Aerospace and Defense Review : News

Over the last decade, Investors have shown significant interest in space technology such as spacecraft that can deliver large payloads to space for research, industry, and recreation, satellites for communications and data sharing on- and off-planet, high-resolution Earth imaging for environmental monitoring, and mining the solar system for precious metals Fremont CA: The U.S. and the Soviet Union dominated the space race since the very first spacecraft took off for space exploration. Over the past 60 years, the world has witnessed many milestones in space explorations , most of which were heavily funded government projects. However, all these are now a thing of the past. The decreased costs of spacecraft development, along with improved remote sensing and data analytics capabilities, has led to an increase in space exploration and investment activities now being undertaken by private space companies. Between 2009 and 2018, a total of USD 18 billion was invested in space startups, of which USD 3.25 billion was invested in 2018 alone. Over the last decade, Investors have shown significant interest in space technology such as spacecraft that can deliver large payloads to space for research, industry, and recreation, satellites for communications and data sharing on- and off-planet, high-resolution Earth imaging for environmental monitoring, and mining the solar system for precious metals . These technologies not only can enable humans to settle in space, but also improve the quality and sustainability of life on Earth. Check Out:  Space Angels Space Angels is one of the most successful Venture Capital firms of 2019, having secured 22 deals since 2010. The New York-based venture capitalist firm’s portfolio is heavily laden with investments in Satellite technology, Earth imaging and environmental monitoring as well as telecommunication applications. Space Angels back Kepler Communications, which provides connectivity and communication solutions intending to provide in-space connectivity through a network of satellites. The company has also supported NanoRacks, a startup which delivers payloads such as research equipment to the International Space Station for microgravity research. CosmiCapital CosmiCapital is a relatively new venture capitalist firm which focuses exclusively on investing in space and related applications to transform businesses on Earth. Established in April 2018, the company is the first European venture capitalist firm supported and sponsored by the French space agency CNES. CosmiCapital was initially set up with reaching the target of EUR 100 million. The company aims to grow a portfolio of diversified space startups, including launcher and satellite manufacturing, ground and communication services as well as other space-related businesses, thus unlocking the potential of space. See Also :-  Top Space Technology Companies   ...Read more

While Phoenix aims to obtain valuable scientific data from orbit, the project is first and foremost an educational mission, designed to teach university students the concepts of spacecraft design and systems integration, interdisciplinary collaboration, and project management Arizona State University successfully launched a small, NASA-funded research satellite from the International Space Station on Wednesday. Known as Phoenix, the bread-loaf-sized craft will use an off-the-shelf infrared camera to study the urban heat island in seven U.S. cities, including Phoenix. Urban heat islands occur when human activities, building materials, and other urban factors make cities warmer than their surroundings. ASU rocketed the CubeSat to the ISS aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket in November 2019 as part of a Cygnus resupply mission. Roughly 30 minutes after deployment, Phoenix's beacon was heard for the first time at a ground station located in Indonesia. Amateur operators continued to hear its health beacon throughout the day by tracking the ISS, including the Phoenix operations team, using the ASU ground station. The team was also able to perform a successful schedule uplink to collect more telemetry from the ADCS, which marked the first CubeSat operation from the university. About 100 undergraduate students worked on Phoenix, which will orbit the Earth for up to two years, enough time to capture data during all four seasons. CubeSats conform to a modular design that lets them launch from a uniform chute or module. See also:  Top Aerospace Tech Solution Companies ...Read more

If people don't act quickly, there is the risk that space debris could lock out the possibility of future missions for a while. And if a collision creates pieces of debris, it will slam into other satellites as well and break them up, ultimately creating a debris belt around Earth.  Because of the growing number of satellites and orbital debris in space, it called for a change at the House hearing aids . However, how this will be legislated is still under consideration. Thanks to technological advancement, satellites today are smaller and more affordable in comparison to the big machines of the past. But with fleets of small satellites comes the risk of slamming into each other and high profile near misses, which is becoming more common. Two large, defunct, and uncontrollable satellites nearly collided in orbit two weeks ago, passing about 60 feet (18 meters) from each other, narrowly avoiding a collision that could have sent thousands of pieces of "space junk" into low Earth orbit.  In late 2019, the European Space Agency had to redirect one of its satellites to reduce the risk of a collision; the other satellite operator, SpaceX, did not respond to requests to move its own machine out of the way.  Space collisions and space junks over the decades are still causing problems today. Space assets such as weather satellites, telecommunications links, and the GPS navigation system for the United States are among the vital links of space infrastructure that could be knocked out if collisions continue. The U.S. Department of Defense has a catalog of more than 20,000 known space objects. The catalog only represents unclassified satellites or objects, and it also indicates the number of trackable objects. Some things in space are just too small to be tracked with current technology.  The House subcommittee commissioned a few experts to speak on how lawmakers can address this problem, under a provision in the 2020 NASA budget to carry out research and development activities concerning space debris mitigation and to consider a strategy for space situational awareness research and technology.  The solutions proposed were diverse, but for the most part, the experts said it would likely involve using several government entities that could include NASA, the Department of Commerce, and other possibilities. There may be some private industry involvement as well. See Also:  Top Aerospace Tech Solution Companies ...Read more