by Gianine Figliozzi
NASA’s Ames Research Center

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — BioSentinel gets a step closer to flight. Having completed assembly and a battery of tests, the BioSentinel team at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley is in the final stretch of preparations to ship the spacecraft to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.

BioSentinel’s deep space flight will go past the Moon and into an orbit around the Sun. It’s one of 13 CubeSats that will launch aboard Artemis I, the first flight of the Artemis program’s Space Launch System. Above, inside an anechoic chamber at Ames, quality assurance engineer Austin Bowie inspects BioSentinel’s solar array after completion of a test to determine the effects of electromagnetic spacecraft emissions on spacecraft systems.

HAMPTON, Va. (NASA PR) — “Tango delta. Touchdown confirmed. Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life.” For more than six years, the Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation 2 (MEDLI2) team waited to hear these words.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Technology drives exploration, and as NASA eyes deep-space human exploration, technology is at the forefront of its plans. Preparing for these missions requires technology development within the agency and research by external experts in various fields.

As part of this effort, NASA will establish two new university-led Space Technology Research Institutes (STRIs), which will join four already active institutes. The new STRIs will bring together researchers from different disciplines and organizations to tackle challenges associated with electric propulsion ground testing and atmospheric entry systems modeling. The new STRIs aim to advance these game-changing technologies for exploring the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

• Two advanced “green” fuels have been successfully tested to replace hydrazine.
• State-of-the-art laboratory and analysis techniques in the physical-chemical laboratory form the cornerstone of future fuel technologies.
• 3D-printed combustion chamber compatible with “green” fuels.

LAMPOLDSHAUSEN, Germany (DLR PR) — Sustainability and environmental compatibility are also increasingly important standards in space travel. To achieve this, scientists at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Lampoldshausen are developing fuels for next-generation space applications. The focus is on application-relevant properties such as improving environmental compatibility, safety, behavior at different temperatures and reducing fuel costs. 

CARLSBAD, Calif., April 1, 2021 (Viasat PR) — Viasat Inc.  (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced the appointment of Former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) Chief and former Oklahoma Congressman James “Jim” Bridenstine to its Board of Directors. Bridenstine will serve as a Class II director, with an initial term expiring at the Company’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. With the appointment of Bridenstine, the Board now consists of eight members, six of whom are independent directors.

Bridenstine will provide Viasat’s Board of Directors with extensive experience in space technology, innovation and safety based on his leadership role at NASA, as well as defense and aerospace expertise based on his public service in the United States Navy and Congress.

ST. LOUIS, APRIL 01, 2021 (NGA PR) — The NGA Accelerator Powered by Capital Innovators recently selected eight companies from more than 350 applicants to participate in the March 23 launch of the inaugural cohort of its geospatial corporate accelerator program based in St. Louis. The NGA Accelerator is managed through a Partnership Intermediary Agreement between the Missouri Technology Corporation, NGA and Capital Innovators.

The 13-week program sources technology from startups to help solve geospatial challenges that focus on government and industry opportunities in four core areas: data management, advanced analytics and modeling, data integrity and security, and artificial intelligence.

Each company will receive a $100,000 non-dilutive grant and will receive mentoring and coaching from subject matter experts from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Capital Innovators. The COVID-19 pandemic requires the initial cohort to be conducted virtually, but future cohorts are planned to be held in person at the accelerator.

AUSTIN, Texas (New Providence Acquisition Corp.)–New Providence Acquisition Corp. (“New Providence”) (NASDAQ: NPA, NPAUU and NPAWW) today announced that its stockholders approved all proposals related to the previously announced business combination (the “Business Combination”) with AST & Science, LLC at a special meeting of stockholders held today. A Form 8-K disclosing the full voting results is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The closing of the […]

Jupiter’s moon Europa may have the potential to harbor life. The spacecraft will use multiple flybys of the moon to investigate the habitability of this ocean world.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Europa Clipper, NASA’s upcoming flagship mission to the outer solar system, has passed a significant milestone, completing its Critical Design Review. During the review, experts examined the detailed design of the spacecraft to ensure that it is ready to complete construction. The mission is now able to complete hardware fabrication and testing, and move toward the assembly and testing of the spacecraft and its payload of sophisticated science instruments.

The magnitude 3.3 and 3.1 temblors originated in a region called Cerberus Fossae, further supporting the idea that this location is seismically active.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA’s InSight lander has detected two strong, clear quakes originating in a location of Mars called Cerberus Fossae – the same place where two strong quakes were seen earlier in the mission. The new quakes have magnitudes of 3.3 and 3.1; the previous quakes were magnitude 3.6 and 3.5. InSight has recorded over 500 quakes to date, but because of their clear signals, these are four of the best quake records for probing the interior of the planet.

By Brittany Enos
University of Arizona

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is on the brink of discovering the extent of the mess it made on asteroid Bennu’s surface during last fall’s sample collection event. On Apr. 7, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will get one last close encounter with Bennu as it performs a final flyover to capture images of the asteroid’s surface. While performing the flyover, the spacecraft will observe Bennu from a distance of about 2.3 miles (3.7 km) – the closest it’s been since the Touch-and-Go Sample Collection event on Oct. 20, 2020.

CLEVELAND (NASA PR) — The thruster system that will propel NASA’s Gateway around the Moon was recently fired up for the first of many ground tests to ensure the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) is ready for flight.

DENVER, April 1, 2021 (Voyager Space Holdings PR — Voyager Space Holdings, Inc. (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, today announced it has completed the acquisition of The Launch Company, a leader in developing the systems, hardware, and processes to accelerate NewSpace companies to orbit. Voyager announced the company’s intent to acquire The Launch Company in Nov. 2020 and, with its closing, will now add launch services to the holding company’s growing list of capabilities.

“Even since we announced our intent to acquire The Launch Company late last year, we’ve seen the demand for launches increase dramatically and we are confident that this trend is going to continue,” said Matthew Kuta, president and COO of Voyager Space Holdings. “The Launch Company is perfectly positioned to support this tidal wave of launch needs and we are thrilled that we can now support the exciting work that they are doing to help next-generation space companies gain access to orbit faster, cheaper, and more reliably.”