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Space News: Nanoavionics to take on larger microsatellite market

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by Jason Rainbow TAMPA, Fla. — Lithuanian nanosatellite maker Nanoavionics is moving into the heavier microsatellite market as it looks to grow fivefold by 2025. Vytenis Buzas, CEO of NanoAvionics, claims its 50-kilogram-plus ‘MP42’ product will be the microsat industry’s first commercially available modular bus. The company said last August its modular approach for small satellite buses ranging from 12 to 35 kilograms helped triple revenues over the previous 12 months .  After expanding from 30 people to more than 100 since moving from cubesats to larger nanosatellite-class spacecraft around 2017, Buzas has high hopes for its larger and more capable MP42 bus. “It will enable a large number of organisations to enter and benefit from the space market previously prevented by barriers in the microsat segment such as cost, lack of modularity, mechanical restraints and suitable mission operations,” Buzas said in a published statement. “Their high-end applications and mega const...
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Space News: Space startup using Soviet-era technology to build satellite servicing vehicle

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by Sandra Erwin WASHINGTON — A Ukrainian startup is building an in-orbit servicing vehicle using space docking technology developed decades ago by the former Soviet Union.  The startup, named Kurs Orbital, was co-founded by the former head of Ukraine’s space agency Volodymyr Usov. The company plans to launch a demonstration vehicle in 2023, Usov told SpaceNews . Investments are pouring into launch vehicles and satellites, and servicing could be the next segment of the industry to gain traction, he said.  The market research firm NSR projects in-orbit servicing will be a $3 billion business over the next decade. Services that companies are expected to offer include orbit relocation, de-orbiting, refueling, components replacement and repair. After leaving Ukraine’s space agency following a shakeup last year, Usov and a small group of entrepreneurs decided to start a satellite servicing company after securing rights to the Kurs rendezvous system. The Soviets developed ...
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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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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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