Author: starpathwp-production
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Summit cites Paradigm Shift for European Spaceflight
The ESA-EU Space Summit at Seville/Spain on November 6/7 focused on the need to evolve the future of the European Space Agency (ESA) and European spaceflight in general. Europe’s space ambitions are moving into a “paradigm shift,” as noted by Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA, as Europe deals with a gap in capability between…
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Solestial Awarded NASA SBIR Ignite Contracts to Develop Next Generation Solar Arrays
Solestial, the solar energy company for space, announced that it has been awarded $849,954 for a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The winning proposal titled, “Next Generation Silicon Based Solar Arrays for Space Stations and Other Permanent Space Infrastructure,” comes on the heels of a…
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The European Space Agency may have a bullying problem
Alex has been passionate about space exploration since her childhood. (Pseudonyms are used, and some genders are obscured throughout this piece, as sources requested anonymity to speak freely.) She considered pursuing astronomy as a career but ended up on a different professional path, one that ultimately led to a job at the European Space Agency…
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Daily Telescope: Lucy continues to surprise astronomers with its first flyby
Welcome to the Daily Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this world and not enough light; a little too much pseudoscience and not enough science. We’ll let other publications offer you a daily horoscope. At Ars Technica, we’re going to take a different route, finding inspiration from very real images of a…
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ESA Officially Launches its Zero Debris Charter
The European Space Agency (ESA) finalized its Zero Debris Charter, releasing the document this week during the 2023 Space Summit in Seville, Spain. The non-binding charter calls participants to stop generating space debris by 2030. The charter sets out a number of targets, including that a mission’s probability of generating space debris should remain below…
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NASA Invites Feedback for Future Lunar Surface Resource Utilization Demonstration
As NASA ushers in an exciting era of long-term exploration on the Moon with Artemis, new strategies are being formulated to determine how technology, infrastructure, and operations will function together as a cohesive and cross-cutting system. As a sustained presence grows at the Moon, opportunities to harvest lunar resources could lead to safer, more efficient…
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Capitol Hill budget battle may limit initial funding of some National Security Space Launch missions
A ULA Vulcan rocket during a testing campaign (left) and a Falcon Heavy rocket at liftoff (right). Both launch vehicles were tapped to launch National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions during the fifth and final ordering year procurement by the U.S. Space Systems Command. Images: ULA, SpaceX The U.S. Space Systems Command revealed the details…
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Leidos Successfully Deploys Its Potable Water System to the International Space Station
Leidos, a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, announced the successful deployment of its Exploration Potable Water Dispenser (xPWD) for the International Space Station (ISS). The xPWD is the culmination of nearly three years of design, development, testing, and certification work performed by Leidos as part of NASA’s Cargo Mission Contract (CMC). “Leidos is devoted…
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After the sting of Ariane 6, Europe finally embraces commercial rockets
Representatives from 22 European countries reached an agreement Monday to change the way the continent’s rockets are developed, moving from a government-driven approach to a commercial paradigm that appears to be modeled after how NASA and the US military do business. This is a big moment for the European Space Agency and its member states,…
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on 80th orbital launch of the year
Updated: Satellites deployed. SpaceX sent up 23 Starlink satellites during a mission from Cape Canaveral just on the other side of midnight, the first of two planned Falcon 9 launches in less than 48 hours. Liftoff from pad 40 occurred at 12:05 a.m. EST (0505 UTC). Near-perfect weather was forecast for the launch of…