A new world record has been set for the number of satellites sent to space on a single rocket.
The 143 payloads, of all shapes and sizes, rode to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon rocket that launched out of Florida.
The number beats the previous record of 104 satellites carried aloft by an Indian vehicle in 2017.
It's further evidence of the major structural changes taking place in space activity that are allowing many more actors to get involved.
This shift is the result of a revolution in robust, miniaturized, low-cost components — many taken direct from consumer electronics such as smartphones — that mean pretty much anyone can now build a capable satellite in a very small package.
And with SpaceX offering to transport those packages to orbit for just $1m, the commercial opportunities will continue to open up.
Jan 23, 2021
NASA Investigating Distant Galaxy Mysteriously Shooting Flares Out Every 114 Days
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is investigating a distant galaxy that erupts once roughly every 114 days and has been spotted 570 million light-years away.
According to NASA, scientists have studied 20 repeated outbursts, classified as ASASSN-14ko, as observed by its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) by measuring different wavelengths of light.
These are the most predictable and frequent recurring multi wavelength flares which have been seen from a galaxy's core, and they give a unique opportunity to study this extragalactic Old Faithful in detail.
Jan 22, 2021
EU orders next-generation Galileo satellites
The European Commission has handed down industrial contracts worth a total of €1.47bn (£1.31bn; $1.97bn) to build the next generation of Galileo satellites.
The work is going to the continent's two dominant space manufacturers — Airbus and Thales Alenia Space.
They will make six spacecraft each for the global navigation satellite system, with the first of them likely to go into orbit in 2024.
Galileo is the EU's version of the US Global Positioning System (GPS).
Now enabled in billions of smartphones worldwide, both services allow users to identify their location on the planet down to an error of a metre or so.
The precise timing transmissions from orbit are also used in numerous infrastructure applications, including the synchronisation of telecommunications and energy networks.
Jan 21, 2021
NASA Mission Discovers 10 Billion-year-old Exoplanet 50% Larger than Our Own
NASA's TESS mission (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has discovered a hot and rocky planet that is about 50 per cent larger than Earth and has three times the mass but surprisingly, the same density as Earth. Referred to as an exoplanet owing to its location outside our solar system, it has been named TOI-561b.
The discovery of this exoplanet was revealed in a study accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. This study was made public during the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, which was held virtually owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Interestingly, the exoplanet TOI-561b which has more mass but the same density as Earth takes only less than half of 24 hours to complete one orbit around its host star. Owing to its features, the exoplanet is also being referred to as a 'Super-Earth'.
Astronomers Discover Earliest Supermassive Black Hole and Quasar in the Universe
The most distant quasar known has been discovered. The quasar, observed just 670 million years after the Big Bang, is 1000 times more luminous than the Milky Way.
It is powered by the earliest known supermassive black hole, which weighs in at more than 1.6 billion times the mass of the Sun. Seen more than 13 billion years ago, this fully formed distant quasar is also the earliest yet discovered, providing astronomers with insight into the formation of massive galaxies in the early Universe.
The result was released at the January 2021 meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
Quasars, which are powered by the feeding frenzies of colossal supermassive black holes, are the most energetic objects in the Universe.
Jan 20, 2021
Italy's Eni Eyes Foray into Indian Clean Energy Space
Underpinning the growing focus of global super energy majors on India' green economy, Italy's Eni SpA is exploring the feasibility of participating in the world's largest clean energy programme.
Eni is eyeing gigawatt (GW)-scale investments in India and plans to reach 55GW installed capacity globally by 2050. The Rome-headquartered firm is studying the build quality of projects, players' profiles, and the market in India.
Oil giants are aiming to diversify and invest in India's clean energy programme as the conventional hydrocarbon space undergoes technological disruptions. With a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment, marquee global oil and gas firms, such as French energy giant Total SA, and Malaysia's state-run oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, have already invested in India. Thailand's PTT Group is looking to acquire a stake in ReNew Power from Goldman Sachs Group.
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