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Space Debris

Satellite crashes, asteroid impacts and space weather pose big risks, US lawmakers say Space Debris

Satellite crashes, asteroid impacts and space weather pose big risks, US lawmakers say

Home News Spaceflight An artist's depiction of satellites orbiting Earth. (Image: © NASA) One of the most pressing problems when it comes to keeping our planet safe from space threats is data, which sounds so simple to address. It's not. That's why the U.S. Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation…
bubmag
February 14, 2020
Orbital debris startup Astroscale chosen by JAXA for its first space junk removal mission Space Debris

Orbital debris startup Astroscale chosen by JAXA for its first space junk removal mission

Japanese orbital debris removal technology startup Astroscale is going to be working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the agency’s first mission to remove some of the junk that currently exists on orbit. They’ve been selected by the agency to participate in its Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration…
bubmag
February 12, 2020
Satellite ‘license plates’ and re-igniting rocket fuel could head off space junk crashes Space Debris

Satellite ‘license plates’ and re-igniting rocket fuel could head off space junk crashes

Home News Tech A conceptual image illustrating space debris orbiting Earth. (Image: © johan63/iStock/Getty Images Plus) Two defunct satellites nearly collided on Jan. 29, and their close call (the objects missed each other by an estimated 154 feet, or 47 meters) renewed attention for a growing problem far above Earth:…
bubmag
February 12, 2020
OneWeb launches 34 internet satellites into orbit to boost broadband megaconstellation Space Debris

OneWeb launches 34 internet satellites into orbit to boost broadband megaconstellation

Home News Spaceflight Another internet-satellite megaconstellation is starting to take shape.A Soyuz rocket carrying 34 of OneWeb's broadband satellites lifted off today (Feb. 6) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, rising off the pad at 4:42 p.m. EST (2142 GMT; 2:42 a.m. on Feb. 7 local time). The Soyuz — which is operated…
bubmag
February 6, 2020
NASA wants to manufacture spacecraft parts in low-Earth orbit Space Debris

NASA wants to manufacture spacecraft parts in low-Earth orbit

The Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER) technology demonstration is slated to take place on NASA’s Restore-L spacecraft. The payload will assemble a functional communications antenna and manufacture a spacecraft beam. Maxar TechnologiesNASA announced it will contract Colorado company Maxar Technologies to develop a system for robotically assembling spacecraft parts in…
bubmag
February 2, 2020
Wild shooting star seen over California ‘wasn’t a natural fireball’ Space Debris

Wild shooting star seen over California ‘wasn’t a natural fireball’

This zoomed-in look at the reentry of the space debris comes from AMS/AllSky6 camera operator Bob Lunsford. Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET Some lucky people in California caught sight of an epic fireball streaking across the sky Wednesday night. It lingered, and then broke up into multiple bright pieces.This wasn't…
bubmag
January 30, 2020
No satellite crash: 2 pieces of space junk whiz safely by each other over Pittsburgh Space Debris

No satellite crash: 2 pieces of space junk whiz safely by each other over Pittsburgh

Home News Spaceflight Satellite operators, and everyone else who wants a safe and sustainable space environment, dodged a bullet Wednesday evening (Jan. 29). Two defunct satellites — the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and the Gravity Gradient Stabilization Experiment (GGSE-4) — cruised safely past each other high in the skies above Pittsburgh.The…
bubmag
January 30, 2020