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TOKYO, May 17, 2022 - Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that the company has developed an on-orbit additive-manufacturing technology that uses photosensitive resin and solar ultraviolet light for the 3D printing of satellite antennas in the vacuum of outer space. The novel technology makes use of a newly developed liquid resin that was custom formulated for stability in vacuum. The resin enables structures to be fabricated in space using a low-power process that utilizes the sun's ultraviolet rays for photopolymerization. The technology specifically addresses the challenge of equipping small, inexpensive spacecraft buses with large structures, such as high-gain...

A House subcommittee is scheduled to hold next week the first open congressional hearing on unidentified aerial vehicles in more than half a century, with testimony from two top defense intelligence officials. The hearing comes after the release last June of a report requested by Congress on “unidentified aerial phenomena.” The nine-page “Preliminary Assessment” from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence focused on 144 incidents dating back to 2004 and was able to explain only one. The report declined to draw inferences, saying that the available reporting was “largely inconclusive” and noting that limited and inconsistent data created...

The research involved imaging the brains of 15 astronauts before and after extended tours of duty on the International Space Station. Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to measure perivascular space — or the space around blood vessels — in the brains of astronauts prior to their launch and again immediately after their return. They also took MRI measurements again at one, three, and six months after they had returned. Astronauts’ images were compared with those taken of the same perivascular space in the brains of 16 Earth-bound control subjects. In all cases, scientists found no problems with balance or visual...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Fifty years after his Apollo 16 mission to the moon, retired NASA astronaut Charlie Duke says he’s ready for the U.S. to get back to lunar exploration. Part of that effort, Duke said Friday, will come in the form of the Artemis program, which includes NASA’s upcoming flight to the moon using its new Space Launch System rocket. The first of the huge rockets is supposed to blast off without crew later this year, with crewed flights planned subsequently. “With Artemis, NASA is going to be focused on deep space, to the moon and beyond, and...

Fifty years after his Apollo 16 mission to the moon, retired NASA astronaut Charlie Duke says he's ready for the U.S. to get back to lunar exploration. Part of that effort, Duke said Friday, will come in the form of the Artemis program, which includes NASA's upcoming flight to the moon using its new Space Launch System rocket. The first of the huge rockets is supposed to blast off without crew later this year, with crewed flights planned subsequently. "With Artemis, NASA is going to be focused on deep space, to the moon and beyond, and I'm excited about...

SpaceX and NASA are targeting no earlier than Wednesday, April 27 for Falcon 9’s launch of Crew-4, Dragon’s fourth science expedition mission to the International Space Station, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted for 3:52 a.m. ET (7:52 UTC), with a backup opportunity available on Thursday, April 28.

LOS GATOS, CA—With Netflix stock taking a nosedive, the company has committed to making big changes to attract more subscribers. This initiative includes replacing Neil Degrasse Tyson with Vice President Kamala Harris as the host for COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey. "We've had our eye on Kamala Harris for some time, to be honest," said COSMOS showrunner Francis Martin. "She's such an eloquent speaker known for giving truly captivating, informative speeches. But once we heard her most recent speech on space, we knew we had to have her." Netflix has confirmed that Neil Degrasse Tyson—the well-known astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author, and...

(VIDEO AT LINK) On some days, I am almost convinced that whoever or whatever runs the world picked Kamala Harris simply because they could. There is no rational explanation that would coherently explain how such a sleazy moron captured the vice presidency. The alternative to that explanation is that Americans are just that dumb, which Occam’s Razor would suggest. Rabbit-hole diving conspiracy theorists like to posit that Harris is the punchline of a joke on all of us, and there are days I subscribe to that, no doubt. However, I am also reminded each day that I am surrounded by...

I have a new noun for your vocabulary: Holoportation. It's an amalgam of "hologram" and "teleportation," and though it may seem like it, it isn't just a niche sci-fi term buried somewhere in Isaac Asimov novels and Star Trek episodes. NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid gives a space greeting Oct. 8, 2021, as he is holoported on to the International Space Station. In October, NASA used this mind-boggling, futuristic mechanism to bring NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid onto the International Space Station while he was safely planted on our planet. No rockets necessary. Schmid was joined on this...

In almost every field of science, and technology, US and Russia have always been competitors. Occasionally, though, stuff gets a little crazy.Well, no don’t have to worry because there are no hostilities between them.But the vibes are not calm. It is no secret that Elon Musk is famous for his technological abilities.Therefore, Russia is getting a little jealous of his success and is trying to make things less exciting, and Musk is threatening them in response.The Russian space chief watched in awe as billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson took off into space in vehicles they helped fund - and...

Astronomers have long questioned whether Earth-like planets exist elsewhere in the universe and if they harbor life. So far, answers have only come from science fiction universes rather than our own. NASA’s latest observatory, the Webb Space Telescope, will take us one step closer to the answer, offering an unprecedented look into rocky worlds orbiting other stars and what they are like. “Imagine if we can establish that there are some rocky worlds with water vapor and with water oceans,” said Sara Seager, a professor of physics and planetary science at MIT. “That’s such a giant step forward from where...

Industry experts say US and European economic sanctions against Russia for military action against Ukraine could create economic opportunities for the Indian space sector, rather than burden it with economic costs. He also felt that to seize the opportunity, India should accelerate its satellite launching capabilities, and announce Productivity Concessions (PLI) schemes for the aerospace sector. "All countries that are feeling the pinch due to the absence of Russian rockets for launching satellites may consider alternatives. While the bulk of the satellite launch agreement will be taken up by the United States and Europe, there There will be others who...

Two decades of space cooperation between the U.S. and Russia could be coming to an end after the U.S. and its allies imposed crippling sanctions on the country. The Russian government announced Friday that it might abandon a U.S. astronaut set to return to Earth.Fox News reports that the Russian Space Agency head, Dmitry Rogozin, has “threatened to leave” U.S. astronaut Mark Vande Hei aboard the International Space Station (ISS), who is scheduled to return to Earth on a Russian spacecraft by the end of the month. JUST IN: Russia threatens to abandon ‘American Astronaut’ in spacepic.twitter.com/ybTrf8TR8e — Insider Paper...

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who holds the ongoing record for longest space flight, is set to end his 355 days in space in just three weeks. The plan is for him to land in Kazakhstan with two Russian cosmonauts on a Russian spacecraft. But unprecedented sanctions against Russia could put Vande Hei's return on hold.

Could Russia crash the ISS? Nearly three decades of close collaboration in space between Russia and the western world seems to be coming to an end. With increasing tensions over Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Russia has arguably threatened to crash the International Space Station and refuse to launch satellites for western countries. A few months ago, Russia blew up one of its own defunct satellites, creating space junk that threatened the safety of astronauts at the ISS. So how is the war likely to impact on operations in space going forward, and what are the consequences? Aggression in...

To make a space crystal, you need the immense pressures of the Earth’s surface bearing down on minerals and magma. But to make a time crystal, you need esoteric equations and ridiculously precise lasers. At least, that’s how physicists shaped the first self-standing time crystal in a lab last year. Now, they’ve turned into an even more tangible object by creating a time crystal from common elements that can withstand room temperature. If you’re wondering what a time crystal is (outside of pulp science fiction), most physicists also had the same question until pretty recently. It’s a form of matter...

Dmitry Rogozin, director-general of Roscosmos, announced that Russia would be halting the delivery of rocket engines to the US, saying "let them fly into space on their brooms," according to RIA Novosti.Rogozin added that Russia would be ending cooperation with the US on experiments on the ISS. He added that the priority of the country's space program would be adjusted to focus on satellites for defense interests. Rogozin announced as well on Thursday that Roscosmos would be freezing cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in a letter to the administrator of the DLR, Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla. The DLR announced on...

The head of the Russian space agency has just threatened the US and NASA with some serious repercussions if the Biden Administration follows through with sanctions that would impact the cooperation between the two countries in space. Should the US cut off Russia’s access to certain space technologies needed to keep the International Space Station operational, then the end result might involve the Russians allowing the International Space Station to simply tumble out of orbit and come rocketing back toward Earth. Russia is a key player in the 15-nation partnership that has kept the ISS orbiting Earth for 23 years,...

Europe needs a bolder space policy, French President Emmanuel Macron declared Wednesday, warning that Europe’s sovereignty is at stake if it falls behind rival powers in a key field for technology, science and military competitiveness. Speaking at a meeting in Toulouse, France, Macron said recent events had shown how crucial it is to be able to monitor troop movements from orbit — a reference to satellite images showing Russia’s mass military deployment near Ukraine that raise fears of an imminent invasion. “There is no full power or autonomy without managing space,” Macron said. “Without (it) you can’t conquer new frontiers...

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- California-based Astra Space plans to launch a NASA mission from Florida on Thursday for the third attempt in a week for the new space company. If successful, Astra would become the first new private company to launch from Florida since SpaceX did so over a decade ago.