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Pentagon to consider SpaceX alternative for Space Force satellite program

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NASA

Pentagon to consider SpaceX alternative for Space Force satellite program

WASHINGTON — The Department of the Air Force is reconsidering its procurement of satellites for a low Earth orbit military constellation, pausing funding for the program in fiscal year 2026 while examining whether SpaceX’s Starshield satellites could provide the same capabilities at lower cost. The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget would suspend procurement of data-transport satellites for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a mesh network of satellites designed for secure communications and missile tracking operated by the Space Force’s Space Development Agency. The outcome of the review could impact the procurement of as many as 140 satellites for Transport Layer Tranche 3, which the SDA had planned to order in 2026 for deployment in 2028. Chie...

Binoculars to boost your night-sky viewing – Astronomy Now

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Astronomy

Binoculars to boost your night-sky viewing – Astronomy Now

Omegon 2 x 54 wide-field binoculars Multi-coating and blackened lens edges prevent reflections to ensure a clean untroubled field. Galilean binoculars go all of the way back to, well, the time of the great man himself. I vaguely recall reading once that he conceived of strapping two of his telescopes together, but the source of this tale now escapes me. We do know that the first pair to be constructed were made by fellow Italian Cherubin d’Orléans in the 1670s, mounting two Galilean telescopes in parallel to achieve ‘binocular’ vision. He even incorporated individual eyepiece focusing! In the nineteenth century, abbreviated ‘opera glass’ versions magnifying about 3× found favour in theatres – used as much to observe fellow patrons as the action on stage. A resurgence occurred in the mid-t...

Commercial crew blasts off on privately-funded space station research mission – Spaceflight Now

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SpaceX

Commercial crew blasts off on privately-funded space station research mission – Spaceflight Now

Axiom Space’s fourth flight to the International Space Station got off to a sky-lighting start with blastoff from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced space flier, and three rookie crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary blasted off on a privately-financed flight to the International Space Station early Wednesday — the fourth non-government mission mounted by Houston-based Axiom Space. Strapped into a new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule making its maiden flight, Whitson, test pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, European Space Agency astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Hungarian engineer Tibor Kapu roared away from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 2:31 a.m. EDT. Lighting...

How quantum superposition forces us to confront what is truly real

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Science

How quantum superposition forces us to confront what is truly real

There is always a “look of indignation” on students’ faces when they first learn about quantum superposition, says physicist Marcelo Gleiser. He has taught quantum mechanics, the theory governing the microcosmic world of atoms and particles, for decades, and his students’ consternation inevitably emerges right on cue: when he reaches the part about quantum objects apparently being in several places at once. This story is part of our Concepts Special, in which we reveal how experts think about some of the most mind-blowing ideas in science. Read more here The trouble is that words like “apparently” crop up an awful lot around this topic. Indeed, in the century or so since the idea of superposition emerged, its true meaning has remained contested. The only thing physi...

NASA — Happy summer solstice, Northern Hemisphere!
The…

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NASA

NASA — Happy summer solstice, Northern Hemisphere! The…

This year’s summer solstice for the northern hemisphere arrives at 11:54 a.m. EDT, meaning today is the longest day of the year! The number of daylight hours varies by latitude, so our headquarters in Washington, D.C. will see 14 hours, 53 minutes, and 51 seconds of daylight. A lot can happen in that time! Let’s find out more.If you’re spending the day outside, you might be in the path of our Earth Science Satellite Fleet (ESSF)! The fleet, made up of over a dozen Earth observation satellites, will pass over the continental United States about 37 times during today’s daylight hours. These missions collect data on atmospheric chemistry and composition, cloud cover, ocean levels, climate, ecosystem dynamics, precipitation, and glacial movement, among other things. They aim to do everything...