OrbitalHub

DARPA Selects Three Companies to Design Lunar Orbiter for Water Ice Prospecting at Extremely Low Altitudes

dj — Sun, 10 May 2026 13:00:15 +0000

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced in late April 2026 that it had selected three companies for the first phase of a lunar mission study program focused on detecting and mapping water ice deposits in the lunar south polar region from very low orbits.

Post from: OrbitalHub

Hubble and the Distributed Lab: How Citizen Scientists Turn Images into Data

dj — Sat, 09 May 2026 13:10:09 +0000

Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has produced a data archive that now exceeds 1.7 million observations.

Post from: OrbitalHub

NASA to Quadruple Lunar Lander Contract as Moon Base Ambitions Accelerate to Monthly Landings

dj — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:00:24 +0000

On April 27, 2026, NASA filed paperwork indicating it would increase the maximum value of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion.

Post from: OrbitalHub

Arc: Orbital Logistics and the Physics of Rapid Reentry

dj — Thu, 07 May 2026 13:10:32 +0000

Arc combines known physical principles—orbital mechanics, hypersonic aerodynamics, and thermal protection—with a specific operational model centered on rapid, global delivery.

Post from: OrbitalHub

NASA Engineers Plan Ambitious Power Maneuver to Keep Voyager Spacecraft Alive Beyond 2030

dj — Thu, 07 May 2026 13:00:25 +0000

On February 27, 2026, Voyager 1 experienced an unexpected drop in power levels during a routine roll maneuver.

Post from: OrbitalHub

Starship Flight 12: Transition to Version 3 Hardware

dj — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:00:21 +0000

The next integrated test of Starship is positioned as a configuration transition rather than a routine increment.

Post from: OrbitalHub

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Uncovers Diverse Organic Molecules on Mars, Including DNA-Like Compound

dj — Mon, 04 May 2026 13:00:01 +0000

An international team of researchers announced that NASA's Curiosity rover had identified more than 20 distinct organic molecules preserved in ancient Martian rocks.

Post from: OrbitalHub

Verifying for Flight: Environmental Testing of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

dj — Sun, 03 May 2026 13:10:34 +0000

With a launch now scheduled for September 2026—well ahead of its required readiness date—Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has completed the most critical phase of its development: environmental qualification.

Post from: OrbitalHub

ESA’s Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover Secures Ride to Space on SpaceX Falcon Heavy

dj — Sat, 02 May 2026 13:00:33 +0000

After more than a decade of delays, geopolitical shifts, and mission redesigns, ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover finally has a confirmed launch provider.

Post from: OrbitalHub

Measuring the Storm: GPM’s View Inside Typhoon Sinlaku

dj — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:10:07 +0000

The GPM Core Observatory passed directly over the center of Typhoon Sinlaku. From orbit, the satellite captured a detailed, three-dimensional snapshot of precipitation inside the storm, resolving structures that are not accessible to conventional surface-based observations.

Post from: OrbitalHub