Space News
Rosetta: preparing for perihelion
ESA - 13 Jul 2015 14:00
Rosetta's investigations of its comet are continuing as the mission teams count down the last month to perihelion - the closest point to the Sun along the comet's orbit - when the comet's activity is expected to be at it...
Robots under test for oil and gas rig duty
ESA - 13 Jul 2015 08:30
A robot building on ESA's ExoMars rover is bidding to win a place on oil and gas production rigs around the world, to work in remote and hazardous environments.
What happens when cosmic giants meet galactic dwarfs?
Phys.org - 13 Jul 2015 00:00
When two different sized galaxies smash together, the larger galaxy stops the smaller one making new stars, according to a study of more than 20,000 merging galaxies.
New Image: Pluto's Heart
SpaceRef - 13 Jul 2015 22:49
Pluto's bright, mysterious "heart" is rotating into view, ready for its close-up on close approach, in this image taken by New Horizons on July 12 from a distance of 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers)....
NASA, Agriculture Department Deputies to Sign Interagency Agreement for Earth Science, Agricultural Research
NASA Breaking news - 13 Jul 2015 22:15New Horizons Mission: Four Questions
SpaceRef - 13 Jul 2015 21:28
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is speeding towards Pluto for the first-ever flyby on July 14, 2015. Scientists are eager to collect data on the dwarf planet's chemical and atmospheric makeup, and the Ralph spectrometer w...
Editorial | Commercial Crew Relapse
Space News - 13 Jul 2015 21:00
Just when Congress finally seemed to be getting the message on the funding requirements of NASA's commercial crew program come a pair of disheartening marks for the activity next year in spending bills drafted in the Hou...
Pluto Is Larger Than Thought, Has Ice Cap, NASA Probe Reveals
SPACE.com - 13 Jul 2015 20:32
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is still a day away from its Pluto flyby, but has revealed that the dwarf planet is larger than thought and has a polar ice cap.
NASA counts down to nail-biter Pluto flyby (Update)
Phys.org - 13 Jul 2015 20:00
An unmanned NASA spacecraft hurtling into the unknown will make a close shave past Pluto on Tuesday, offering scientists a close glimpse of the dwarf planet's surface for the first time.
Little Pluto bigger than scientists thought as flyby looms
Phys.org - 13 Jul 2015 19:17
Little Pluto is a little bigger than anyone imagined.
Naming Pluto: Christening Features on Brave New Worlds
Universe Today - 13 Jul 2015 19:07
'Here be Dragons...' read the inscriptions of old maps used by early seafaring explorers. Such maps were crude, and often wildly inaccurate. The same could be said for our very understanding of distant planetary surfaces...
Pluto Is Unexpectedly Large - New Horizons Mission | Video Update
SPACE.com - 13 Jul 2015 18:11
Investigation of imagery and other data from the approaching probe reveal Pluto to be larger than previous estimates. Principal investigator Alan Stern explains the implications on ice composition, rock estimates, and at...
The List | 2014 Top Fixed Satellite Service Operators
Space News - 13 Jul 2015 18:05
This year's SpaceNews Top Fixed Satellite Services Operators rankings are distorted by the sharp rise of the U.S. dollar against most major currencies toward the end of the year. The effect has been to show revenue decli...
Regulatory Challenges Undercut Power of Thaicom's High-throughput Satellite
Space News - 13 Jul 2015 18:03
PARIS -- At a time when high-throughput satellites, in both Ku- and Ka-band, appear about to disrupt the conventional satellite business, Thaicom's experience with Thaicom-4/IPStar offers lessons. IPStar was launched 10 ...
Once-mocked 03b Investment Now Force Multiplier for SES
Space News - 13 Jul 2015 18:02
Satellite fleet operator SES's $75 million investment in O3b Networks in November 2009 looked at the time like a weekend hobby -- enough to save the life of O3b, but not enough to damage SES if O3b crashed and burned. Th...
Fermi Sees Record Flare from a Black Hole in a Distant Galaxy
SpaceRef - 13 Jul 2015 18:01
Five billion years ago, a great disturbance rocked a region near the monster black hole at the center of galaxy 3C 279....
Intelsat or SES? Exchange Rate Dictates Top Dog
Space News - 13 Jul 2015 18:01
In the case of Intelsat and SES in 2014, it depends. SpaceNews in the past has used Dec. 31 exchange rates to set U.S. dollar revenue values for companies that use the calendar year as their fiscal year. The post Intelsa...
Six Pacific Storms Seen From Orbit
SpaceRef - 13 Jul 2015 17:57
This composite image from 12:00 (UTC) today shows the string of six tropical cyclones currently affecting the Pacific, an unusually high number on a given day....
Letter | Replace ISS with Specialized Stations
Space News - 13 Jul 2015 17:55
It's why I have been in favor of a practical phase-out of the International Space Station, replacing it with numerous Skylab-sized turnkey stations that may be specialized in configuration (i.e., research, manufacturing ...
Pluto Is a Wee Bit Bigger Than We Thought
Bad Astronomy - 13 Jul 2015 17:37
Update, July 13, 3015 at 20:00 UTC: Emily Lakdawalla has also written about this on her blog, with more details. Update 2, July 13, 2015 at 20:30 UTC: There has been some confusion about the uncertainties I quote in Plut...
NASA's PLUTO Mission Probe Live Stream Today
The Daily Galaxy - 13 Jul 2015 16:53
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Monday, July 13, NASA officials will provide the next daily update on the New Horizons probe, which will make a close flyby of Pluto on July 14. Watch live courtesy of NASA TV....
Countdown to Pluto Mission Update: July 13 2015
SpaceRef - 13 Jul 2015 16:43
T-Minus 1 days and counting before the Pluto flyby. This is the July 13th daily pre-flyby overview of the New Horizons mission, the spacecraft and its suite of instruments and a summary of Pluto science to date from the ...