On May 1st, it was announced that John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, will be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The announcement comes roughly three months after NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of his historic flight. Twelve other Americans were selected to receive the medal, including musician Bob Dylan and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison. US [...]
Articles written by: Joel Spark
MicroThrust Ion Engine Could Place Cubesats in Lunar Orbit
The Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) has announced it has developed a lightweight propulsion system that could propel small satellites to the Moon using only 100mL of fuel. The entire propulsion system, which comprises an electric ion engine powered by photovoltaic solar cells, weighs only 200g including propellant, and is small enough to fit within the limited envelope of [...]
Rare Meteorite Crashes Through Oslo Roof
Rune Thomassen and his family were visiting their cabin near the urban holiday park “kolonihage” in Norway last weekend, and were surprised to find a hole in the roof. They were even more surprised to discover it had been caused by a 585-gram meteorite, sitting a few meters away. After examining the cabin, Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard, an astrophysicist at [...]
Commercial Airliners, Electrical Grids Weathering the Solar Storm
Despite warnings that Tuesday’s massive solar flares and associated coronal mass ejection (CME) might cause disruptions to power systems on Earth, there were almost no reported effects as the CME flew past. The two X-class solar flares, part of the largest solar storm since 2005, were predicted to cause a geomagnetic storm of between class G2 and G3 (G5 being the [...]
Solar Flare Blinds Venus Express Probe
The European Space Agency’s Venus Express probe seems to have been “blinded” by the recent solar flare and related Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). The spacecraft’s primary and backup star tracker sensors appear to have been damaged by the high dose of radiation it received from the recent solar activity. “We were not able to detect any stars, so we decided [...]
Russia Develops Space Android
Russia has created a robotic cosmonaut, similar to NASA’s Robonaut. The SAR-400 robot can be remotely operated from Earth, mimicking the movements of the terrestrial operator, and will perform tasks that would be risky for human cosmonauts, such as tightening bolts, exploring the station’s exterior for damage, and handling cargo. “A robot can duplicate the movements of an operator that [...]
The Spaceship Company Qualifies 3 Structural Subcontractors
The Spaceship Company (TSC) announced Monday that it had qualified three aerospace composite part suppliers to provide structural components for the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo suborbital space tourism vehicles. Applied Aerospace Structures Corp (AASC), GFMI Aerospace & Defence, and Triumph Aerospace Systems all met or exceeded the conditions outlined in TSC’s qualification document TSDP-740. “On behalf of everyone here at The [...]
SpaceX Completes Launch Prep Test
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully completed a 5-hour launch readiness test in preparation for the highly-anticipated launch of their Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket on March 1st. The rehearsal, which was held at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, included a full countdown and fueling procedure, and went off without any problems. “We ran down the countdown [...]
XCOR, Southwest Research Institute Move Up Suborbital Payload Testing
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) announced Thursday that it had reached an agreement with XCOR to fly scientific payloads, and dedicated Institute astronauts to operate them, during the upcoming Lynx Mark I suborbital test flights. The flights will test the capabilities of the Lynx in terms of microgravity quality and duration prior to it beginning commercial services. “We are very excited to advance [...]
Canada Commits to ISS Mission Extension
The Canadian government announced on February 29th that it would renew its commitment to the International Space Station through the mission extension to 2020. Christian Paradis, the Canadian minister of industry, made the announcement to representatives of the other ISS partner nations at a group meeting in Quebec City. “We are helping to maintain Canada’s leadership in space technology and its [...]
