Satellite Industry Intelligence Since 1983
Not necessarily what you might think when you imagine stars, and the creation of planets, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Shock waves around dusty, young stars might be creating the raw materials for planets; the evidence comes in the form of tiny crystals.
Read MoreHere it comes, Mimas emerges from behind hazy Saturn, and you see that the rings appear distorted near the planet as their image passes through the upper atmosphere. The limb of Mimas (396 kilometers, or 246 miles across) is slightly flattened on the left side by the rim of the large crater Herschel.
Read MoreThe Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite completed its design, development, manufacturing and testing process at Orbital Sciences Corporation [NYSE: ORB] and is enroute to the final launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California.
Read MoreNASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months. As anticipated, seasonal decline in sunshine at the robot's arctic landing site is not providing enough sunlight for the solar arrays to collect the power necessary to charge batteries that operate the lander's instruments.
Read MoreThe European Space Agency (ESA) has reported that the crew selection for a simulated Mars mission moved a step closer to completion recently as the last eight candidates are being put through extensive medical screening in Moscow.
Read MoreWhen first viewed in the movie sequence, Cassini images reveal the moon Prometheus as it slowly collides with the diffuse inner edge of Saturn's F ring and reminds this viewer of the Silver Surfer cresting on a big wave, only this one is literally out of this world.
Read MoreNovember is a most exciting month for activity in space — Midnight Fireballs are visible late at night as Earth is passing through a swarm of gritty debris from comet 2P/Encke causing a slow flurry of Taurid fireballs.
Read MoreThe Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. Some of the craft's latest imagery reveals Saturn's battered moon, Janus, which wears the record of a long history of surface impacts.
Read MoreNASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has provided the first clear view of the faint boundary of the Crab Nebula's X-ray-emitting pulsar wind nebula.
Read MoreNASA is developing technologies that will allow lunar landers to automatically identify and navigate to the location of a safe landing site while detecting landing hazards during the final descent to the surface. This is important because future lunar missions will need this capability to be able to land safely near specific resources that are located in potentially hazardous terrain.
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