Tag Archives: spacecraft

A NASA-operated space observatory has passed the preliminary design review phase, marking a major milestone for the spacecraft's development, Space News reported Monday. Michael New, deputy associate administrator for science at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope passed the PDR phase with successful results.

NASA formed a partnership with the Canadian government to support a moon to Mars exploration effort. Canada is the agency's first international partner of a planned Mars expedition.

Military space programs are prioritizing the construction of spacecraft ground segment systems to avoid instances wherein a satellite cannot perform at its optimum capacity because of insufficient ground segment capability, Space News reported Thursday.

 

NASA has chosen 14 early stage technology proposals from different universities as part of an effort to advance and support future space science and exploration programs.

NASA has decommissioned the Kepler space telescope, now out of fuel, after nine years of detecting planets beyond the solar system. The space agency said Wednesday it deactivated Kepler in a safe orbit, concluding the spacecraft's discovery record of over 2.6K distant planets.

Philip McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA’s headquarters, has said the space agency’s collaboration with the private sector has resulted in a cultural change, broadened the scope of ideas and allowed NASA to view how commercial techniques operate, Federal News Radio reported Friday. “We’re giving more responsibility to the …

David Davis, chief systems engineer for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, has said the service branch’s focus on resilience to counter emerging space threats has implications for spacecraft production and testing, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. “The technical practices we employ today will continue to drive high costs,” Davis said at …

The departments of State and Commerce have moved space-related equipment from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List as part of revisions to the May 2014 export control rules, Space News reported Thursday. Jeff Foust writes the revised rules took effect Jan. 15 and were published in the …

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has put off the launch of its weather satellite until after July due to technical errors, Space News reported Wednesday. Jeff Foust writes the same problems that caused the cancellation of the first Joint Polar Satellite System’s launch in August 2016 have led to …

NASA will demonstrate a new Space Technology Mission Directorate-funded technology designed to support the potential return of science payloads to Earth from the International Space Station via deployed small spacecraft in 2017. The space agency said Tuesday the Exo-Brake de-orbit device resembles a cross parachute designed to increase the drag and …