By Mara Johnson-Groh
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

GREENBELT, Md. — For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the Sun. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has now flown through the Sun’s upper atmosphere – the corona – and sampled particles and magnetic fields there. 

The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the Moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching the very stuff the Sun is made of will help scientists uncover critical information about our closest star and its influence on the solar system. 

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — As part of the Demo Day, experts from the Roscosmos State Corporation and the Skolkovo Foundation (VEB.RF Group) announced the winners of the first industry digital accelerator. For the purpose of implementing measures and key milestones of the Digital Transformation Strategy of the State Corporation Roscosmos for the period up to 2025 and the prospect until 2030, the Industry Accelerator on digital technologies was held in cooperation with the Skolkovo Foundation.

More than 200 applications from startups from all over Russia were submitted to participate in the competition. Within the framework of the correspondence examination, 143 projects were selected, of which 68 projects were admitted to the stage of in-person presentations. 12 projects entered the acceleration program, which proposed the most interesting technological developments aimed at implementing the digital transformation strategy of the Roscosmos State Corporation.

NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists are teaming up to test remote sensing technology for use in oil spill response.

By Esprit Smith
NASA’s Earth Science News Team

Just off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, thousands of gallons of oil seep through cracks in the seafloor and rise to the surface each day. But this isn’t a disaster zone: It’s one of the largest naturally occurring oil seeps in the world and is believed to have been active for thousands of years.

PARIS (ESA PR) — The latest type of telecommunication satellite that can respond from space to changing demands on Earth is about to start assembly of its electronic components.

The highly flexible satellite is setting a new paradigm for geostationary telecommunication satellites, by using off-the-shelf commercial components in the standardised physical hardware and using just software to configure bespoke missions.

KOUROU, French Guiana (ESA PR) — On Saturday 11 December, the James Webb Space Telescope was placed on top of the Ariane 5 rocket that will launch it to space from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Video Caption: Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor joins ‘Squawk on the Street’ to discuss his trip to space on board Amazon’s Blue Origin. His company focuses on business and economic activities in space.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., December 13, 2021 (CASIS PR) – SpaceX’s upcoming 24th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will include more than 15 payloads sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS). These payloads include multiple investigations from private-sector entities, including two supported by highly recognizable companies: Merck and Procter & Gamble.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — Following extensive testing and analysis of oxidizer isolation valves on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner service module propulsion system, Boeing has decided to move up service modules currently in production for its upcoming uncrewed and crewed flight tests to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

PARIS (MDA PR) — MDA Ltd. (TSX:MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly-expanding global space industry, announced today at the World Satellite Business Week event that its next generation commercial Earth observation (EO) mission will be named CHORUS. The company also announced that CHORUS will initially include C-band and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites.

A collaborative multi-sensor constellation, CHORUS will bring together multiple diverse and unique perspectives in harmony, opening the aperture and the art of the possible to provide a new level of real-time insight about our planet. CHORUS builds on the strong heritage of the RADARSAT program and brings forward innovative new technologies and operations concepts to deliver a significantly enhanced capability. 

DENVER, Dec. 13, 2021 (Voyager Space PR) — Voyager Space, a global leader in space exploration, today announced Dirk Hoke has joined the company’s advisory board. Hoke served as the CEO of Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus) for five years as well as on the company’s executive council. He joins a renowned group of industry experts guiding Voyager as it continues its mission to create a vertically integrated, publicly traded NewSpace company.

Before joining Airbus in 2016, Hoke worked at Siemens, where he held various executive-level positions. His career spans 25 years and five continents in various industries, often focusing on digitalization.

LONG BEACH, Calif., December 13, 2021 (Rocket Lab PR) – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SolAero Holdings, Inc. (SolAero), a premier supplier of space solar power products and precision aerospace structures for the global aerospace market, for $80 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

The acquisition aligns with Rocket Lab’s growth strategy of vertical integration to deliver a comprehensive space solution that spans spacecraft manufacture, satellite subsystems, flight software, ground operations, and launch. As one of only two companies producing high-efficiency, space-grade solar cells in the United States, SolAero’s space solar cells are among the highest performing in the world and support civil space exploration, science, defense and intelligence, and commercial markets. In combining with Rocket Lab, SolAero will tap into the Company’s resources and manufacturing capability to boost high-volume production, making high-performing space power technologies available at scale.

Time has named SpaceX and Tesla Founder/CEO Elon Musk as its 2021 Person of the Year. You can read the profile here. Time named vaccine scientists as heroes of the year. Reaction on Twitter fell into familiar grooves, with praise from the space community where he has overwhelming support. Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver tweeted her congratulations — and put in a plug for her forthcoming book. Musk’s reputation […]