April 21, 2025

5 Reasons Why Space Exploration Is More Important Than Ever (Source: ExtremeTech)
Earth is a pretty great place if you're a human, what with all the gravity and breathable air. But year by year, humanity's situation on Earth becomes more precarious. With climate change, economic insecurity, and pandemics stressing the world's resources, why spend all this money on space exploration? Here are five reasons why we belong up there. (4/21)

Who Owns a Satellite in Orbit? (Source: LinkedIn)
It’s launched. It’s in orbit. It’s out of reach... but who owns it? According to Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty (1967): A space object remains under the jurisdiction and control of the launching state—even when it's thousands of kilometers above Earth. That means: a) You can’t abandon legal responsibility in space; b) You need to register your satellite internationally; and c) You’re still liable if it causes damage up there. (4/21)

Inside the Rural Texas Town Where Elon Musk is Basing His Business Empire (Source: BBC)
After fleeing Silicon Valley for political and business reasons, Elon Musk is building a corporate campus in rural Texas – but his new neighbours have mixed views. Half an hour east of Austin, past the airport, the clogged-up traffic starts to melt away and the plains of Central Texas open up, leaving the booming city behind.

It seems like an unlikely address for a high-tech hub, but that's exactly what Elon Musk, the world's richest man and one of President Donald Trump's closest allies, hopes it will become. Court filings indicate that a large metal building finished in the last few months will be the new headquarters of X, his social media platform. A short distance away, a large logo of the Boring Company, Musk's infrastructure company, is plastered on the side of another headquarters. And across FM 1209 is a rapidly growing SpaceX facility which manufactures Starlink satellite internet equipment. Click here. (4/19)

NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Major Clue That Mars Was Once Habitable (Source: Space.com)
While slowly climbing the slopes of Mount Sharp — a towering peak inside Mars' Gale Crater — NASA's Curiosity rover made a remarkable discovery: large deposits of carbon locked away in carbonate minerals. That may sound a little dry at first, but in reality this find could be a major piece of the puzzle in our search for ancient life on the Red Planet.

Carbonate minerals form when carbon dioxide interacts with water and rock, making them an important marker of past environmental conditions. Scientists have spotted these minerals before on Mars — by rovers on the ground, orbiters above, and even in Martian meteorites that fell to Earth — but Curiosity's latest data adds exciting new details. (4/21)

What Blew Up the Local Bubble? (Source: Phys.org)
In our neighborhood of the Milky Way, we see a region surrounding the solar system that is far less dense than average. But that space, that cavity, is a very irregular, elongated shape. What little material is left inside of this cavity is insanely hot, as it has a temperature of around a million Kelvin. We call this region surrounding the solar system the Local Bubble. This bubble is carved out of the interstellar medium and is about 1,000 light years wide and has a density about one-tenth the average density of the Milky Way.

What could have the energy to create this enormous cavity, this giant bubble? A single supernova doesn't have nearly the kick required. Active galactic nuclei have more than enough energy to blow great voids like these, but those affect entire galaxies. If the Milky Way were active, very likely we wouldn't even be here to enjoy the view. So it has to be something in between. Something stronger than a single supernova, but much weaker than an active galactic nucleus. (4/21)

This Device Blocks Starlight – And Could Help Us Spot Life Beyond Earth (Source: SciTech Daily)
Scientists have developed a breakthrough coronagraph that could finally allow us to see Earth-like exoplanets hidden in the blinding glare of their stars. By using a clever optical technique to isolate and remove starlight, the device opens the door to capturing actual images of distant worlds — even those below traditional telescope resolution limits. This could drastically improve our ability to detect potential signs of life beyond Earth and reshape the future of exoplanet exploration. (4/21)

Rumors Swirl of Even Worse Celebrities Jeff Bezos May Shoot Into Space Next (Source: Futurism)
Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio, and even Rihanna have been named as potential passengers on Jeff Bezos' next expensive trip via Blue Origin, the billionaire's private spaceflight company. Perhaps the most compelling potential space tourist on that list is Kardashian, who along with her mother Kris was reportedly invited onto last week's all-woman flight. Though the elder Kardashian didn't want to risk the trip over "safety concerns," the insider said that Kim was "more open to it" but ultimately passed due to scheduling conflicts. (4/20)

SpaceX Launches Third Fleet of Spy Satellites in 8 Days (Source: UPI)
SpaceX launched its third fleet of spy satellites in 8 days last Sunday, its tenth mission of the year in support of the National Reconnaissance Office, the United States' spy satellite agency. The fleet of Starshield satellites, built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, were aboard a Falcon 9 rocket that launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base. (4/20)

China's InfinAstro Funded to Develop Orbital Transfer Vehicles (Source: Space News)
Chinese startup InfinAstro has secured early funding for its plans to develop orbital transfer vehicles. InfinAstro, officially Beijing Infinity Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., has raised tens of millions of yuan (approximately $3 million to $13 million) in angel round financing. The funding will support research and development of the company's "space bus" series of orbital transfer vehicles and accelerate China's commercialization of on-orbit services. (4/21)

Voyager Unveils Dust-Resistant Coating Tested on Lunar Surface (Source: Space Daily)
Voyager Technologies (Voyager) has marked a milestone in lunar technology advancement with the arrival of its proprietary Clear Dust-Repellent Coating (CDRC) on the Moon. Delivered aboard Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander, the coating touched down on March 2 following nearly a month in transit.

CDRC has been engineered to minimize dust buildup and has shown promising results in reducing lunar dust accumulation on metals, fabrics, and glass during multiple NASA-supported evaluations. Unlike systems that require active power sources like Electrodynamic Dust Shields, Voyager's solution is entirely passive, relying on material properties rather than energy input, making it especially suited for environments where power is limited. (4/15)

China Launches Six Experimental Satellites on Long March 6A (Source: Space News)
China launched six experimental satellites late Friday. A Long March 6A rocket lifted off at 6:51 p.m. Eastern from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center and placed the Shiyan-27 01-06 satellites into polar orbits. China provided no information about the satellites other than that they will be used for space environment detection and related technical tests. This general description is typical of the Shiyan series, which is considered by some Western analysts to be used for piloting new technologies. (4/21)

SpaceX Launches Cargo to ISS From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
A Dragon cargo spacecraft, with more crew supplies and fewer science payloads than usual, is on its away to the International Space Station. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Monday morning, putting the SpX-32 Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Dragon is carrying more crew supplies like food, and less science, than previous Dragon missions because of the cancellation of a Cygnus cargo mission that was set to launch in June after that spacecraft was damaged in transit to the launch site.

More than a dozen science investigations that were to launch on SpX-32 were bumped from the flight. NASA said at a prelaunch briefing Friday that the mission ensures there will be sufficient supplies on the station and noted several other cargo missions will be launched to the ISS in the late summer and fall. (4/21)

India's SpaDeX Mission Completes Second Orbital Docking (Source: Times of India)
India's SpaDeX mission has completed a second docking in orbit. Government minister Jitendra Singh said Monday that the two spacecraft successfully docked in orbit, but neither he nor the Indian space agency ISRO released details about the docking, including the exact time. SpaDeX, or Space Docking Experiment, launched last December and completed a successful docking in mid-January, undocking about two months later. The mission is testing key technology needed for India's human spaceflight program and its Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return mission. (4/21)

India-NASA NISAR Science Mission to Launch in June on GSLV (Source: Indian Express)
A joint NASA-ISRO Earth science mission is now scheduled to launch in June. ISRO said that the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR, mission is now expected to launch on a GSLV rocket in June. NISAR, which features L- and S-band radars for global mapping of land and ice, was to launch last year but its large deployable antenna had to be shipped back to the United States for modifications. The antenna was returned last fall and project officials said late last year they expected NISAR to launch in March. ISRO did not disclose what caused the slip to June. (4/21)

Surviving Lunar Night with Radioisotope Energy (Source: Space Daily)
Ispace Technologies U.S. and Zeno Power Systems announced a joint initiative to develop power systems that enable sustained operations during the Moon's prolonged periods of darkness. The strategic agreement sets the stage for a demonstration mission as early as 2027. The effort is focused on integrating Zeno Power's advanced radioisotope power systems (RPS) into upcoming lunar missions. RPS units deliver continuous heat and electricity independent of solar input, offering a resilient solution to lunar night survival. (4/15)

NASA’s Tight Budget Could Get in the Way of its Lofty Space Promises (Source: The Hill)
The spectacle of Isaacman making promises of an invigorated, productive NASA and then being undercut by the administration that he proposes to serve is mind-blowing. While funding for NASA’s science programs is sorted out, Isaacman has assumed the difficult task of getting American boots on the lunar surface by the end of Trump’s current term while attending to the priority of sending astronauts to Mars.

Under questioning from members of the committee, Isaacman reaffirmed the commitment to land Americans on the lunar surface by the end of Trump’s presidency. But what happens after that? One thing Isaacman should not do is to assign the determination of the benefits of a presence on the lunar surface to some study committee. The only way to know the answer to that question is to go ahead and establish that presence (i.e. a lunar base) and find out.

Isaacman can accomplish this task by forging commercial and international partnerships to create the lunar base. Many nations will fall over themselves for the honor of having their astronauts taken to the moon by NASA. Commercial companies will be eager to test and then implement the technologies to make the moon economically viable. (4/20)

Germany's ATMOS Raises €1M in New Funding as it Prepares for Inaugural Flight (Source: European Spaceflight)
Germany’s ATMOS Space Cargo has secured €1 million in new funding as the company prepares for the launch of its re-entry capsule demonstration mission. Founded in 2021, ATMOS is developing a returnable in-orbit research platform called PHOENIX. The platform will be capable of carrying up to 100 kilograms to low Earth orbit for missions lasting up to three months. It will then return to Earth, deploying an inflatable heat shield, which will decelerate the vehicle and ensure it can survive the rigors of re-entry. (4/21)