Space-debris mitigation is getting more attention as companies prepare to launch thousands of new smallsats into low Earth orbit, where the environment is already filling up with dangerous space junk.
With the projected growth in the number of commercial satellite constellations on low Earth orbit expected to increase risk of collisions, a startup has attracted investment from Airbus and others to build a network of radars to track orbital debris.
Mars could get pretty congested with spacecraft in early 2021 thanks to an emerging global lineup of missions eager to take advantage of a mid-2020 launch opportunity.
The discovery of seven Earth-like planets orbiting a relatively close star may accelerate the search for biosignatures beyond the Solar System as new telescopes come online.
As part of its plan to field a Quiet Supersonic Transport low-boom flight demo, NASA has issued a call for interested companies to submit a “capability statement.”
In this week’s Washington Outlook: the president meets with airline executives, generals describe a budget crisis without admitting failure, the battle for heavy-launch business and an argument for commercialized space-traffic control.
In this week’s roundup, Malaysia’s coast guard will own UAVs, Belgium joins U.S. space situational awareness efforts, U.S. Navy to buy one fewer MQ-4 Triton and a South Korean Foreign Military Sale for Raytheon missiles.
Data from the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory also is expected to help researchers aid governments in meeting carbon-reduction goals as well as farmers.
The $2.4 billion endeavor is intended to seek out evidence of past microbial life on the Red Planet while laying the groundwork for future human exploration.