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Earth Observation Satellites Contribute to Hurricane Ian Tracking Effort

As Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28, 2022, people around the world were viewing images and videos of the destruction the storm was causing. But arguably the people with the best view of the storm were the astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) who could see the entire system outside their window.

Alongside astronauts, Earth observation (EO) satellites have been watching the storm develop, relaying data to operators like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who can then share predictions with the public.

Space Matters: Kennedy’s Space Speech 60 Years Ago Transformed the Space Race and the U.S. Economy

Sixty years ago this month, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech still credited for propelling the United States program to the Moon. That undertaking transformed the national economy through technological and scientific advancement and led to product advancements that continue to improv… This article is for subscribers. Please sign up for a subscription or…

Prepping for Artemis: Booster Testing, Launchpad Readiness, and More From Q2 of The Space Report

The countdown for Artemis I continues as the Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle passed its launch readiness review Monday, keeping the mission on track to launch in less than a week. The first launch window begins at 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 p.m. UTC) on Aug. 29, with two backup windows in the first week of September.

Rivals Launch Military Satellites Amid U.S.-led Space Defense Drills

A flurry of military and intelligence satellite launches by rival powers this month came as the United States and two dozen partner nations wrapped up the largest global space defense wargame in history.

Russia launched what some leaders have described as a spy satellite for Iran and its own on-orbit snooping satellite Cosmos-2558, which is circling Earth in an orbit conspicuously close to a recently launched U.S. National Reconnaissance Office satellite, a Netherlands researcher confirmed.

Solving Space Junk Problem Could Net Federal Prize

A grand prize could be in the offing for inventors who come up with new methods to prevent orbiting debris or design tools that can clean up space junk, according to recommendations from the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Aug. 4 Sets Record for Most Launches in One Day

The beginning of August saw a flurry of launch activity as Aug. 4 set a record for most orbital launches on a single day (based on UTC launch times). The final launch count for the day reached five – three American and two Chinese.

Space Matters: Experts Call for More Governance in LEO

The Wild West regulatory environment in low Earth orbit was ranked as a top threat to space sustainability by a panel of experts convened for Space Symposium 365’s Space Matters webcast Thursday.

Clockwise from top left, panelists former Rep. Robert Walker, Carissa Christensen, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and Patricia Cooper.

ESA Sending Heroic, Fictional Sheep Aboard Artemis I

NASA says its Artemis I flight set to launch as soon as late August will be an uncrewed lunar fly-by.

The Paris-based European Space Agency would beg to differ. Shaun is leaving the happy confines of Mossy Bottom Farm to lead the flight around the Moon, an agency press release announced.

Pentagon Nominates Domain Awareness Expert to Lead Space Force

One of the U.S. military’s top experts in space domain awareness has been nominated to become the Pentagon’s second Chief of Space Operations. Lt. Gen. Chance “Salty” Saltzman was nominated Thursday to take the space service’s top job. If his promotion is confirmed by the Senate, Saltzman will have rocketed in three years from wearing a single star to pinning four to his uniform.

First Images, Data from James Webb Space Telescope Reveal Early Universe

The James Webb Space Telescope’s first images delivered a look at the universe as it appeared 13.1 billion years ago. Among the results: evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet 1,000 light years from Earth.