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☆ Analysis-Russia Seen as Highly Unlikely to Put a Nuclear Warhead in Space
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 ImagesAnalysts tracking Russia's space programs say the space threat is probably not a nuclear warhead but rather a high-powered device requiring nuclear energy to carry out an array of attacks against satellites. The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed a warning by the United States about Moscow's new nuclear capabilities in space, calling it a "malicious fabrication". Exploding a nuclear weapon in space would be another matter entirely. "If they do (detonate a nuclear device in space), they’d lose everything. James Acton, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank, said for Russia to put a nuclear weapon in orbit would be a "blatant violation of the Outer Space Treaty."

Persons: Joey Roulette, Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON, Mike Turner, Antony Blinken, Daryl Kimball, Brian Weeden, Weeden, James Acton, Acton, Arshad Mohammed, Don Durfee, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S . House, Reuters, Washington, U.S, Arms Control Association, U.S . Defense Intelligence Agency, Secure, Foundation, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace Locations: Russia, Russian, United States, U.S, China, India, Ukraine, Washington, Saint Paul , Minnesota

☆ SpaceX launches South Korean spy satellite from California
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 1 (Reuters) - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying South Korea's first spy satellite launched on Friday from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, after North Korea successfully launched its own military reconnaissance satellite last month. SpaceX ended its livestream of the mission minutes after liftoff and then recovery of the rocket's core stage booster without showing the South Korean payload's deployment. After two earlier attempts ended in rocket crashes this year, North Korea used its own Chollima-1 launch vehicle to place the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite in orbit. Pyongyang has yet to release any imagery from that satellite, and analysts say its full capabilities are unknown. Reporting by Michael Martina, Joey Roulette and Josh Smith Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: California's, Michael Martina, Joey Roulette, Josh Smith, Chris Reese, Leslie Adler Organizations: SpaceX, California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, North, American, Thomson Locations: North Korea, South Korea, Pyongyang

But the rocket's Super Heavy first stage booster, though it appeared to achieve a crucial maneuver to separate with its core Starship stage, exploded over the Gulf of Mexico shortly after detaching, a SpaceX webcast showed. Meanwhile, the core Starship booster carried further toward space, but a few minutes later a company broadcaster said that SpaceX mission control suddenly lost contact with the vehicle. "We have lost the data from the second stage... we think we may have lost the second stage," SpaceX's livestream host John Insprucker said. About eight minutes into the test mission, a camera view tracking the Starship booster appeared to show an explosion that would suggest the vehicle failed at that time. SpaceX in a post on social media platform X said the core Starship stage's engines "fired for several minutes on its way to space."

Persons: SpaceX's, Joe Skipper, rocketship, John Insprucker, Artemis, Musk, Joey Roulette, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham, Ros Russell Organizations: Boca Chica, REUTERS, Elon Musk, SpaceX, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Super, NASA, Boca, Thomson Locations: Brownsville , Texas, U.S, CHICA , Texas, Boca Chica, Texas, of Mexico, Hawaii's, Gulf, Mexico, Boca Chica , Texas, Washington, Los Angeles

[1/3] Spectators look on as SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft, atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket, is prepared for launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. November 17 2023. Starship is mounted atop its towering Super Heavy rocket booster in what will be the second attempted flight of both vehicles together. The launch had been scheduled for Friday but was pushed back by a day for a last-minute swap of flight-control hardware. SpaceX is aiming to at least exceed Starship-Super Heavy's performance during its April 20 test flight, when the two-stage spacecraft blew itself to bits less than four minutes into a planned 90-minute flight. SpaceX has since reinforced the launch pad with a massive water-cooled steel plate, one of dozens of corrective actions that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration required before granting a launch license on Wednesday for the second test flight.

Persons: Joe Skipper, SpaceX's, Elon Musk, Artemis, Bill Nelson, Nelson, Musk, Joey Roulette, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham Organizations: Boca Chica, REUTERS, blastoff, NASA, Saturn, SpaceX, Reuters, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Thomson Locations: Brownsville , Texas, U.S, CHICA , Texas, Texas, of Mexico, Boca Chica, Hawaii's, Mars, China, New York, Los Angeles, Boca Chica , Texas

☆ Amazon's prototype Kuiper satellites operating successfully
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 16 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) said on Thursday its two prototype satellites for its planned Kuiper internet network have been operating successfully in orbit, with the project on track to start launching operational satellites by mid-2024. The Kuiper internet network is set to compete against billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink, the world's largest satellite operator, to offer broadband internet service globally to consumers, companies and governments. Amazon said it used the prototype satellites for brief two-way video calls, streaming a high-definition movie on Prime Video and ordering items off Amazon's website. Badyal declined to say how many satellites Amazon would launch per rocket. The Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance is set to loft the first several batches of Kuiper satellites aboard its Atlas 5 and the company's upcoming Vulcan rocket.

Persons: Joe Skipper, Elon Musk's Starlink, Rajeev Badyal, Badyal, Jeff Bezos, Joey Roulette, Zaheer Kachwala, Tasim Zahid, Will Dunham Organizations: United, Alliance, Cape Canaveral Space Force, REUTERS, United Launch Alliance, U.S . Federal Communications Commission, Reuters, Vodafone, Verizon, Amazon, Boeing, Lockheed, Vulcan, SpaceX, Thomson Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, Florida, New York, Bengaluru

☆ SpaceX delays Starship test flight a day over hardware swap
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket is prepared for launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - SpaceX postponed its second attempt to launch the company's Starship rocket system into space by a day to Saturday, Chief Executive Elon Musk said, citing a piece of flight control hardware that needed replacing. "We need to replace a grid fin actuator, so launch is postponed to Saturday," Musk wrote on messaging platform X. The launch is set to take place at the company's Starbase site on the Gulf of Mexico near Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX is aiming to make a second attempt at launching its 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship rocket system into space for the first time, following an April test flight in which the rocket exploded roughly four minutes after lifting off from Texas.

Persons: SpaceX's, Joe Skipper, Elon Musk, Musk, Joey Roulette, Chris Reese, Will Dunham Organizations: Boca Chica, REUTERS, Rights, SpaceX, Texas . Company, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Mars, Thomson Locations: Brownsville , Texas, U.S, of Mexico, Boca Chica , Texas, Texas

☆ White House proposes transportation, commerce agencies handle new space regulations
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday released a long-awaited proposal to split regulatory powers over emerging private-sector space activities between the U.S. transportation and commerce departments, according to a draft legislative proposal. The plan would expand the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of rocket launch sites on Earth to include various crewed and uncrewed activities in space, from regulating private astronaut missions to licensing commercial space stations and trips to the moon. Private space endeavors are surging in the U.S., from tourist trips to commercial refueling satellites. Yet few U.S. regulations govern those novel activities as various countries step up their presence in Earth's orbit, a borderless domain with surging spacecraft traffic. The proposed regulatory arrangement aims to keep the U.S. in compliance with a landmark space treaty requiring countries to authorize and supervise the activities of non-government entities.

Persons: Biden, Joey Roulette, Chizu Organizations: Wednesday, Federal Aviation, U.S . Department of Commerce, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ US FAA okays SpaceX license for second launch of Starship Super Heavy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket lifts off from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday granted Elon Musk's SpaceX a license to launch the company's second test flight of its next-generation Starship and heavy-lift rocket from Texas, the agency said. The upcoming Starship flight will have the same test objectives as the first attempt. The FAA required SpaceX to make dozens of fixes before allowing another Starship flight. SpaceX determined that an onboard fire prevented Starship - the rocket system's upper stage - from separating from its Super Heavy first stage booster as planned.

Persons: SpaceX's, Joe Skipper, Elon, David Shepardson, Joey Roulette, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Boca Chica, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Wednesday, SpaceX, FAA, NASA, Thomson Locations: Brownsville , Texas, U.S, Texas

☆ Starlink achieves cash-flow breakeven, says SpaceX CEO Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks on a screen during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 2 (Reuters) - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday the rocket company's satellite internet unit, Starlink, had achieved cash flow breakeven. In 2021, Musk said SpaceX would spin off and take Starlink public once its cash flow was reasonably predictable. Starlink has been in the spotlight since last year as it helps provide Ukraine with satellite communications key to its war efforts against Russia. SpaceX is valued at about $150 billion and is one of the most valuable private companies in the world.

Persons: Elon Musk, Nacho, Musk, Starlink, Chavi Mehta, Joey Roulette, Shinjini Organizations: SpaceX, Mobile World Congress, REUTERS, Viasat, Russia, NASA, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Ukraine, Gaza, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Bezos' Blue Origin sees third executive departure amid restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Eilola's departure follows plans announced last month by Bezos to replace Smith, who has been Blue Origin's CEO since 2017, with longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp by the end of the year. Blue Origin did not respond to a request for comment. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 with the vision of having millions of people living and working in space. In the past several months, Blue Origin's corporate structure has changed substantially as its leadership gets a revamp. Blue Origin this year also spun its moon lander program into a new independent business unit.

Persons: Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Origin's, Jeff Bezos, Bob Smith, Mike Eilola, Bezos, Smith, Dave Limp, Brent Sherwood, Shepard, Limp, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: Shepard, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Elon, SpaceX, Blue, Amazon, Honeywell Aerospace, Glenn, NASA, Space Systems, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, United States

☆ US Space Force pauses use of AI tools like ChatGPT over data security risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Space Force has paused the use of web-based generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT for its workforce over data security concerns, according to a memo seen by Reuters. It said the temporary ban was "due to data aggregation risks." "This is a temporary measure to protect the data of our service and Guardians," she added. Costa said in the memo that her office had formed a generative AI task force with other Pentagon offices to mull ways to use the technology in a "responsible and strategic manner." More guidance on Space Force's use of generative AI would be released in the next month, she added.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Lisa Costa, Tanya Downsworth, Costa, Joey Roulette, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Space Force, Reuters, Space Force, force's, Technology, Innovation, Air Force, Bloomberg, USSF, Thomson Locations: mull

☆ Russian module on International Space Station suffers coolant leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Nauka (Science) Multipurpose Laboratory Module is seen docked to the International Space Station (ISS) next to next to Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on July 29, 2021. Oleg Novitskiy/Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 9 (Reuters) - Russia's space agency said on Monday that its multipurpose Nauka module attached to the International Space Station suffered a leak of a backup cooling system used to regulate onboard temperatures for astronauts. The crew and the station "are not in danger" as astronauts assess the leak, Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said in a statement posted on Telegram. "There's a leak coming from the radiator on MLM," replied NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, referring to the Nauka module on the station's Russian segment. American Loral O'Hara and Russians Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub arrived via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft last month.

Persons: Oleg Novitskiy, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara, Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, Sandra Maler Organizations: Module, International Space, Soyuz, REUTERS, Russian Progress, NASA, Russia's Soyuz, SpaceX, Russian Soyuz, Thomson Locations: Handout, Russian, Russia, Houston, U.S, Nauka, Denmark, Japan, Ukraine

House Republicans are expected to hear from speaker candidates behind closed doors on Tuesday and vote to choose their nominee on Wednesday. A House floor vote to elect a replacement for Republican former Speaker Kevin McCarthy could come later in the week. "It's not ideal," Republican Representative Michael McCaul told CNN on Sunday. "What kind of message are we sending to our adversaries when we can't govern, when we're dysfunctional, when we don't even have a speaker of the House?" "I am not going to support anybody until the conference figures out spending," Republican Representative Ken Buck told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

Persons: Ronen, Jim Jordan, Barack Obama, Kevin McCarthy, Michael McCaul, Jordan, we've, Steve Scalise, Ken Buck, ABC's, Matt Gaetz, McCarthy’s, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Chris Christie, They're, Joey Roulette, David Morgan, Heather Timmons, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . House, Republicans, Republican, CNN, Fox News, Sunday, Democrat, Israeli, Israeli Defense Forces, Thomson Locations: Israeli, Gaza, Sderot, Israel, U.S, Louisiana, Florida

Israel battered Palestinians with air strikes in Gaza on Sunday, with hundreds reportedly killed on both sides. Austin also added that the United States will provide munitions to Israel, and that its security assistance will begin moving on Sunday. Austin said he ordered moving a carrier strike group closer to Israel, which includes the Ford carrier and ships that support it. The United States on Sunday said that Saudi-Israel normalization efforts should continue despite the latest attack. Blinken labeled the attack on Israel as a "terrorist attack by a terrorist organization."

Persons: Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Frantz, Lloyd Austin, Israel, Austin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gerald R, Ismail Haniyeh, Jerusalem's Al, Netanyahu, Jon, We're, Blinken, Kanishka Singh, Idrees Ali, Steve Holland, Susan Heavey, Joey Roulette, Heather Timmons, Lisa Shumaker, Mark Porter Organizations: Hamas, White, REUTERS, Rights, Defense, Pentagon, Israeli Defense Forces, Ford, Ford Carrier Strike Group, CNN, Saturday, West Bank, U.S, Deputy National, Fox News Sunday, Thomson Locations: Israel, Washington , U.S, United States, Washington, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Egypt, Syria, Yom, Jerusalem, Aqsa, East, Saudi, GAZA, Israeli, Iran

REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said part of the motivation for Hamas' latest attack on Israel may have been disrupting a potential normalizing of Israel-Saudi Arabia ties and said Washington will announce new assistance for Israel on Sunday. The United said on Sunday that Saudi-Israel normalization efforts should continue despite the latest attack. The secretary of state said details of new U.S. assistance for Israel will be made public later, as he labeled the attack on Israel as a "terrorist attack by a terrorist organization." I think you're likely to hear more about that later today," Blinken told CNN. He added that there was not yet any evidence seen by the United States of Iran being behind the latest attack in Israel but he noted the long-standing ties between Iran and Hamas, which governs Gaza.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Frantz, Washington, Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jon, We're, Kanishka Singh, Susan Heavey, Joey Roulette, Heather Timmons, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Hamas, White, REUTERS, Rights, Israel, Sunday, CNN, U.S, Deputy National, Fox News Sunday, Thomson Locations: Israel, Washington , U.S, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Egypt, Syria, Yom, East, Saudi, GAZA, United States, Washington, Israeli, Iran

☆ Amazon launches first test satellites for Kuiper internet network
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket emblazoned with the Amazon logo lifted off from Cape Canaveral shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern time (1800 GMT), carrying the two Kuiper test satellites, a long-awaited mission Amazon initially had intended to launch using different rockets. In the days leading up to the launch, Amazon divulged few specifics about the two satellites, which were built at its satellite plant in Redmond, Washington. Amazon has vowed to invest $10 billion into its Kuiper project, which was announced in 2019, the year SpaceX began deploying its first operational Starlink spacecraft. The market for broadband internet service from low-Earth orbiting satellites is viewed as being worth up to tens of billions of dollars in the next decade. Like SpaceX, Amazon aims to target individual consumers and enterprise customers with Kuiper, pulling from its devices playbook to build consumer terminals at a company cost of $400 each - though it has not yet announced prices.

Persons: SpaceX's Starlink, Elon, Canada's, Jeff Bezos, Joey Roulette, Chris Reese, Will Dunham 私たち Organizations: United, Alliance, Cape Canaveral Space Force, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Boeing, Lockheed, Amazon Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, 読む WASHINGTON, Florida, Cape Canaveral, Redmond , Washington

☆ Exclusive: Bezos' Blue Origin expects split on space station partnership -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Blue Origin spokesperson said Sierra will remain a partner on Orbital Reef but declined to say in what capacity. Last week, Bezos told Blue Origin employees that longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp would replace Blue Origin's current CEO by year's end. In 2021, Blue Origin announced its partnership to build what it envisions as a "business park in space" with Sierra Space, a spinoff from defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp. Blue Origin secured $3.4 billion from NASA this year for that lander as part of the agency's Artemis program. Blue Origin said at the time it planned to privately invest "well north" of that amount.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Jeff Bezos, Sierra, Brent Sherwood, Sherwood, Bezos, Dave Limp, Glenn, Joey Roulette, Ben Klayman, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sierra Space, NASA, Space, CNBC, Blue Origin, Amazon, year's, Sierra Nevada Corp, Origin, Industry, Sierra, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S

☆ US FAA ends probe of Blue Origin's 2022 rocket mishap, needs engine redesign
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The space capsule of Blue Origin's rocket New Shepard, carrying six crew members, is seen before landing, on billionaire Jeff Bezos's company's fourth suborbital tourism flight, near Van Horn, Texas, U.S., March 31, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Pierre Aguirre/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it has closed a probe into Blue Origin's 2022 New Shepard rocket failure, forcing a redesign of the vehicle's engine and other fixes before the company can resume its suborbital launch business. Blue Origin must take 21 corrective actions before its reusable New Shepard rocket can return to flight, including a "redesign of engine and nozzle components to improve structural performance during operation as well as organizational changes," the FAA said. The FAA, which regulates launch site safety and oversees mishap investigations led by rocket companies, cited the same conclusion as Blue Origin's in its statement on Wednesday. Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, we've, uncrewed, Jeff Bezos, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, David Gregorio, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Shepard, FAA, NASA, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, Texas, New

☆ Bezos's Blue Origin names former Amazon executive as CEO -internal email
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 25 (Reuters) - The chief executive officer of Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin, Bob Smith, will step down at the end of the year to be replaced by former Amazon executive Dave Limp, who ran products such as Kindle, according to emails seen by Reuters. Limp, a former senior vice president at Amazon who led the company's consumer devices unit, will become Blue Origin's CEO on Dec. 4, an email from Bezos, Blue Origin's founder, said. "Jeff and I have been discussing my plan for months," Smith told employees in an email sent Monday. He added he would remain with the company until Jan. 2 "to ensure a smooth transition with the new CEO." Limp, a more than 13-year veteran of Amazon, had overseen some of Amazon's well-known consumer devices, such as Echo products.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Blue, Bob Smith, Bezos, Joe Skipper, Jeff Bezos's, Dave Limp, Jeff, Smith, Limp, Elon, New Glenn, Joey Roulette, Pooja Desai, Sonali Paul Organizations: Billionaire, Blue Origin's, REUTERS, Amazon, Reuters, Blue, SpaceX's, NASA, Honeywell Aerospace, SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed, United Launch Alliance, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, New

☆ Germany signs U.S.-led space norms pact Artemis Accords
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Germany on Thursday became the 29th country to sign the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led multilateral agreement meant to establish norms of behavior in space and on the lunar surface. India, which last month became the fourth nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon, agreed to join the Artemis Accords in June but China and Russia have not. "It's a big deal, because Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe and has been a part of the European space program forever," Nelson told Reuters on Thursday before the signing. Japan, various European countries and other nations with big to small space programs have joined the accords. The European Space Agency (ESA), which represents 22 member states including Germany, is a core NASA partner on Gateway, a planned space station that will orbit the moon as part of the Artemis program.

Persons: Bill Nelson, Walther Pelzer, Nelson, NASA's, Artemis, Mike Gold, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: Artemis Accords, NASA, German Space Agency, Reuters, European Space Agency, ESA, Thomson Locations: Germany, U.S, United States, China, India, Russia, Washington, Europe, Japan

☆ NASA installs new chief of UFO research after expert panel report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The mission of NASA is to find out the unknown," Nelson said. The NASA panel, comprising experts in scientific fields ranging from physics to astrobiology, issued the report after holding its first public meeting in June. NASA said the new director of UAP research will handle "centralized communications, resources and data analytical capabilities to establish a robust database for the evaluation of future UAP." The report said defense and intelligence analysts lacked sufficient data to determine the nature of some of the objects. The NASA panel studying UAPs held its first public meeting in June, comprising experts in scientific fields ranging from physics to astrobiology.

Persons: Joe Skipper, Bill Nelson, Nelson, UAPs, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: NASA, Vehicle, Kennedy Space Center, REUTERS, Rights, UAP, National Intelligence, Navy, U.S, East, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, West

Mexican journalist and long-time UFO enthusiast Jaime Maussan showed politicians at the hearing on Tuesday two tiny "bodies" displayed in cases, with three fingers on each hand and elongated heads. He claimed they were found in Peru in 2017 and were not related to any life on Earth. The images from the congressional hearing, the first of its kind in Mexico, sparked international curiosity as well as substantial scorn. Maussan, speaking to Reuters on Thursday, said his critics had yet to present evidence to counter his claims. "If you have something strange, make samples available to the world's scientific community, and we'll see what's there," he said.

Persons: Henry Romero, Jaime Maussan, Maussan, Ryan Graves, Graves, Leslie Urteaga, Urteaga, David Spergel, Cassandra Garrison, Joey Roulette, Marco Aquino, Rosalba O'Brien, Sandra Maler Organizations: San, REUTERS, U.S . Navy, Mexico's National Autonomous University, UNAM, Peruvian Culture, Ministry of Culture, Reuters, National Laboratory, NASA, Princeton, Thomson Locations: San Lazaro, Mexico City, Mexico, MEXICO, Peru, Mexican, Washington, Lima

☆ 'Learning period' for US commercial space regulations should be extended -US Sen. Cruz
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - A federal moratorium on commercial spaceflight safety regulations should be extended to support more innovation in the space sector, U.S. The fast-growing sector since 2004 has been shielded from federal safety regulations by what is widely called a "learning period." "Now is not the time to impose new regulations on commercial space," Cruz said, speaking on the sidelines of an industry conference in Washington. The moratorium, established by the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, was most recently extended in 2015. The law requires private space companies that send humans into space to have passengers sign "informed consent" documents acknowledging the absence of federal safety regulations.

Persons: Ted Cruz, Artemis, Go Nakamura, Cruz, Doug Ligor, Ligor, Kelvin Coleman, it'll, Elon, Jeff Bezos, Joey Roulette, Chris Reese, Leslie Adler, Daniel Wallis Organizations: NASA, REUTERS, Rights, Federal Aviation Administration, RAND Corporation, RAND, FAA, Spaceflight, Senate, SpaceX, Origin, Shepard, Virgin Galactic, Thomson Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, Washington, American, Texas, Van Horn

☆ Telesat taps SpaceX to launch its broadband satellites in orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LEO satellites operate 36 times closer to Earth than traditional ones so they take less time to send and receive information, leading to better and faster broadband service even in remote areas. "It is another big step forward on our path to get Lightspeed up there," Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg told Reuters. Telesat picked Elon Musk's SpaceX because it had "the best combination of price, performance, reliability and schedule tempo," Goldberg said. Satellite constellations have sapped large amounts of the U.S. launch supply in recent years with considerably large bulk launch orders like Telesat's SpaceX contract. SpaceX aims to nearly double its annual launch rate in 2023 thanks to its growing Starlink constellation.

Persons: Dan Goldberg, Blair Gable, Telesat, Elon, Goldberg, we've, Jeff Bezos's, Steve Scherer, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, SpaceX, LEO, Lightspeed, Reuters, Canada's MDA, Thales Alenia Space, Thales, MDA, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Canadian, Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, Washington

☆ SpaceX, US FAA close Starship launch probe with dozens of fixes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica," the agency said, referring to SpaceX's sprawling Starship launch site in south Texas. It was unclear how many of the corrective actions SpaceX has already implemented, which will impact Starship's next launch timeline. Later on Friday, SpaceX's CEO and founder Elon Musk asked the FAA "what are the 63 corrective actions?" In line with FAA regulations, Musk's space company led the Starship investigation and largely created the list of 63 corrective actions for the FAA to approve. The agency requires SpaceX complete those actions before it can obtain a new Starship launch license.

Persons: SpaceX's, Joe Skipper, Elon Musk, Musk, Joey Roulette, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Josie Kao, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Boca Chica, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX's, FAA, SpaceX, NASA, Boca, Thomson Locations: Brownsville , Texas, U.S, Texas, Boca Chica

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