SmallSats Could Have Big Role in Solar Exploration, Too
Small sats have historically mainly made their homes in LEO, but more and more operators are shrinking the size of the platforms they send to GEO and beyond.
Science
Stories about the wondrous world of space science.
Will NASA’s Next Mars Mission Be A Fleet of Helicopters?
The success of the Ingenuity helicopter has teed up a more ambitious vision of aerial exploration on the Red Planet.
NASA’s TRACERS Mission Eyes Space Weather’s Bottom-Line Risks
TRACERS, will investigate magnetic reconnection, one of the driving forces behind geomagnetic storms that can disturb Earth’s upper atmosphere, and pose hazards to satellites.
NanoAvionics to Build Korea’s First Venus Observing Sat
The satellites—part of IBS’ CLOVE project—will carry UV and NIR observation instruments developed by IBS to monitor Venus’ cloud structures and atmospheric chemical makeup.
Dark Sky Advocates Fight Against a Bright Future
Advocates for dark and quiet skies are outgunned.
IonQ Buys Capella Space For Quantum Comms Gambit
The all-stock deal valued Capella at $311M, according to SEC filings and yesterday’s $IONQ closing price.
Frontier Flies its Lab-in-a-Box on ATMOS’ Reentry Mission
Frontier Space’s first mission is designed to test key components of its lab-in-a-box bioreactor, which will give future space travelers the ability to grow things like food and medicine in space.
DARPA Eyes Orbital Mission to Map Lunar Water Ice
The program—Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter (LASSO)—seeks to design, test, build and deliver a spacecraft that can identify regions that are at least 90% probable to have at least 5% water.
Leaked NASA Budget Spotlights Isaacman’s Challenge
President Donald Trump reportedly wants to cut NASA’s budget by $5B, or 20%. The Planetary Society said the cuts would “plunge NASA into a dark age.”
Honda Will Hitch a Ride on Dream Chaser to the ISS
Honda will put its decades of work on hydrogen fuel cell technologies to the test in orbit.
DoD Taps Slingshot to Track Adversaries on Orbit
Using photometric sensors, Slingshot can spot an orbital object’s unique light-based “fingerprint” to help the DoD understand the technology that America’s adversaries are deploying in space.
Varda Conducts First Reentry Mission into Australia
Varda’s second reentry capsule W-2 landed safely in the dust of Southern Launch’s Koonibba Test Range in Australia yesterday.