Author: starpathwp-production
-
NASA is about to make its most important safety decision in nearly a generation
As soon as this week, NASA officials will make perhaps the agency’s most consequential safety decision in human spaceflight in 21 years. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are nearly 10 weeks into a test flight that was originally set to last a little more than one week. The two retired US Navy test…
-
Mars Society gains foothold in AI, robotics and biotechnology to clear a path to space
NASA engineer Christine Gregg inspects an experimental construction robot. (NASA Photo / Dominic Hart) The Mars Society says it’s making progress on launching a startup incubator in the Seattle area, with artificial intelligence and biotech as its first targets. Its long-term goal? To make a profit, yes, but also to support the development of technologies…
-
Gaia detects more than 350 possible asteroid moons
Astronomers have found more than 350 possible moons around asteroids by analyzing data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope. While asteroids known to have moons, also known as binary asteroids, have been studied by Gaia before, this is the first time the telescope has been used to discover new binary asteroids. “Binary asteroids…
-
Arctic Mission Expands Connectivity and International Collaboration in Strategic Region
The Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) launched on Aug. 11 will expand connectivity and boost international collaboration in the increasingly strategic Arctic region. The two satellites built by Northrop Grumman and launched by SpaceX, are the result of a unique partnership both domestic and international, and commercial and government in nature. ASBM is led by…
-
SpaceX to launch privately-financed international crew of four around Earth’s poles
The Fram2 crew, seen during a visit to SpaceX’s Hawthorn, Calif., manufacturing facility. Left to right: Eric Philips, Jannicke Mikkelse, commander Chun Wang and Rabea Rogge. Image: SpaceX. A blockchain entrepreneur, a cinematographer, a polar adventurer and a robotics researcher plan to fly around Earth’s poles aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule by end of…
-
Rakon Introduces Rad-Hard Application Specific Integrated Circuit for Space Oscillators
Rakon, a global leader in frequency control and timing solutions, has introduced its groundbreaking MercuryR™ Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), designed to withstand the extreme radiation conditions found in space. This innovative ASIC, developed in-house, boasts a total-ionizing-dose (TID) resistance of up to 100kRAD, marking a significant advancement in the field of space-grade oscillators. With the…
-
Lockheed Martin Selects Voyager Space to Deliver Next Gen Solid Propulsion Subsystem
Voyager Space (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, announced the company was selected by Lockheed Martin to support the delivery of an advanced solid-propulsion subsystem for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Next Generation Interceptor (NGI), the nation’s new homeland missile defense capability. NGI, as part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, will…
-
I trust NASA’s safety culture this time around, and so should you
My first real taste of space journalism came on the morning of February 1, 2003. An editor at the Houston Chronicle telephoned me at home on a Saturday morning and asked me to hurry to Johnson Space Center to help cover the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. At the time, I did not realize this…
-
I trust NASA’s safety culture this time around, and so should you
My first real taste of space journalism came on the morning of February 1, 2003. An editor at the Houston Chronicle telephoned me at home on a Saturday morning and asked me to hurry to Johnson Space Center to help cover the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. At the time, I did not realize this…
-
NASA Tests Deployment of Roman Space Telescope’s Visor
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s “visor” (sunshield) has completed several environmental tests simulating the conditions it will experience during launch and in space. Called the Deployable Aperture Cover, this large sunshade is designed to keep unwanted light out of the telescope. This milestone marks the halfway point for the cover’s final sprint of testing,…