Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have kicked off a four-year study of vision problems that surfaced among crewmembers several years ago and now rank among the top health concerns facing those selected for future deep-space missions. Nineteen ISS astronauts have developed symptoms of impaired vision since the ailment was first recognized in 2005, according to Dr. Christian Otto, principal investigator for the NASA-sponsored Prospective Observational Study of Ocular Health.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $343.3 million direct loan to Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) to finance the purchase of two Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) communications satellites, plus launch services. SS/L is building AsiaSat 6, a C-band satellite, and AsiaSat 8, a mixed Ku/Ka-band satellite, under a contract announced in November 2011. The launches, to be carried out by SpaceX, are planned for the first half of 2014. To date in fiscal 2013, the Ex-Im Bank has authorized $891 million in support of U.S.
An Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL air-launched rocket is in final preparation to send a NASA scientific satellite into polar orbit to study a poorly understood region of the Sun's atmosphere in unprecedented detail. The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) (see image) will combine an ultraviolet telescope and a multi-channel imaging spectrograph to study the interface region between the visible surface of the Sun and its upper atmosphere, which is the source of most of the Sun's UV radiation.
NASA's long-lived Opportunity rover is rolling toward a new destination at Endeavour Crater on Mars, following one of the nine-year mission's most striking discoveries, a rock rich in clay minerals that points to an early, biologically friendly era dominated by water with a neutral chemistry. Opportunity's internal examination of the rock Esperance in a region known as Cape York on the crater's rim has produced findings strikingly similar to those from rock analysis by NASA's Curiosity rover at the Yellowknife Bay region of distant Gale Crater.
Test pilots working for Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic expect to expand the SpaceShipTwo flight envelope rapidly this year, and to reach the edge of space before the end of December.
Despite the fact that the deal creates a monopoly for certain advanced propulsion systems, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said June 11 that it will not challenge GenCorp’s acquisition of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for about $550 million. Approval was given “primarily because the Department of Defense wishes to see the transaction go forward for national security reasons,” the FTC said.
BEIJING — Now classifying its Shenzhou spacecraft as operational equipment, not experimental, China launched its fifth manned space mission on June 11. The objectives of the 15-day Shenzhou 10 mission are to further develop China’s technologies for docking and supporting human life in space, laying the groundwork for the space station that is supposed to be operational around 2020. With Shenzhou 10, the phase aimed at perfecting docking and spacewalking techniques should be complete.
NASA’s long-lived Opportunity rover is rolling toward a new destination at Endeavour Crater on Mars, following one of the nine-year mission’s most striking discoveries, a rock rich in clay minerals that points to an early, biologically friendly era dominated by water with a neutral chemistry.
NEW DELHI — India’s plans to loft France’s SPOT-7 satellite and six other small international spacecraft by early next year reflect a boost in demand for India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in the global market, according to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). “We are getting launch orders from around the world,” a senior ISRO official says.
Reauthorization of the Commercial Space Launch Act (CSLA) – and its federal indemnification coverage and potential new federal mandates over seeking informed-consent waivers from launch participants and crew — could be hot topics as U.S. lawmakers and industry prepare to update the nearly decade-old law this year.
Switzerland's Solar Impulse team overcame storms in the Midwest U.S. to fly the solar-powered prototype, HB-SIA, from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Lambert St. Louis International Airport on the third leg of its Across America 2013 cross-country flight.
In what could be the biggest shake-up of U.S.-funded science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) promotional efforts since the dawn of the space age, the Pentagon, NASA and Department of Homeland Security are set to lose many of their STEM programs.
