ISS Expedition 35 commander Chris Hadfield just before leaving the station on May 13 (Credits: Canadian Space Agency).

Chris Hadfield Reflects on his ISS Mission

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gathered a remarkable following during his time in space, with his demonstration videos, song recordings, and photographs going viral throughout his five month spaceflight. But ask him what he’s most proud of accomplishing during this mission, and he’ll happily tell you about the amazing science he and his crew accomplished, the last minute EVA they pulled [...]

Terminator Tape deorbit module (Credits: Tethers Unlimited).

How to De-Orbit a CubeSat

At 05:38 GMT on Thursday 23rd May, Ecuador’s first and only satellite collided with the fuel tank of an S14 Soviet rocket, which was launched in 1985. Luckily, the satellite in question, named “Pegaso”, was only a CubeSat, with a mass of only 1.2 kg, so the amount of extra space debris generated was minimal, but it still provides an [...]

(Credits: Ecuadorian Space Agency).

First Ecuadorean Satellite may Create Debris after Collision with Microparticles

The Ecuadorean space agency (EXA) announced that NEE-01 Pegaso, the first Ecuadorian satellite encountered a field of micro particles left by a Soviet rocket at 640 km of altitude. It is still unclear if the collision may have damaged the satellite. On May 22, the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center notified EXA of a possible collision for the day after, [...]

A digitally simulated image of NASA's Opportunity rover in Endurance crater which it surveyed in 2005 (Credits: NASA/Z. Gorjian, K. Kuramura, M. Stetson, E. De Jong).

Opportunity Rover Breaks Travel Record

A well known constraint of robotic exploration is the speed at which robotic rovers travel. That is, they travel very slowly. A case in point is the Mars laboratory Curiosity. Since its landing in August 2012, Curiosity has travelled just 0.7 km. But one thing you can say for robots: they sure don’t give up. Until May 16, 2013, the [...]

Vision of a Mars settlement composed of a series of four person crews (Credits: MarsOne).

Opinion: MarsOne Not the Way to Go

By David Gobby The American Idol-style audition process for those who want to take part in the proposed MarsOne project to build a human outpost on Mars will provide a great laboratory for the study of human systems. To Dr. Raye Kass, an adviser to the project and a Concordia University professor of applied human sciences who wrote about it [...]


News

(Credits: Ecuadorian Space Agency).

First Ecuadorean Satellite may Create Debris after Collision with Microparticles

The Ecuadorean space agency (EXA) announced that NEE-01 Pegaso, the first Ecuadorian satellite encountered a field of micro particles left by a Soviet rocket at 640 km of altitude. It is still unclear if the collision may have damaged the satellite. On May 22, the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center notified EXA of a possible collision for the day after, [...]

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Focus

Terminator Tape deorbit module (Credits: Tethers Unlimited).

How to De-Orbit a CubeSat

At 05:38 GMT on Thursday 23rd May, Ecuador’s first and only satellite collided with the fuel tank of an S14 Soviet rocket, which was launched in 1985. Luckily, the satellite in question, named “Pegaso”, was only a CubeSat, with a mass of only 1.2 kg, so the amount of extra space debris generated was minimal, but it still provides an [...]

continue reading

Documents

ISS Expedition 35 commander Chris Hadfield just before leaving the station on May 13 (Credits: Canadian Space Agency).

Chris Hadfield Reflects on his ISS Mission

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gathered a remarkable following during his time in space, with his demonstration videos, song recordings, and photographs going viral throughout his five month spaceflight. But ask him what he’s most proud of accomplishing during this mission, and he’ll happily tell you about the amazing science he and his crew accomplished, the last minute EVA they pulled [...]

continue reading

Editor's Pick

The 6th IAASS at McGill University (Credits: Andrea Gini).

The Time to Organize Space Safety is NOW

The Space Safety Community gathered in Montreal for the 6th IAASS conference “Safety is not an Option” on May 21. Hosted by McGill University, the conference started with a plenary session chaired by Paul Kirkpatrick, head of the IAASS Technical Training Committee, and Rahm Jakhu, head of IAASS Legal and Regulatory Committee. Tommaso Sgobba, IAASS President, opened the conference with a [...]

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Recent Posts

Chris Hadfield Reflects on his ISS Mission

ISS Expedition 35 commander Chris Hadfield just before leaving the station on May 13 (Credits: Canadian Space Agency).

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gathered a remarkable following during his time in space, with his demonstration videos, song recordings, and photographs going viral throughout his five month spaceflight. But ask him what he’s most proud of accomplishing during this mission, and he’ll happily tell you about the amazing science he and his crew accomplished, the last minute EVA they pulled [...]

read more

How to De-Orbit a CubeSat

Terminator Tape deorbit module (Credits: Tethers Unlimited).

At 05:38 GMT on Thursday 23rd May, Ecuador’s first and only satellite collided with the fuel tank of an S14 Soviet rocket, which was launched in 1985. Luckily, the satellite in question, named “Pegaso”, was only a CubeSat, with a mass of only 1.2 kg, so the amount of extra space debris generated was minimal, but it still provides an [...]

read more

First Ecuadorean Satellite may Create Debris after Collision with Microparticles

(Credits: Ecuadorian Space Agency).

The Ecuadorean space agency (EXA) announced that NEE-01 Pegaso, the first Ecuadorian satellite encountered a field of micro particles left by a Soviet rocket at 640 km of altitude. It is still unclear if the collision may have damaged the satellite. On May 22, the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center notified EXA of a possible collision for the day after, [...]

read more

Opportunity Rover Breaks Travel Record

A digitally simulated image of NASA's Opportunity rover in Endurance crater which it surveyed in 2005 (Credits: NASA/Z. Gorjian, K. Kuramura, M. Stetson, E. De Jong).

A well known constraint of robotic exploration is the speed at which robotic rovers travel. That is, they travel very slowly. A case in point is the Mars laboratory Curiosity. Since its landing in August 2012, Curiosity has travelled just 0.7 km. But one thing you can say for robots: they sure don’t give up. Until May 16, 2013, the [...]

read more

Opinion: MarsOne Not the Way to Go

Vision of a Mars settlement composed of a series of four person crews (Credits: MarsOne).

By David Gobby The American Idol-style audition process for those who want to take part in the proposed MarsOne project to build a human outpost on Mars will provide a great laboratory for the study of human systems. To Dr. Raye Kass, an adviser to the project and a Concordia University professor of applied human sciences who wrote about it [...]

read more

ESA Opens Near Earth Objects Coordination Centre in Rome

A moment of the inaguration of NEO-CC at ESRIN, in Frascati, near Rome (Credits: ESA).

European Space Agency (ESA) has inaugurated the Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEO-CC) at the European Space Research Institute in Frascati, near Rome, on May 22. It is the second center opened by ESA in 2013 under the Situational Awareness (SSA) Program, after the Space Weather Coordination Centre in Brussels. “This is another major milestone just few weeks after the inauguration [...]

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Air Force Chief of Safety Talks Space Situational Awareness at IAASS Conference

Air Force Chief of Safety Major General Margareth Woodward speaks at the 6th IAASS Conference (Credits: US Air Force).

On May 21st, the 6th IAASS Conference “Safety is Not an Option” kicked off in Montreal. US government officials, barred from international travel by budget constraints within their agencies, have nonetheless been anxious to participate via video feed.  The US Air Force Chief of Safety, Major General Margareth H. Woodward, was one such, and now you can enjoy her talk even [...]

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SNC’s Dream Chaser at Dryden for Runway and Flight Tests

SNC's Dream Chaser test flight craft is hauled across the bed of Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on May 15. Image credit: NASA/Tom Tschida

Dream Chaser, the crewed orbital and suborbital vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing lifting-body vehicle, has been delivered to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California as of May 15. The vehicle, being developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems, will undergo a series of tests on its flight and runway landing system. “This will be the first full scale flight test [...]

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The Time to Organize Space Safety is NOW

The 6th IAASS at McGill University (Credits: Andrea Gini).

The Space Safety Community gathered in Montreal for the 6th IAASS conference “Safety is not an Option” on May 21. Hosted by McGill University, the conference started with a plenary session chaired by Paul Kirkpatrick, head of the IAASS Technical Training Committee, and Rahm Jakhu, head of IAASS Legal and Regulatory Committee. Tommaso Sgobba, IAASS President, opened the conference with a [...]

read more

Delta 4 Cleared to Launch New GPS Satellite

Delta 4 rocket is set to launch on May 23 from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral (Credits: Ken Kremer).

United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta 4 rocket carrying a military communications satellite is ready to lift off from Cape Canaveral, on May 23. The launch will mark the return to operations for Delta 4, which has remained idle since last October after it suffered a low-thrust condition on its upper stage. The rocket received the clearance for flight although the [...]

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