HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected Axiom Space for the second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. NASA will negotiate with Axiom on a mission order agreement for the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) targeted to launch between fall 2022 and late spring 2023.

Mynaric-co-led UN:IO, a consortium of companies, to outline within the next six months a detailed technical concept for its proposed constellation architecture

MUNICH, 13 December 2021 (Mynaric PR) — The Mynaric-co-led consortium UN:IO has been selected by the European Commission for initial work on an independent European satellite network. The European Commission selected UN:IO and one other consortium to outline within the next six months a detailed technical concept for their respective proposed constellation architecture to establish Europe’s future sovereign communications infrastructure in space. The selection for the study follows a competitive tender that engaged around a dozen contesters bidding to lay out Europe’s path towards a secure, very fast and, above all, sovereign communications network. 

NPPP Obtains Report under Freedom of Information Act

AUSTIN (NPPP PR) – The nuclear reactor that NASA plans to launch to the Moon’s surface later this decade to power a manned mission would not require weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel, according to a government study released yesterday that contradicts previous assertions. The report, “Analysis of Alternative Core Designs for Fission Surface Power Capability Demonstration Mission,” was released to the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the University of Texas at Austin, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

As recently as 2018, U.S. officials had claimed that bomb-grade fuel was necessary to reduce the weight of space power reactors and had tested such a reactor at a national laboratory. By contrast, the new report reveals that using low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel, which is unsuitable for nuclear weapons, would not increase the total weight of the reactor system if a “moderator” were used to slow down the neutrons to facilitate nuclear fission.

VILNIUS, Lithuania, 10 December 2021 (NanoAvionics PR) – Smallsat mission integrator NanoAvionics, together with other UN:IO consortium members, will start working on a feasibility study, which has been granted 1.4 million EUR (1.6 million USD) by the European Commission, to create a sovereign communications network for Europe by 2025. The consortium comprises 14 companies led by satellite manufacturer Reflex Aerospace, launch provider Isar Aerospace and laser specialist Mynaric. According to the Lithuanian mission integrator the concept will “include breakthrough technologies for small satellites”.

It’s not the first time for NanoAvionics to be involved in such R&D projects. Last year, the company was awarded a 1 million euros grant by ESA (the European Space Agency) to develop new technologies for small satellite propulsion systems, and participated in two additional ESA funded satellite technology R&D projects. And in 2019, NanoAvionics received a €10 million grant by the EU’S Horizon 2020 and ESA to develop and launch the initial stage of a Global Internet of Things (GIoT) nanosatellite constellation. It has also built satellites for several space missions that included cutting edge technology such as NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) and Los Alamos National Laboratory’s first astrophysics payload in 20 years.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: Tuesday, December 14 — 7 PM PST (9 PM CST; 10 PM EST): We welcome back GENE MEYERS to discuss his SSP advocacy plus his space advocacy methodology. Wednesday, December 15 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, December 17 — 9:30-11 AM PST; 11:30 AM- 1 PM CST; 12:30-2 PM EST: We […]

Video Caption: Join us in recalling the awe-inspiring journey the crew of #NS19 “The Original Six” experienced on December 11, 2021.

By Linda Herridge
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center

When plant scientist Jess Bunchek leaves Antarctica in the coming weeks and returns to her roots at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, she will bring back knowledge to benefit space exploration along with memories that will last a lifetime.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA PR) — Scientists recently added a whopping 301 newly validated exoplanets to the total exoplanet tally. The throng of planets is the latest to join the 4,569  already validated planets orbiting a multitude of distant stars. How did scientists discover such a huge number of planets, seemingly all at once? The answer lies with a new deep neural network called ExoMiner.

ROME (ASI PR) — A lot of Italian science born from the exclusive collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) was aboard the IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) satellite, which took off punctually from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7.00 Italian time on 9 December. A Falcon 9 carrier from the private company SpaceX was used for the launch. The launch was attended by the president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Giorgio Saccoccia, and the administrator of NASA, Bill Nelson.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA plans to send five small satellites to space as part of the first mission under the agency’s Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 contract.

Redmond, Wash. (Microsoft PR) — Satellites now provide huge datasets that require complex processing, data routing, and storage. To satisfy the growing demand for this data, Microsoft has teamed with Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, to rapidly analyze imagery data captured by satellite providers in space orbit. Esri’s ArcGIS Image technology will provide processing and analysis on imagery hosted in Azure Orbital, Microsoft’s Satellite Ground Station As a Service.

COLUMBIA, Md. (USRA PR) — Universities Space Research Association (USRA) has been selected by Nanoracks and Voyager Space –along with ZIN Technologies, The Ohio State University, and the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation–to join the founding leadership team in charge of supporting the development of the Starlab George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park. The GWC Science Park will leverage a successful terrestrial business model where scientists and industry members share findings, collaborate, and use new technologies to advance both scientific and commercial endeavors.