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The James Webb Space Telescope examined the ultra‑luminous infrared galaxy IRAS 07251‑0248 and uncovered an unexpectedly rich inventory of organic molecules in both gas and solid phases. Using NIRSpec and MIRI, researchers identified methyl radical, benzene, methane, acetylene, diacetylene, triacetylene, carbonaceous grains and water ices. Abundances far exceed theoretical predictions, pointing to cosmic‑ray fragmentation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as a continuous carbon source. The findings highlight JWST’s ability to probe dust‑obscured galactic nuclei and advance our understanding of pre‑biotic chemistry in extreme environments.
A new pre‑print from the Ariel‑JWST Synergy Working Group details how the James Webb Space Telescope and ESA’s upcoming Ariel mission can coordinate to study exoplanet atmospheres. The paper proposes joint target selection, simultaneous infrared spectroscopy, and shared data‑fusion pipelines...
Researchers at McGill University and ETH Zurich propose a new origin for the universe’s pervasive, weak magnetic fields. Their Physical Review Letters paper links the generation of cosmological magnetism to a pseudo‑scalar quantum field that could constitute ultralight dark matter....
The article presents a Roscosmos‑focused trivia quiz that highlights the agency’s Soviet heritage and its contemporary role in spaceflight. It notes that the modern Russian space agency was established in 1992 and that the Vostochny Cosmodrome was built to lessen...
Britain’s new net‑zero roadmap, championed by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, proposes orbiting solar power stations to supply the UK with continuous, large‑scale electricity. The government‑commissioned study outlines ultra‑light satellites that convert sunlight to microwave beams, received by ground rectennas. Early...
The World Economic Forum and the Center for Space Futures released a report warning that orbital congestion has surged as commercial launches multiply, raising collision risk to 29% in certain altitude bands by 2032. The study, produced with the Saudi...
President Trump’s push to expand U.S. presence in Greenland highlights the island’s emerging role as a strategic gateway for space operations. High‑latitude launch sites in Greenland enable efficient polar and sun‑synchronous orbits, making the territory attractive to private launch firms...
The International Space Station will retire by 2030, prompting a surge of private firms racing to build replacement outposts in low‑Earth orbit. Vast Space plans to launch its single‑module Haven‑1 in early 2027, while Axiom Space is incrementally adding modules...
Moon dust, the fine fraction of lunar regolith, is uniquely sharp, abrasive, chemically reactive, and electrostatically charged, making it a multi‑domain hazard for human health and hardware. Apollo missions documented irritation to eyes, lungs, and skin, as well as accelerated...
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) outages are emerging as a systemic risk for modern infrastructure, affecting both positioning and, critically, precise timing. Interference such as jamming and spoofing can disrupt multiple constellations simultaneously, while system‑level faults can degrade services worldwide....
The article surveys the most popular nonfiction titles that focus on space stations, highlighting memoirs, human‑factors science, and technical “how‑it‑works” books. It explains how these works prioritize lived experience, routine operations, and system explanations over pure engineering detail. The piece...
NASA launched two sub‑orbital sounding rockets from Alaska’s Poker Flat Research Range to investigate the electrical dynamics of auroras. The BADASS mission reached 224 miles altitude to study rare black auroras, while the GNEISS mission deployed twin rockets to 198...
The episode explores SpaceX’s ambitious filing to launch up to one million satellites as an orbital data center, positioning the company toward a Kardashev Type II vision and highlighting regulatory waivers and the link to Elon Musk’s AI venture. It then...
China’s Zhejiang Lab has deployed a 12‑satellite AI‑driven constellation, the first phase of its Three‑Body Computing Constellation. The satellites host two 8‑billion‑parameter AI models for remote sensing and astronomical analysis, and have demonstrated inter‑satellite networking and on‑orbit data processing. In...
SpaceX is evaluating a modified Dragon capsule, dubbed “Dragon Block R,” as a dedicated lifeboat for NASA’s Artemis program. The concept adds a propulsive “Super Trunk” service module, a fifth crew seat, and an Umbilical Interface Adapter kit to accommodate Orion...
The $1.5 billion NASA‑ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, launched in July 2025, now delivers 100 m resolution soil‑moisture products across India on a 12‑day repeat cycle. Using dual‑frequency S‑ and L‑band radar, the mission provides near‑real‑time moisture maps for irrigated, rain‑fed...
The International Space Station maintains a structured “space pharmacy” organized into color‑coded medical kits that address convenience care, minor illnesses, and emergency stabilization. Medications are selected for stability in radiation‑rich microgravity, versatility across multiple symptoms, and ease of use by...
Space adaptation syndrome (SAS) afflicts roughly 60‑70 % of astronauts during the first days of a low‑Earth‑orbit mission. The condition stems from a sensory conflict between visual cues and a vestibular system that no longer senses gravity, producing nausea, disorientation and...
Thought about this for more than a day now and still don’t know if it’s a good plan. What does each transfer stage cost? It seems like this is a plan to be “first”, but not much more. Will it be feasible...
Roskosmos resumes processing of the Progress MS-33 cargo ship in Baikonur in anticipation of the return to flight from the restored Site 31 after the service platform collapse last year: https://t.co/mN4Hi2mIUG https://t.co/dpnK9COwOB
NASA is confronting a recurring hydrogen fuel leak on the Space Launch System ahead of Artemis II’s second countdown rehearsal. Technicians replaced seals on the Tail Service Mast Umbilicals, but a confidence test revealed reduced flow, prompting a filter swap before...
NASA Admin Isaacman replying to Eric Berger @SciGuySpace about the "confidence test" they did on SLS on Thursday (Feb 12) and why NASA didn't share info until last night (Friday, at 7:51 pm ET) about it or the problem they...
It turns out NASA used the three-year interim between Artemis I and Artemis II to get comfortable with a more significant hydrogen leak, instead of fixing the leaks themselves. https://t.co/XX1eeIJnR0
China’s fifteenth five‑year plan (2026‑2030) places space at the heart of its national agenda, as highlighted by a China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) press release. The plan outlines ambitious targets, including a lunar research station, a Mars sample‑return...
This is pretty remarkable. Eutelsat is one of the big three legacy GEO operators, now pivoting to LEO.
As reported by Bill Harwood (@cbs_spacenews) and others, on Thurs NASA flowed LH2 thru the new seals on SLS. Now there's a blog post explaining that ground support equipment problem reduced the flow. Working on it this weekend. https://t.co/PbuyJHZMNV
On February 14, 1980 the Solar Maximum Mission (SolarMax) lifted off from Cape Canaveral to study solar flares, the solar constant, and the Sun’s atmosphere in X‑ray, gamma‑ray, and ultraviolet wavelengths. Early in its flight the spacecraft suffered a coronagraph electronics glitch...
The NASA SLS costs 23X the entire XB-1 program. Every time it launches. What could private innovators create had this capital not been confiscated by gov’t and pissed away? Each time SLS launches 23 XB-1s go up in smoke. We don’t...
NASA had literally three years after Artemis I to work on, and improve the SLS rocket ground systems. The annual budget for SLS "Ground Support Equipment" is around $650 million. It's completely unacceptable.
The Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance a revised Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act, softening the original bill's automatic‑approval clause for satellite licenses. The amendment, crafted by Ranking Member Maria Cantwell and Chairman Ted Cruz, requires the FCC to develop...
Yikes. NASA couldn’t even complete a test of the SLS rocket’s ground system seal for liquid hydrogen because something else broke with the ground systems. And they wait until 8 pm ET Friday to send an update on something they...
The Proton launch of Russia's Elektro-L No. 5 weather satellite carried a secondary payload, Iran's Jam-e Jam 1 television broadcasting sat, also called Iran-DBS. Elektro-L-5 has a mass of 2120 kg; Jam-e Jam 1 is likely only 150 kg...
A 2023 "rocket dust storm" in Mars' northern summer lifted water vapor to about 60 km, triggering a hydrogen escape flux of 5 × 10⁸ cm⁻² s⁻¹—roughly 50 times the seasonal baseline. Instruments on the Trace Gas Orbiter and the UAE Hope probe recorded 70 ppm...
.@IridiumComm to market: Don't like our growth story? Well, I do happen to have some L-band spectrum here... @SpaceX @EchoStar @Viasat @space42ai @AST_SpaceMobile.https://t.co/Dl5XyXjk6X https://t.co/BvsN3zA7Q1
The 2025 roundup of space headlines highlighted a volatile commercial launch market, lingering federal budget uncertainty, and two landmark scientific milestones. Private providers experienced both record‑breaking crewed flights and costly setbacks, while Congress debated the next round of NASA and...
Telesat Government Solutions, the U.S. arm of Canada’s Telesat, has been awarded a position on the Pentagon’s $1.51 billion Missile Defense Agency SHIELD contract, a 10‑year IDIQ program. The win places the company’s upcoming Lightspeed low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) satellite constellation as a...
At the Munich Cyber Security Conference officials warned that space has shifted from a neutral commons to a frontline of great‑power competition, with satellites now integral to banking, military, and weather systems. The vulnerability of undersea cables, which underpin the...
FAA has completed the Final Tiered Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision for updates to airspace closures for additional launch trajectories and Starship landings at Starbase, TX. https://t.co/WvzFoXualX
.@EutelsatGroup: OneWeb rev up 59.7% in 6M to Dec. 31; 600 aircraft have our connectivity hardware; hosted payloads, ground segment seen as fresh revenue sources; cancelling @Thales_Alenia_S GEO sat saves EUR 100M in capex, costs 60M in impairment charges.https://t.co/f8cngyWfes https://t.co/iWpscm5aIi
Inversion has unveiled Arc, a low‑Earth‑orbit delivery vehicle that can drop cargo anywhere on Earth in under an hour, bypassing traditional ground and air infrastructure. The system pre‑positions payloads in orbit and triggers on‑demand deliveries, promising minute‑scale lead times. Arc...
Crew-12 Launches https://t.co/PlDPhkPt1o NASA/Aubrey Gemignani A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Ha… https://t.co/XmbMWYpRhE
I got a peek at Blue Origin’s new lunar plans. Here’s what I found: https://t.co/cOEKOK9aKd
California startup Wardstone has closed a $5 million seed round to develop space‑based kinetic interceptors. The company plans to test its first prototype on a suborbital sounding rocket in late April, employing a novel “buckshot” particle‑cloud approach to counter hypersonic missiles....
🚀❣️ Cupid's Crew is delivering the Valentines to the ISS. Dragon Freedom is en route for a Feb 14 arrival with NASA's Crew-12 astronauts. This is SpaceX's 20th flight of humans to orbit. https://t.co/MpufCmPn1J
SpaceX's Falcon9 Booster B1101 successfully completes first Return To Launch Site, RTLS, landing at LC-40 at CCSFS, FL. 📷by @rpg571 https://t.co/uKq0saMaYW
Axiom Space announced a $350 million capital raise, co‑led by Type One Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority, to accelerate its commercial space‑station program and the development of NASA‑contracted AxEMU spacesuits. The funding will finance the design, testing and launch of two...
“The shutdown didn’t only reduce Russian drone strikes. On the front lines, it also partially blinded Russian command posts and drone crews that relied on Starlink for communication, livestreams and more-precise control of assaults as commanders got real-time footage of...
Viasat’s latest survey of 600 IoT decision‑makers across agriculture, energy, transport, mining and utilities finds direct‑to‑device (D2D) connectivity is poised for mass adoption within 18 months. Ninety percent of respondents say D2D will accelerate the global rollout of industrial IoT,...
