Space News from SpaceDaily.com
December 14, 2023
TECH SPACE
NASA's Space Station Laser Comm Terminal Achieves First Link



Washington DC (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
A NASA technology experiment on the International Space Station completed its first laser link with an in-orbit laser relay system on Dec. 5, 2023. Together, they complete NASA's first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system. NASA's LCRD (Laser Communications Relay Demonstration) and the new space station demonstration, ILLUMA-T (Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal), successfully exchanged data for the first time. LCRD and ILLUMA-T are demonstrating how a user mission, ... read more

ROCKET SCIENCE
Rocket Lab Sets Launch Date for iQPS's 'The Moon God Awakens' Mission
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
In a significant development in the realm of space launches and Earth observation, Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKLB), a global leader in launch services, is gearing up for its 42nd Electron missio ... more
ROCKET SCIENCE
UK's Orbex secures funding for carbon-neutral spaceport development
Forres, UK (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
In a significant step towards advancing sustainable spaceflight, UK-based Orbex has secured a GBP3.3 million grant from the UK Space Agency as part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Boost! initia ... more
MOON DAILY
Unlocking Lunar Mysteries: Chang'e-5 Mission Sheds Light on Moon's Surface Weathering
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
In a groundbreaking development, scientists from the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, in collaboration with researchers from Brown University and the University of Hawaii, have successfully m ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
NASA's Commercial Partners Continue Progress on New Space Stations
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
Three NASA-funded commercial space station partners are on track for the design and development of their orbital destinations and the transition of agency's low Earth orbit needs from the Internatio ... more
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EXO WORLDS


NASA's Webb identifies tiniest free-floating brown dwarf

VSAT NEWS
Eutelsat OneWeb set to revolutionize Libyan telecommunication services
London, UK (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
Eutelsat Group (Paris:ETL) (LSE:ETL), a global satellite communications leader and the first to operate both Geostationary (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, has announced a groundbreaking ... more
EARTH OBSERVATION
Spire Global secures major EUMETSAT contract for satellite weather data
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR), a leader in space-powered data and analytics, has been awarded a significant contract by EUMETSAT, the European meteorological satellite agency. This multi-million e ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
French 'Baguette One' rocket project gets funding
Paris (AFP) Dec 12, 2023
A French-led consortium said Tuesday it has received funding for its project to develop an innovative low-cost small rocket called "Baguette One" and launch it into space. ... more
MISSILE DEFENSE
Northrop Grumman tests enhanced GMD system in missile defense demonstration
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 12, 2023
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), a key player in defense technology, has recently supported a crucial test of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, conducted by the Missile Defen ... more
SPACEWAR
Hydrosat Secures Contract with NRO for Thermal Imagery Evaluation
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 12, 2023
Hydrosat, a leader in thermal infrared data and analytics, has announced a significant advancement in its operations. The company has been awarded a 2.5-year contract by the National Reconnaissance ... more

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VSAT NEWS


Quectel's satellite communication module CC200A-LB secures broad regulatory approval

ROCKET SCIENCE
Next-generation methane rocket to be more powerful
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 12, 2023
Beijing-based private space company LandSpace has unveiled the ZQ-3 carrier rocket, a new addition to its lineup that promises significant advancements in rocket technology. The announcement, made b ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Psyche gamma-ray instrument hums to life, marking next generation for space exploration
Baltimore MD (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
Set 6.5 feet (2 meters) away from NASA's Psyche spacecraft on the tip of a boom, the mission's gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) hummed to life on Nov. 6 for the first time since launch in mid-October. T ... more
SPACEWAR
EUCOM, AFRICOM, Space Force activate new service component command
Ramstein, Germany (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Space Force officially activated the U.S. Space Forces Europe and Africa component command at a ceremony in Ramstein, Germany, Dec. 8, 2023. ... more
MOON DAILY
Scholars say it's time to declare a new epoch on the moon, the 'lunar Anthropocene'
Lawrence KS (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
Human beings first disturbed moon dust on Sept. 13, 1959, when the USSR's unmanned spacecraft Luna 2 alighted on the lunar surface. In the following decades, more than a hundred other spacecraft hav ... more
MARSDAILY
How Rocks Say Don't Touch: Sols 4032-4034
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 11, 2023
Earth planning date: Friday, December 8, 2023: As we climb through the terrain, which is beautiful to look at with its steep topography, we are on the lookout for all the differences in the rocks. A ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY


Amateur Astronomers Help Discover Cosmic Crash

SPACE MEDICINE
Advanced Botany, Biology Promoting Health on Earth and in Space
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 11, 2023
Space botany, human research, and bioprinting were the dominant science topics aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 70 septet also focused on lab hardware and cargo ope ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
Lost tomato found aboard International Space Station after eight months
Miami FL (UPI) Dec 11, 2023
Members of an International Space Station crew said astronaut Frank Rubio has now been cleared of allegations he ate one of the first tomatos harvested in space. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli ... more
MOON DAILY
Scientists and space agencies are shooting for the Moon - 5 essential reads on modern lunar missions
Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
The year 2023 proved a big one for lunar science. India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed near the south pole of the Moon, a huge accomplishment for a country relatively new to the space scene, espe ... more
MOON DAILY
Create your own sky map, find the weirdest stars and explore the surface of the Moon with the EXPLORE astronomy toolkit
Strasbourg, France (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
A new set of tools for astronomers and planetary explorers use interactive visual analytics and machine learning to reveal and contrast properties of objects in our galaxy. From identifying the 'wei ... more
MARSDAILY
A Rinse and Repeat Kind of Plan: Sols 4035-4036
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 13, 2023
Earth planning date: Monday, December 11, 2023: Today's 2-sol plan was a "Touch and Go" plan, where we do some short science activities (ChemCam and/or MAHLI and APXS) in our workspace early in the ... more
EXO WORLDS
NEOWISE space telescope marks 10 Years on orbit as End of Mission looms
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 14, 2023
NASA's NEOWISE has had a busy decade. Since its reactivated mission began on Dec. 13, 2013, the space telescope has discovered a once-in-a-lifetime comet, observed more than 3,000 near-Earth objects ... more
EXO WORLDS
Seeing and Believing: 15 Years of Exoplanet Images
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
First there was a gloriously dusty disk. Then the traceable tracks of "exocomets." But 15 years ago this fall, the star system Beta Pictoris yielded one of the most iconic pictures in astrophysics: ... more
EXO WORLDS
14-inch spacecraft delivers new details about 'hot Jupiters'
Boulder CO (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
A spacecraft the size of a cereal box has collected precise measurements of the atmospheres of large and puffy planets called "hot Jupiters." The findings, led by a team from the University of Color ... more
EXO WORLDS
Some Icy Exoplanets May Have Habitable Oceans and Geysers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 14, 2023
A NASA study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for lif ... more
SOLAR SCIENCE
Unique CU Boulder, NSO collaboration allows journey into varied solar physics research paths
Boulder CO (SPX) Dec 10, 2023
A new group of graduate students and postdocs are hard at work this fall with full freedom to explore a variety of solar and space physics research paths because of a unique fellowship program start ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Plasma instability study unveils cosmic ray dynamics, altering perceptions of galaxy evolution
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
Scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) have discovered a new plasma instability that could dramatically reshape our understanding of cosmic rays and their influence on ga ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Unlocking the Secrets of Fast Radio Bursts: Scientists Find More Pieces to the Puzzle of Mysterious Space Signals
Mountain View, CA (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
A team of SETI Institute scientists have unveiled new insights into a cosmic mystery known as Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). The discovery and detailed observation of the repeating FRB 20220912A, made at ... more
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Chinese scientists build largest-ever neutral hydrogen catalog in deep space
Beijing, China (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, or the "China Sky Eye," a team of Chinese astronomers built the largest-ever high-quality catalog of neutral hydrogen (HI) sources be ... more
MICROSAT BLITZ
Design the patch for Hera's Milani CubeSat
Paris (ESA) Dec 14, 2023
Milani needs you! This is your chance to design a mission patch for the Milani CubeSat which will fly with ESA's Hera planetary defence spacecraft to the Didymos binary asteroid system. ESA is ... more
MICROSAT BLITZ
NASA Partners with Commercial Space Firms for Expanded CubeSat Launch Services
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 14, 2023
NASA is actively collaborating with several prominent commercial space companies under its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. This initiative marks ... more
DRAGON SPACE
China's space programme: Five things to know
Beijing (AFP) Dec 14, 2023
When Chang'e-3 became the first Chinese craft to land on the Moon 10 years ago, it kicked off nationwide celebrations - and a decade of major successes for a rapidly accelerating space programme. ... more
MICROSAT BLITZ
Blinky Rejoins Pinky, Inky, and Clyde in NASA's Starling CubeSat Swarm Configuration
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 13, 2023
NASA's innovative Starling spacecraft, comprising four CubeSats named Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde, have successfully maneuvered into a swarm configuration, marking a significant milestone in the ... more
IRON AND ICE
A Great Year for the Geminids
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 08, 2023
It's December and that means one of the best celestial events will grace the skies. The Geminid meteor shower should peak in a moonless sky between Wednesday and Thursday, December 13-14. On W ... more
MARSDAILY
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deciphers Ancient History of Martian Lake
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 13, 2023
Now at 1,000 days on Mars, the mission has traversed an ancient river and lake system, collecting valuable samples along the way. Marking its 1,000th Martian day on the Red Planet, NASA's Pers ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
Blue Origin announces space launch next week, first since 2022 crash
Washington (AFP) Dec 12, 2023
Blue Origin said on Tuesday it was aiming to launch its New Shepard suborbital rocket next week, the first mission since an uncrewed crash in September 2022 set back the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos. ... more
SPACEWAR
Launch of secret Space Force orbital platform targets Wednesday evening
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 12, 2023
SpaceX has announced further revisions to the schedule for the Falcon Heavy's launch of the USSF-52 mission. The launch, initially set for December 10 and then the 11th and 12th, is now targeted for no earlier than Wednesday, December 13 at 8:14 p.m. ET. This latest delay stems from a 'ground side issue', marking a deviation from the earlier weather-related postponement. SpaceX has also prepared a backup launch opportunity for Wednesday, December 14, should it be necessary. ... more
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