Tag - space

 
 

SPACE

A prototype of the Astroscale Holdings ELSA-d in-orbit debris capture and removal craft is displayed at the company's office in Tokyo in December 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 5, 2024
Japan space startup Astroscale aims for June listing, sources say
The 11-year-old company spoke to overseas institutional investors in March to gather feedback before making a decision on a listing.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2024
Japan moon probe survives second lunar night, JAXA says
The moon lander touched down in January at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft, atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket, lifts off on its third launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
SpaceX rocket makes successful test flight but is lost in descent
SpaceX's prior attempts have ended in spectacular explosions — but the company says this is an acceptable cost in its rapid trial-and-error approach.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 13, 2024
Japan's Space One rocket explodes shortly after launch
The firm's solid-fuel Kairos rocket burst into flames just seconds after liftoff, in a major setback for Japan’s space development aspirations.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024
Space One postpones bid to be Japan's first private firm to put satellite in orbit
The Tokyo-based startup halted the mission after a ship ventured into a "maritime warning area" just 10 minutes before the launch.
An image of Japan's lunar lander and the moon's surface captured by SORA-Q, which was successfully released before the craft's touchdown on Jan. 25.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 2, 2024
Japan SLIM moon lander put to sleep after surviving lunar night
Another operation attempt of the SLIM spacecraft is scheduled for later this month, the country's space agency said.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visits the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration to inspect operational readiness of reconnaissance satellites and view aerospace photographs, in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 25, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 29, 2024
North Korea's first spy satellite is 'alive,' expert says
But the spacecraft's capabilities remain unknown despite its maneuvers suggesting Pyongyang's successful control of it.
Takuya Usami, the curator at Mantenboshi, a stargazing observatory in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, said that a survey by the Environment Ministry had ranked the Noto region as among the best places in Japan for stargazing.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 29, 2024
Stargazing observatory in quake-hit Noto looks forward to reopening
“I want to show everyone little by little the beauty of the starry sky, one of Noto’s attractions," a curator at the observatory said.
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus spacecraft passes over the near side of the Moon following lunar orbit insertion on Feb. 21.
WORLD / Society
Feb 27, 2024
Sideways touchdown to cut mission short for moon lander Odysseus
New details have emerged about testing shortcuts and human error that led to an in-flight failure of the spacecraft's laser-guided range finders.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), is seen in this handout image taken by LEV-2 on the moon, released on Jan. 25.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2024
Japan's SLIM moon probe unexpectedly survives lunar night
The lander touched down on the lunar surface last month, making Japan the fifth country to put a probe on the moon.
Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus holds a model of the Odysseus lunar lander to show its position on the side, during a news conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2024
Moon lander tipped sideways on lunar surface but 'alive and well'
The moon lander dubbed Odysseus is is resting on its side a day after its touchdown as the first private spacecraft ever to reach the lunar surface.
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus spacecraft passes over the near side of the moon following lunar orbit insertion on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2024
Why it took the U.S. 51 years to get back on the moon
Intuitive Machines has landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon, becoming the first private firm to place a vehicle intact on the lunar surface.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2024
Russia may launch nuclear weapon into space this year, U.S. tells allies
Moscow is said to be developing a space-based capability to knock out satellites using a nuclear warhead, in violation of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2024
Can Japan’s new H3 rocket compete with Elon Musk’s Falcon 9?
In order to seriously compete with the Falcon 9, which currently dominates the market, experts say price and usability of the H3 would be key.
A man stands next to a model of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which was used to launch several Indonesian satellites into orbit, at the office of Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, an Indonesia’s satellite-based telecommunication firm, in Jakarta on Jan. 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024
How a Chinese rocket failure boosted SpaceX's fortunes in Indonesia
Elon Musk seized on the incident to prevail over a state-owned Chinese contractor as Jakarta's company of choice for putting satellites into space.
Whether or not Russia deploys a nuclear weapon in space, what’s clear is that the U.S. and its two main adversaries, Russia and China, have developed increasingly advanced programs to wage conflict against assets in orbit.
WORLD
Feb 18, 2024
Russia’s bid for orbiting nuclear weapon highlights new space race
Researchers have spent years tracking and testing for the possible effects of a nuclear blast in space.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2024
Japan’s space agency successfully launches latest H3 rocket
With the H3, JAXA aims to maintain Japan’s prowess in rocket development technologies and give a jolt to related industries.
Masashi Okada, project manager in charge of H3’s development at JAXA, speaks during a news conference on Tuesday in Minamitane, Kagoshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 16, 2024
Japan’s space agency set to retry H3 rocket launch
With H3, JAXA aims to maintain Japan’s prowess in rocket development technologies and give a jolt to related industries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits an aerospace company in Korolyov, outside Moscow, in October last year.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 16, 2024
Russia seen as highly unlikely to put a nuclear warhead in space
A space threat identified by the U.S. could potentially be used for electromagnetic pulses to fry satellites' electronics.
The war in Ukraine has pitted the United States and its allies against Russian President Vladimir Putin (center).
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024
Russia’s advances on space-based nuclear weapon alarm the U.S.
A satellite-killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space and military command-and-control operations.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.