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Showing posts with the label 2021 at 08:43PMSpaceNews

Space News: Lockheed Martin signs agreement with Omnispace to explore 5G in space

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by Sandra Erwin WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin announced March 23 it has signed an agreement with Omnispace to share business and technical information on the deployment of 5G networking technology in space. Virginia-based Omnispace is developing a hybrid space and ground network to provide 5G and internet of things services. Lockheed Martin said the “strategic interest agreement” with Omnispace does not involve any financial investment and is intended to explore joint development of 5G mobile broadband capability from space.   Lockheed Martin, the nation’s largest military contractor, is interested in applying commercial broadband and wireless technologies for government use. The ability to transmit large amounts of data at high speeds and low latency is one capability that Lockheed Martin wants to bring to the government market .   Omnispace is targeting markets like agriculture, mining and energy, shipping and logistics. 5G satellite connectivity would be a significant...
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Space News: China to construct commercial spaceport to support booming space industry

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by Andrew Jones   HELSINKI — China will establish a commercial spaceport in the coming years to support the rapid growth of private space activities in the country. The commercial space launch center was included in a list of national projects in the recently formulated 14th Five-Year Plan which covers 2021-2025. The project gains approval following both a large increase in launches by the traditional space industry in China and the development of a private space sector in recent years. China currently has four national launch centers that mainly support launches of Long March rockets from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), the state’s main space contractor. Increasing launch activity and numbers of launch service providers could however be constrained by a bottleneck in launch facilities. Dou Xiaoyu, a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), the top Chinese legislative body, and a vice chairperson at China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CAS...
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Space News: ESA awards €10.45 million to two UK launch startups

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by Andrew Parsonson VALLETTA, Malta — The European Space Agency awarded UK-based launch startups Orbex and Skyrora a combined €10.45 million ($12.35 million) to support development of competing microlaunchers. The two support contracts announced March 24 were awarded under Boost!, an ESA program that aims to foster new commercial space transportation services. The agency adopted Boost! during Space19+, an ESA ministerial-level council meeting held in November 2019, and announced an open call for proposals last April. Each of the two new Boost! contracts outlines specific outcomes the funding will assist the companies in achieving. Orbital Launch Express (Orbex) is developing its two-stage Prime microlauncher which is powered by 3D-printed rocket engines and is designed to carry payloads of up 150 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The vehicle is expected to make its debut in 2022. The €7.45 million in co-funding Orbex and its partners received is the largest Boost! award to date. The...
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APOD:

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Most photographs don't adequately portray the magnificence of the Sun's corona. Seeing the corona first-hand during a total solar eclipse is unparalleled. The human eye can adapt to see coronal features and extent that average cameras usually cannot. Welcome, however, to the digital age. The featured image digitally combined short and long exposures taken in Exmouth, Australia that were processed to highlight faint and extended features in the corona during the total solar eclipse that occurred in April of 2023. Clearly visible are intricate layers and glowing caustics of an ever changing mixture of hot gas and magnetic fields in the Sun's corona. Looping prominences appear bright pink just past the Sun's edge. Images taken seconds before and after the total eclipse show glimpses of the background Sun known as Baily's Beads and diamond ring effect. The next total solar eclipse will cross North America in April of 2024. via NASA https://ift.tt/ibLzpTC
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APOD: Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841

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A mere 46 million light-years distant, spiral galaxy NGC 2841 can be found in planet Earth's night sky toward the northern constellation of Ursa Major. This sharp image centered on the gorgeous island universe also captures spiky foreground Milky Way stars and more distant background galaxies within the same telescopic field of view. It shows off the bright nucleus of NGC 2841, along with its inclined galactic disk, and faint outer regions. Dust lanes, small star-forming regions, and young star clusters are embedded in the galaxy's patchy, tightly wound spiral arms. In contrast, many other spirals exhibit broader, sweeping arms with large star-forming regions. NGC 2841 has a diameter of over 150,000 light-years, making it even larger than our own Milky Way. X-ray images suggest that extreme outflows from giant stars and stellar explosions create plumes of hot gas extending into a halo around NGC 2841. via NASA https://ift.tt/HDshMQ9
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