Posts Tagged ‘United States’
With maiden flight, ULA’s Vulcan joins 2024’s stampede to space
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan launch vehicle successfully roared aloft Monday on its maiden flight from Florida, carrying lunar payloads and keeping up a blistering pace of spaceflight that could drive 2024 past annual records for payloads sent to space and launches set in 2023. The first eight days of 2024 have seen four launches from the United States, including three by SpaceX, along with missions to orbit from India and China.
Read MorePolicy bill offers Space Force $29 billion for 2024, more flexible personnel rules
The Space Force would get new, more flexible personnel rules under a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the Pentagon budget at $841 billion nest year, which was approved by lawmakers from the U.S. House and Senate. The $29 billion Space Force budget was trimmed by just over $1 billion from an earlier Pentagon request, but is boosted by $3 billion when compared to the service’s 2023 budget.
Read MoreNew Lockheed Martin orders spur race for nuclear propulsion in space
The Defense Department is taking a closer look at powering spacecraft with next-generation nuclear reactors with a pair of programs announced in recent months that test rival methods to unlock the potential fission-powered spaceflight.
Read MoreSenate approves bill to limit space debris amid budget battles
A measure aimed at reducing space debris has passed the U.S. Senate with unanimous support and is headed to the House floor. The Orbits Act would require NASA to establish a pilot program for clearing debris from orbit, and orders tighter regulations to limit space junk.
Read MoreOSIRIS-REx delivers asteroid sample after seven years in space
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned a sample from the asteroid Bennu, which could help scientists better understand the formation of the solar system. After more than a decade of planning and seven years of space flight traversing more than 1 billion miles, a sample from the asteroid Bennu safely landed on Earth.
Read MoreAs Russia, India reach for Moon, NASA supporters work to stop budget cuts
As India and Russia race to land spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole, America’s space agency is staring down proposed budget cuts. India’s Chandrayaan-3 is poised to make a soft lunar landing, which would make the nation one of only four spacefaring powers to ever place a payload safely on the lunar surface.
Read MoreESA scientists: diamonds in the sky could signal early Supernova
There may be diamonds in the sky. The James Webb Space Telescope’s spectrometry gear identified carbon molecules in dust that formed during the universe’s infancy, but debate rages over just what they could be, the European Space Agency said in July.
Read MoreHow artificial intelligence in space will play key roles for the US Space Force
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play key roles for the military, from helping humans parse through oceans of Earth observation data to maneuvering satellites as constellations grow ever larger, Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw predicted during an online discussion with America’s Future Series.
Read MoreSpain signs up as 25th nation in Artemis pact
Officials from NASA and the U.S. State Department gathered in Madrid Tuesday as Science and Innovation Minister Diana Morant signed off for Spanish agreement to the Artemis Accords, marking the 25th nation to join the U.S.-led treaty to govern conduct in orbit and beyond.
Read MoreU.S. budget proposals for 2024 would add $5 billion in space spending
Unclassified federal space spending would top $60 billion in 2024 under budgets proposed by the White House March 10, with an extra $5 billion planned for civil and military programs.
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