PARIS (ESA PR) — ESA has signed the first three contracts with European economic operators arising from its permanently open call for proposals for commercial space transportation services.

Boost! – ESA’s Commercial Space Transportation Services and support to Member States programme was adopted at Space19+ and an Open call for proposals  under its Element 1 was launched in April this year. Through this programme, ESA aims to stimulate and support competitiveness and new commercial European space transportation services.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station. This is the first crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket following certification by NASA for regular flights to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

The launch is targeted for 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station at 4:20 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 15. Launch, prelaunch activities, and docking will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

PARIS (ESA PR) — As the world celebrates two decades of humans in orbit around Earth on the International Space Station, this month’s science summary will look back not at four weeks of European research in space, but 20 years – with a focus on human research, naturally.

In November 2000 the first human entered the two-module International Space Station and ESA ran its first experiment just three months later.

BLAGOVESHCHENSK, Russia (Roscosmos PR) — At the Vostochny cosmodrome, intensive preparations are continuing for the upcoming launch of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage and a new batch of 36 OneWeb spacecraft. Today, November 2, 2020, a special aircraft with ground support equipment and two foreign customer dispensers for devices arrived at the Ignatievo airport in Blagoveshchensk. Specialists of the Vostochny Space Center (a branch of the Center […]

MOFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA PR) — As it journeys into some of the darkest and coldest spots in the solar system, NASA’s new water-hunting Moon rover, VIPER, will need some very robust headlights to light the way.

In the extremes of light and dark found on the Moon, shadowed and lit areas are in such high contrast that any contours in the landscape are effectively invisible in the darkness. To navigate this world, VIPER’s rover drivers will rely on a system of rover-mounted lights and cameras to steer clear of boulders, descend steep declines into craters and avoid other potentially mission-fatal dangers.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Faculty members in Purdue University’s schools of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Mechanical Engineering are among a list of 28 researchers whose technologies have been selected to receive funding under NASA’s Tech Flights solicitation.

Steven Collicott , professor of aeronautics and astronautics, will receive four separate grants totaling $1.8 million for four different experiments. Issam Mudawar, the Betty Ruth and Milton B. Hollander Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering, will receive one grant in the amount of $649,851.

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — The leading role in the first feature film to be filmed in space will be played by a woman. The decision was made by the producers of the picture in the interests of the plot.  Previously, the creators of the project planned to hold a competition among both men and women, having two scenarios, but in the process of further work and discussion, they came to the […]

Four launches are on tap this week from the United States, China and India. Tuesday, November 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas 5Payload: NROL-101 reconnaissance satellite for National Reconnaissance OfficeLaunch Time: 5:58 p.m. EST (2258 GMT) Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FloridaWebcast: www.ulalaunch.com Thursday, November 5 Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9Payload: GPS 3 SV04 navigation satellite for U.S. Air ForceLaunch Window: 6:24-6:39 p.m. EST (2324-2339 GMT)Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force […]

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (ULA PR) — Everything is progressing towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the NROL-101 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

The mission is set to lift off on Tue., Nov. 3 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch time is 5:58 p.m. EST.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: 1. Monday, Nov. 2, 2020; 7 PM PST (9 PM CST; 10 PM EST) NO PROGRAM TODAY. 2. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, 7 PM PST (9 PM CST; 10 PM EST): No show due to election night. 3. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020; Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details. 4. Thursday, Nov. […]

• New technology from Airbus achieves breakthrough
• Chemical reduction process opens new horizons in human space exploration
• Emission-free method could also contribute to UN sustainability goals on Earth

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN/DRESDEN/BOSTON/SEVILLE (Airbus PR) – An international team led by Airbus Defence and Space (Friedrichshafen, Germany) with scientists from Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM (Dresden, Germany), Boston University (Massachusetts, USA) and Abengoa Innovación (Seville, Spain) has successfully demonstrated the production of oxygen and metals from simulated lunar dust (regolith) with the Airbus-invented process named ROXY (Regolith to OXYgen and Metals Conversion). Airbus believes ROXY could revolutionise human space exploration.