Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

June 08, 2016

Aerospace Awarded NASA Grant for Innovative Space Debris Technology
El Segundo CA (SPX) Jun 08, 2016
NASA has awarded Aerospace a grant to investigate the possibility of developing an extremely thin spacecraft that would wrap around debris and remove it from Earth's orbit. The innovative concept, called Brane Craft, is a 1-meter square spacecraft that is less than half the thickness of a human hair, and therefore exceptionally light, maneuverable, and fuel efficient. "The Brane Craft concept is based on the one-dimensional compression of a complete spacecraft and upper stage into an essentially t ... read more

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Teams to compete in 5th year of NASA's sample return robot competition Twenty-one robotics teams are returning to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for a fifth year to compete in NASA's $1.5 million Sample Return Robot Challenge. The autonomous robotic competition ... more		US may approve private venture moon mission: report The US government, in a first, is preparing to approve a private commercial space mission beyond the Earth's orbit, the Wall Street Journal has reported. ... more		Mars 'colonists' to undergo five days of tests The 100 candidates on the shortlist to establish a human colony on the planet Mars are to undergo tests as part of a new phase of the selection process, the project organisers said Monday. ... more
				Scientists reconstruct the history of asteroid collisions An international study, in which Spain's National Research Council (CSIC) participates, reveals that asteroids have endured a multitude of impact strikes since their formation 4,565 million years ag ... more		Microbes in Space: JPL Researcher Explores Tiny Life On May 11, a sealed capsule containing fungi and bacteria fell from the sky and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Microbiologist Kasthuri Venkateswaran could hardly wait to see what was inside it. ... more

Transition from Operations to Decommissioning by Preparing a Safe, Cost-Effective Shut Down and Waste Management Strategy

Secrets Revealed from Pluto's "Twilight Zone" NASA's New Horizons spacecraft took this stunning image of Pluto only a few minutes after closest approach on July 14, 2015. The image was obtained at a high phase angle - that is, with the Sun on t ... more		Study of Opportunity Wheel Scuff Continues Opportunity is exploring 'Marathon Valley' on the rim of Endeavour crater, investigating outcrops for evidence of clay minerals. The rover is continuing to examine a previously trenched (scuffed) su ... more		Sidekick autonomy software guides YFQ-42A test mission for CCA program Infleqtion lists shares on NYSE as neutral atom quantum firm Top Chinese gaming companies continue to challenge		Luxembourg takes first steps to asteroid mining law One of Europe's smallest states, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, cast its eyes to the cosmos on Friday, announcing it would draw up a law to facilitate mining on asteroids. ... more
				SpaceX could send people to Mars by 2024, Elon Musk says SpaceX Chief Elon Musk is predicting his company will be able to launch humans to Mars by 2024. ... more		Purdue team finds convection could produce Pluto's polygons Data reported by NASA's New Horizons New Horizons mission to the Pluto system shows unusual terrain in this region, which features a large deposit of nitrogen ice with a pattern of polygons that are ... more

Directed Energy And Next Generation Munitions - 20-22 June - Washington DC

The World's Largest Commercial Drone Conference and Expo - Sept 7-9 - Las Vegas

Fifty Years of Moon Dust Before humans could take their first steps on the moon, that mysterious and forbidding surface had to be reconnoitered by robots. When President John Kennedy set a goal of landing astronauts on the ... more		China plans 5 new space science satellites China will put into space five new satellites within about five years as part of the country's fast-expanding space science program, a national science chief said on Wednesday. The five satell ... more		Solar-driven ionosphere charges may nudge stressed faults toward rupture Stable black carbon in mangrove soils boosts coastal climate role Low crystallinity iron minerals show promise for chromium cleanup and carbon storage		Pluto's Heart: Like a Cosmic 'Lava Lamp' Like a cosmic lava lamp, a large section of Pluto's icy surface is being constantly renewed by a process called convection that replaces older surface ices with fresher material. Combining com ... more
Titan Transtage to be studied by orbital debris scientists The Titan Transtage, an upper stage of the Titan III rocket family, arrived at NASA's Johnson Space Center May 26, where it will be studied by scientists in the Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) ... more		Orbit Logic Awarded Air Force Space Situational Awareness Contract Orbit Logic has signed a Phase II SBIR contract sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to research and implement software to optimize the scheduling of observations of known space obj ... more		EOD robot system passes critical design review The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman Corporation have completed the critical design review of a robotic system for explosive ordnance disposal. ... more		Flight of the RoboBee Increasingly, researchers are designing robots with forms and functions that defy our expectation of what a machine can be or do. One of the more unexpected robotics applications in recent years com ... more

	Germany says not blocking Chinese bid for robotics firm Berlin on Friday denied blocking a Chinese takeover bid for German industrial robotics supplier Kuka, ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China. ... more		Meta-lens sees smaller than a wavelength of light Curved lenses, like those in cameras or telescopes, are stacked in order to reduce distortions and resolve a clear image. That's why high-power microscopes are so big and telephoto lenses so long. W ... more

AALTO plans Zephyr stratospheric hub in northern Australia and seeks local payload partners

Ancient guano drove Chincha coastal power

UAH lands first DARPA award for biological sciences department

Airbus Defence and Space to guide lunar lander to the Moon		Schafer Corp launches new venture in Commercial Space Situational Awareness		Bolivia to pay back loan to China for Tupac Katari satellite		NASA Chief: Congress Should Revise US-China Space Cooperation Law		Theft behind Planet 9 in our solar system
Studying life on the rocks		Rosetta's comet contains ingredients for life		Beating the limits of the light microscope, one photon at a time		RE2 Robotics contracted to support USAF airfield damage repair program		A new, water-logged history of the Moon

Chine's satellite industry eyes global satellite market

Red and Golden Planets at Opposition

PPPL physicist conducts experiments indicating efficiency of fusion start-up technique

China launches new satellite for civilian hi-res mapping

Study suggests Planet 9 is stolen exoplanet

Robotics engineers design actuators inspired by muscle

New Horizons' Best Close-Up of Pluto's Surface

Opportunity investigating soil exposed by rover wheel

EU, Berlin oppose Chinese bid for German robotics maker: report

Robot home-help and virtual reality at Taiwan's Computex

Mars makes closest approach to Earth in 11 years

SwRI scientists discover evidence of ice age at Martian north pole

Mars Webcam goes pro

Russia to test humanoid robot at space station in 2020

Russian Firm Develops Project of Reusable Spacecraft for Lunar Missions

Bolivia takes over operations of Chinese-built satellite

Comet contains glycine, key part of recipe for life

Carnegie Mellon transparency reports make AI decision-making accountable

Beating the limits of the light microscope, one photon at a time

Could optical clocks redefine the length of a second

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