December 4, 2023

Gravitational Waves from Mega Black-Hole Collision Reveal Long-Sought ‘Ringing’ (Source: Nature)
The largest black-hole merger ever detected seemed to produce a black hole 150 times the mass of the Sun, in defiance of some accepted theories. Researchers now say they’ve found, for the first time, evidence of the long-sought vibrations produced by the resulting black hole as it settled into a spherical shape.

The findings provide a new, stringent test for Albert Einstein’s general relativity — the theory of gravity that makes detailed predictions about both black holes and gravitational waves — says Steven Giddings, a theoretical physicist at the University of California at Santa Barbara. “We are really exploring a new frontier here.” (12/1)

US to Share Space Radar Data with UK and Australian Militaries (Source: Space News)
The United States, United Kingdom and Australia will cooperate on a network of space radars. The three nations announced Saturday they will host and operate the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC), a next-generation ground-based sensor funded by the U.S. Space Force and currently being developed by Northrop Grumman. DARC will provide 24/7, all-weather capabilities to track and characterize objects out to geosynchronous orbit. The agreement is part of the AUKUS security partnership involving the countries. (12/4)

US to Share MUOS Space Comms Access with Canadian Military (Source: Space News)
Canada has become the first international partner granted access to the U.S. Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite network. MUOS, developed by the U.S. Navy and now operated by the Space Force, is used for voice, video and data transmissions over a narrowband network of satellites in GEO. Canadian operators, in a demonstration in October, used MUOS for voice and data transmission. The project to allow Canada access to the MUOS network started four years ago when Canada initiated a foreign military sales agreement with the United States. (12/4)

Kendall: Air Force Needs to Adopt AI (Source: Space News)
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the U.S. military needs to rapidly adopt artificial intelligence technology. Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday, Kendall touted AI as an essential technology needed to strengthen U.S. national defense capabilities. He noted that AI technologies will be critical to help military planners understand the battlefield using Earth observation data from satellites, calling for a "battle management system for space." (12/4)

Vega Propellant Tanks Accidentally Trashed (Source: European Spaceflight)
Two propellant tanks needed for the final flight of the original version of the Vega rocket were reportedly destroyed. According to industry sources, the propellant tanks used in the Avum upper stage were lost during a renovation of an Avio factory. They were later found in a landfill, crushed. The tanks were to be used on the final launch of the original Vega vehicle next year, carrying an ESA Earth science satellite. Avio is looking at either using tanks used for qualification tests of the rocket more than a decade ago or using a modified version of the Avum+ upper stage flown on the larger Vega C rocket. Neither Avio nor ESA commented on the report. (12/4)

South Korea Launches Imaging Satellite on Domestic Rocket (Source: Yonhap)
A South Korean rocket put a radar imaging satellite into orbit Monday. The solid-fuel rocket, developed by South Korea's military, launched from a barge near Jeju Island at around 12 a.m. Eastern and placed a 100-kilogram satellite into orbit at an altitude of 650 kilometers. The satellite, developed by Hanwha Systems, carried a synthetic aperture radar imaging payload for civil applications. The South Korean military's Agency for Defense Development conducted two test flights of the rocket last year, each without the booster needed to reach orbit. (12/4)

China Launches Egyptian Imaging Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a remote sensing satellite for Egypt Sunday night. A Long March 2C rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 11:10 p.m. Eastern and placed MisrSat-2 into orbit. The satellite, jointly developed by China and Egypt, will be used by the Egyptian government for civil Earth observation applications. (12/4)

NASA Adjusting Rideshare Launch Policy (Source: Space News)
NASA is working on an update for its rideshare launch policy. That policy, first announced five years ago, directed the use of excess capacity on science mission launches to carry secondary payloads. The update, an agency official said at a recent National Academies committee meeting, will expand the scope to other rideshare opportunities, including the use of a new contract called VADR. The current policy has enabled the launch of several missions as rideshares, although with some challenges. (12/4)

Russian Cargo Spacecraft Docks with ISS (Source: CBS)
Cosmonauts manually docked a Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on Sunday. The Progress MS-25 spacecraft was approaching the station when its Kurs automated rendezvous system malfunctioned. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub took over control of the spacecraft from within the station and guided it to a safe docking at 6:18 a.m. Eastern. The Progress launched Friday carrying supplies for the station. (12/4)