists at the University of Leicester and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory predict next parting of Jupiter's veil of clouds for 2019. A regular pattern of unusual meteorological events at Jupite ... more
EXO WORLDS
NASA study finds sugars, key ingredient for life, can form in space
Washington DC (Sputnik) Dec 21, 2018
A new study by NASA scientists has proven that sugar molecules - one of the building blocks of life - can form in conditions similar to those in outer space. The find provides further grist to the m ... more
EXO WORLDS
Baby Star's Fiery Tantrum Could Create Building Blocks of Planets
Warwick UK (SPX) Dec 24, 2018
A massive stellar flare on a baby star has been spotted by University of Warwick astronomers, shedding light on the origins of potentially habitable exoplanets. One of the largest ever seen on ... more


NASA industry team creates and demonstrates first quantum sensor for satellite gravimetry

TECH SPACE
Celestia wins major ESA contract for UK
London, UK (SPX) Dec 19, 2018
Harwell based Celestia Technologies Group UK Ltd (CTG UK) has signed an 8m euro contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for the development of the next generation of Gateway ground stations. ... more
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ROBO SPACE
Self-driving rovers tested in Mars-like Morocco
Paris (ESA) Dec 21, 2018
Robots invaded the Sahara Desert for Europe's largest rover field test, taking place in a Mars-like part of Morocco. For two weeks three rovers and more than 40 engineers tested automated navigation ... more
OUTER PLANETS
Ultima Thule's First Mystery: Lack of a 'Light Curve'
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is bearing down on Ultima Thule, its New Year's flyby target in the far away Kuiper Belt. Among its approach observations over the past three months, the spacecraft ha ... more
MARSDAILY
InSight places its first instrument on Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 21, 2018
NASA's InSight lander has deployed its first instrument onto the surface of Mars, completing a major mission milestone. New images from the lander show the seismometer on the ground, its copper-colo ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Scientists design new material to harness power of light
Lowell MA (SPX) Dec 19, 2018
Scientists have long known that synthetic materials - called metamaterials - can manipulate electromagnetic waves such as visible light to make them behave in ways that cannot be found in nature. Th ... more
OUTER PLANETS
New Horizons Takes the Inside Course to Ultima Thule
Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 19, 2018
With no apparent hazards in its way, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has been given a "go" to stay on its optimal path to Ultima Thule as it speeds closer to a Jan. 1 flyby of the Kuiper Belt object ... more
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Over Six Months Without Word From Opportunity
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 24, 2018
Mars atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site remains at a storm-free range around 1.0. No signal from Opportunity has been heard since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018). Opportunity likely experienced a low-power fault, a mission clock fault and an up-loss timer fault. Since the loss of signal, the team has been listening for the rover over a broad range of times, frequencies and polari ... more
+ Mars Express gets festive: A winter wonderland on Mars
+ 3D photogrammetric evidence for trace fossils at Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater, Mars
+ The C-Space Project Opens Mars Base as a Space Education Facility
+ Mars 2020 rover to capture sound on the Red Planet
+ InSight places its first instrument on Mars
+ InSight Engineers Have Made a Martian Rock Garden
+ Opportunity team performs more frequent communication attempts throughout each day


Getting a glimpse inside the moon
Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
New research from University of Alberta physicists provides the first-ever model of our Moon's rotational dynamics, taking into consideration its solid inner core. Their model helps to explain why, as seen from Earth, the Moon appears to wobble on its axis. The answer, said physicist Mathieu Dumberry, lies in the complex geometry of the Moon's orbit, locked in what is known as a Cassini st ... more
+ Israeli spacecraft gets special passenger before moon journey
+ NASA seeks US partners to develop reusable systems to land astronauts on Moon
+ Learning from lunar lights
+ China launches rover for first far side of the moon landing
+ China Will Launch First Probe to Moon's Far Side Later This Week
+ NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services
+ Lockheed Martin Selected for NASA's Commercial Lunar Lander Payload Services Contract
NASA spacecraft hurtles toward historic New Year's flyby
Tampa (AFP) Dec 24, 2018
A NASA spacecraft is hurtling toward a historic New Year's Day flyby of the most distant planetary object ever studied, a frozen relic of the early solar system called Ultima Thule. Four billion miles (6.4 billion kilometers) away, the unmanned spaceship, New Horizons, is poised to zoom by at 12:33 am (0533 GMT) on January 1, at a distance of just 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) from Ultima T ... more
+ Teledyne e2v has provided New Horizons with two specialist image sensors
+ Astronomers identify cycle of disturbances at Jupiter's equator
+ New Horizons Notebook: On Ultima's Doorstep
+ Ultima Thule's First Mystery: Lack of a 'Light Curve'
+ New Horizons Takes the Inside Course to Ultima Thule
+ Most Distant Solar System Object Ever Observed
+ A nuclear-powered 'tunnelbot' to search for life on Jupiter's icy moon Europa
Baby Star's Fiery Tantrum Could Create Building Blocks of Planets
Warwick UK (SPX) Dec 24, 2018
A massive stellar flare on a baby star has been spotted by University of Warwick astronomers, shedding light on the origins of potentially habitable exoplanets. One of the largest ever seen on a star of its type, the huge explosion of energy and plasma is around 10,000 times bigger than the largest solar flare ever recorded from our own Sun. The discovery is detailed in a paper for t ... more
+ NASA study finds sugars, key ingredient for life, can form in space
+ Narrowing the universe in the search for life
+ A young star caught forming like a planet
+ Planets with Oxygen Don't Necessarily Have Life
+ Where did the hot Neptunes go
+ Dancing with the enemy
+ In search of missing worlds, Hubble finds a fast-evaporating exoplanet
Arianespace supports Drance and European defense with launch of CSO-1
Evry, France (SPX) Dec 24, 2018
For its 11th and final launch of the year - and the third in 2018 with the Soyuz medium-lift launcher - Arianespace successfully orbited the CSO-1 military Earth observation satellite for the French CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) space agency and the DGA (Direction generale de l'armement) defense procurement agency on behalf of the French Ministry of Defense. The launch took pla ... more
+ SpaceX blasts off powerful GPS satellite for US military
+ Russia to Complete Flight Tests of Soyuz-2.1V Carrier Rocket in 2019 - Source
+ Roscosmos selects super-heavy rocket concept designed for lunar flights
+ New Materials Architectures Sought to Cool Hypersonic Vehicles
+ Elon Musk Lauds Brilliant Russian Rocket Engine RD-180 in Core of US' Atlas V
+ Elon Musk's SpaceX set to raise $500 mn: report
+ Russia to Decommission Carrier Vehicle With Ukraine-Made Components


China launches first Hongyun project satellite
Beijing (Sputnik) Dec 24, 2018
China on 22 December successfully launched the first satellite of its Hongyun project, which seeks to create a network of communication satellites on the low Earth orbit in order to provide stable internet connection to the country's remote regions, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) said. The satellite was launched atop the Long March-11 rocket at 07: ... more
+ China's Chang'e-4 probe enters lunar orbit
+ China launches rover for first far side of the moon landing
+ Evolving Chinese Space Ecosystem To Foster Innovative Environment
+ China sends 5 satellites into orbit via single rocket
+ China releases smart solution for verifying reliability of space equipment components
+ China unveils new 'Heavenly Palace' space station as ISS days numbered
+ China's space programs open up to world
Navigating NASA's first mission to the Trojan asteroids
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
In science fiction, explorers can hop in futuristic spaceships and traverse half the galaxy in the blink of a plot hole. However, this sidelines the navigational acrobatics required in order to guarantee real-life mission success. In 2021, the feat of navigation that is the Lucy mission will launch. To steer Lucy towards its targets doesn't simply involve programming a map into a spacecraf ... more
+ NASA telescopes take a close look at the brightest comet of 2018
+ Holiday Asteroid Imaged with NASA Radar
+ ALMA gives passing comet its close-up
+ Space telescope detects water in a number of asteroids
+ Las Cumbres builds new instrument to study December comet
+ GMV leads the system that "drives" the HERA mission for planetary defence
+ Watch Comet 46P Wirtanen as it nears Earth


Radiance Technologies tapped for U.S. Army laser research
Washington (UPI) Nov 30, 2018
The U.S. Army is contracting Radiance Technologies for high energy laser lethality research, assessment and support in the amount of $28.2 million. Work on the contract, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and is expected to be completed by November 2023. It falls under a small business contract under acquisition rules, though R ... more
+ Lockheed Martin's missile defense laser concept continues toward development
+ Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Boeing compete for laser-armed drone
+ Microwave weapon suspected in mystery attacks on US diplomats: report
+ Team Dynetics receives contract for next phase of 100kW laser weapon system for US Army
+ Dyenetics, Lockheed chosen for work on 100 KW laser weapon
+ Raytheon contracted to develop laser for U.S. Army
+ China firm develops 'laser gun'
Missile Defense Agency awards Lockheed Martin contract to design, manufacture and construct defense radar station in Hawaii
Moorestown NJ (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $585 million contract by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to design, develop and deliver its Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii (HDR-H) in Oahu, Hawaii. The HDR-H radar will provide autonomous acquisition and persistent precision tracking and discrimination to optimize the defensive capability of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) and counter evolving thre ... more
+ US approves $3.5 billion Patriot missile sale to Turkey
+ Lockheed awarded $3.3B for PAC-3 missiles for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
+ Pentagon conducts latest successful test of US-Japan interceptor
+ Aegis Combat System demonstrates success during on-land test against Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile
+ Navy to purchase new containers for air defense missiles
+ Navy to commission new Arleigh Burke destroyer USS Thomas Hudner
+ Raytheon to supply Romania with Patriot missile defense systems


NASA Research Reveals Saturn is Losing Its Rings at "Worst-Case-Scenario" Rate
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 18, 2018
New NASA research confirms that Saturn is losing its iconic rings at the maximum rate estimated from Voyager 1 and 2 observations made decades ago. The rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of Saturn's magnetic field. "We estimate that this 'ring rain' drains an amount of water products that could fill an Olympic-sized swimming p ... more
+ Water on Saturn's Moon Phoebe Is Out of This World
+ A new way to create Saturn's radiation belts
+ Saturn's Moon Dione Covered by Mysterious Stripes
+ Cutting through the mystery of Titan's atmospheric haze
+ Surprising chemical complexity of Saturn's rings changing planet's upper atmosphere
+ Latest insights into Saturn's weird magnetic field only make things weirder
+ In its final days, Cassini bathed in 'ring rain'
Pitt chemical engineers develop new theory to build improved nanomaterials
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
Thanks in part to their distinct electronic, optical and chemical properties, nanomaterials are utilized in an array of diverse applications from chemical production to medicine and light-emitting devices. But when introducing another metal in their structure, also known as "doping," researchers are unsure which position the metal will occupy and how it will affect the overall stability of ... more
+ MIT team invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale
+ Artificial synapses made from nanowires
+ How microscopic machines can fail in the blink of an eye
+ Stealth-cap technology for light-emitting nanoparticles
+ Nano-scale process may speed arrival of cheaper hi-tech products
+ Watching nanoparticles
+ Penn engineers develop ultrathin, ultralight nanocardboard


New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector
Hannover, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
The detection of Einstein's gravitational waves relies on highly precise laser measurements of small length changes. The kilometer-size detectors of the international network (GEO600, LIGO, Virgo) are so sensitive that they are fundamentally limited by tiny quantum mechanical effects. These cause a background noise which overlaps with gravitational-wave signals. This noise is always presen ... more
+ Mini-detectors for the gigantic
+ Portsmouth researchers make vital contribution to new gravitational wave discoveries
+ Four New Gravitational Wave Detections Announced
+ Universal laws in impact dynamics of dust agglomerates under microgravity conditions
+ Griffith precision measurement takes it to the limit
+ Gravitational waves could shed light on dark matter
+ In five -10 years, gravitational waves could accurately measure universe's expansion
Beyond the black hole singularity with loop quantum gravity
University Park PA (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
Our first glimpses into the physics that exist near the center of a black hole are being made possible using "loop quantum gravity" - a theory that uses quantum mechanics to extend gravitational physics beyond Einstein's general theory of relativity. Loop quantum gravity, originated at Penn State and subsequently developed by a large number of scientists worldwide, is opening up a new para ... more
+ The Coolest Experiment in the Universe
+ Unique insights into an exotic matter state
+ Physicists develop new theory to answer fundamental questions about black holes
+ Mystery of coronae around supermassive black holes deepens
+ Fossil Gas Cloud from the Big Bang Discovered with Keck Observatory
+ Fake plastic atoms
+ Mystery of Black Hole Coronae Deepens


Self-driving rovers tested in Mars-like Morocco
Paris (ESA) Dec 21, 2018
Robots invaded the Sahara Desert for Europe's largest rover field test, taking place in a Mars-like part of Morocco. For two weeks three rovers and more than 40 engineers tested automated navigation systems at up to five different sites. This marked the end of the first phase of the strategic research cluster on space robotics technologies, a scheme funded by the European Union's Horizon 2 ... more
+ New models sense human trust in smart machines
+ Robot shown on Russian TV revealed to be man in costume
+ Artificial joint restores wrist-like movements to forearm amputees
+ Norfolk Navy Shipyard introducing exoskeletons for workers
+ Insight into swimming fish could lead to robotics advances
+ Flexible electronic skin aids human-machine interactions
+ Embark on a NASA technology scavenger hunt with Optimus Prime
General Atomics, Raytheon contracted for Reaper drone support
Washington (UPI) Dec 24, 2018
General Atomics and Raytheon have each been awarded contracts for support of the MQ-9 Reaper, one for sensors and the other for overall program support, that come to a total of more than $350 million. The contracts, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, cover separate areas of sustainment for the unmanned aerial system used for surveillance and support of ground troops, though ... more
+ New foldable drone can navigate narrow holes
+ General Atomics receives $40 million for Gray Eagle drone services
+ Using drones to simplify film animation
+ General Atomics tapped for French MQ-9 drone support
+ Logos demonstrates Redkite advanced surveillance pod
+ Drones offer ability to find, ID and count marine megafauna
+ From parcel delivery to security, Singapore bets big on drones
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