Robots will be one of the keys to the expanding in-space economy. As launch costs decrease, hopefully significantly when Starship and other massive lift systems come online, the most significant barrier to entry for the space economy will finally come down. So what happens then? Two acronyms have been popping up in the literature with increasing frequency – in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) and On-orbit servicing (OOS). Over a series of articles, we’ll look at some papers detailing what those acronyms mean and where they might be going shortly. First, we’ll examine how robots fit into the equation.
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NASA's Mars Helicopter Went Silent for Six Agonizing Days
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has exceeded everyone’s expectations, recently completing its 51st flight when it was supposed to fly just a few times as a demonstration mission. But flights 50 and 51 almost didn’t happen.
Boeing faces 'emerging issues' ahead of Starliner capsule's 1st crewed flight in July, NASA says
A recently completed 'checkpoint review' of Boeing's upcoming crewed flight test to the International Space Station identified several issues to address before the planned July 21 liftoff.
Tune in for first Mars livestream
For one hour on Friday 2 June, join ESA on YouTube for a space first as live images stream down direct from Mars – this will be the closest you can get to a live view from the Red Planet.
A Third of Planets Orbiting Red Dwarf Stars Could be in the Habitable Zone
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a pair of researchers from the University of Florida (UF) examine orbital eccentricities for exoplanets orbiting red dwarf (M dwarf) stars and determined that one-third of them—which encompass hundreds of millions throughout the Milky Way—could exist within their star’s habitable zone (HZ), which is that approximate distance from their star where liquid water can exist on the surface. The researchers determined the remaining two-thirds of exoplanets orbiting red dwarfs are too hot for liquid water to exist on their surfaces due to tidal extremes, resulting in a sterilization of the planetary surface.
'Futurama' fuels up for Season 8 as Hulu's reboot blasts off this summer
'Futurama' flies once again for an eighth season on Hulu this summer.
Final 'Strange New Worlds' trailer reminds us why it's the best 'Star Trek' on TV
Paramount Plus has released a final trailer for the second season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," promising more of the cerebral sci-fi the franchise is known for.
Babylon 5: The Road Home — Everything we know about the Babylon 5 animated movie
The story of the last of the Babylon stations continues in "The Road Home", a time-hopping adventure reuniting many of the original cast.
Hubble Space Telescope hunts for a black hole among a brilliant field of stars (photo)
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning image of a distant star cluster that could help us better understand how such clusters evolve and even reveal the elusive black holes at their hearts.
China plans to put astronauts on the moon before 2030
China could land astronauts near the south pole of the moon before the end of the decade, according to statements made by officials with the country's space agency.
Register for ESA’s first Earth observation commercialisation event
Registration is now open for ESA’s first-ever Earth Observation Commercialisation Forum. Taking place at ESA Headquarters in Paris from 30 to 31 October 2023, investors, institutions, entrepreneurs and companies of any size from the Earth observation sector will now be able to come together and discuss the commercial potential and challenges of Earth observation, together with the technical, industrial and risk-capital support available to European companies.
Private astronauts splash down to close out 9-day commercial research mission
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION
This is How NASA Wanted to Rescue Space Shuttle Astronauts
For most of us, this would be a nightmare.
Live coverage: SpaceX poised for late-night launch from California
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the Starlink 2-10 mission with 52 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
SpaceX Webcast
A Sign from Space Simulates What it Would be Like to Get a Message from Aliens!
Someday, humanity might receive a message from space that will answer one of the greatest existential questions: is anybody out there? Regardless of the content, a message from an extraterrestrial civilization will be the single greatest event in human history. How would such an event happen, and how would it play out? What will be the repercussions of billions of people suddenly learning that we are NOT alone in the Universe? This question has inspired countless works of science fiction and scientific studies that have attempted to predict (and even quantify) our collective reaction.
Watch China's Shenzhou 16 astronauts enter Tiangong space station (video)
A new video shows the three astronauts of China's Shenzhou 16 mission entering the Tiangong space station on Tuesday (May 30).
Watch SpaceX launch 52 Starlink satellites to orbit early Wednesday
SpaceX plans to launch 52 of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit early Wednesday morning (May 31), and you can watch the action live.
Ring Nebula
The Ring Nebula, also known as Messier 57 (M57), is a well-known planetary nebula located in the constellation Lyra. Here are some key details about the Ring Nebula:
Watch SpaceX Dragon carrying private Ax-2 astronauts return to Earth tonight
The four astronauts of the private Ax-2 mission are scheduled to return to Earth in their SpaceX Dragon capsule tonight (May 30), and you can watch the action live.
Stratolaunch Buys Virgin Orbit's Rocket-Launching 747
With Virgin Orbit going through bankruptcy, other launch providers are purchasing various parts of the business. This week we learned that Stratolaunch’s bid to buy Virgin Orbit’s modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft has been approved by the U.S Bankruptcy Court, enabling Stratolaunch to use the 747 to carry its Talon-A hypersonic vehicles, ideally beginning operation by 2024.
Relive SpaceX Starship's epic launch with these amazing highlights (video)
Recently released footage gives new, highly detailed looks at the first-ever launch of a fully stacked Starship vehicle, which SpaceX conducted last month.
