Jam packed issues filled with the latest cutting-edge research, technology and theories delivered in an entertaining and visually stunning way, aiming to educate and inspire readers of all agesAsteroid prospecting company AstroForge has been awarded the first-ever commercial license for operating and communicating with a spacecraft in deep space, ahead of its Odin mission that's set to launch and rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid in early 2025.
The license, granted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Oct. 18, pertains specifically to setting up a communication network with radio ground stations onIn this case, deep space is defined by the International Telecommunications Union as being farther than 2 million kilometers from Earth.that launched in April 2023 and successfully reached Earth orbit.
Odin is the company's second space mission. Despite winning the commercial license, it hasn't all been plain sailing for the new effort. In March, the original Odin spacecraft failed a vibration test, meaning that it would be vulnerable to damage during launch. The problem,, was that the spacecraft's baseplate, to which propulsion tanks and thrusters are attached, contained cracks resulting from its manufacture by a third party.
Neither Odin nor Vestri will conduct any actual asteroid mining, but should they succeed, they will have demonstrated the key stages of reaching an asteroid and getting in position to begin mining. The actual mining and refining technology would then be demonstrated on subsequent missions.
He's the author of"The Contact Paradox: Challenging Our Assumptions in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" and has written articles on astronomy, space, physics and astrobiology for a multitude of magazines and websites.