Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Satellite firm Astro Digital to go public in $587 million SPAC deal

Satellite maker Astro Digital ​said on Monday it had agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check ​company Proem Acquisition Corp I, in a deal valuing the company ‌at ​about $587 million. Here are some details:

NASA chief says Boeing Starliner parts to be redesigned for 2028 flight

NASA chief Jared Isaacman said on Monday that parts of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will be redesigned ahead of a crewed flight in 2028, and he added in a briefing that Starliner will fly up to ‌five crewed missions to the International Space Station for NASA. Boeing has implemented fixes on Starliner-1 after identifying the cause of the spacecraft's helium leaks, said Dana Weigel, NASA program manager for the space station.

China's space diplomacy lifts Pakistani astronaut toward orbit

Two Pakistani pilots are memorising Mandarin, spinning in centrifuge drills and learning to eat, sleep and repair equipment while weightless as a decision nears on which one will become the first foreign ‌astronaut aboard China's Tiangong space station. The voyage into space would be a first for the South Asian nation. It is part of broader cooperation with Beijing that straddles the Belt and Road ‌Initiative and has produced Chinese-launched Pakistani satellites, a joint satellite-navigation system and a Pakistani-built rover due to fly on China's Chang'e 8 lunar mission around 2028.

ESA taps OVHcloud, CGI to build system for Earth observation data

OVHcloud and CGI have won a 30-month European Space Agency contract to build computing infrastructure to store and process Europe's Earth observation satellite data, the companies said on Monday. The award reflects the European Commission's push to steer strategic workloads to European providers and follows a €180 million ($205 million) cloud ⁠tender handed ​exclusively to four European firms in April.

India's TakeMe2Space to launch ⁠orbital computing satellite on SpaceX rocket

Indian space startup TakeMe2Space plans to launch what it describes as the country's first orbital computing satellite aboard a SpaceX rocket on October 1, seeking to process data in orbit rather than transmit raw information back ⁠to Earth. The company's MOI-1A spacecraft, a sub-50 kg satellite carrying Nvidia Orin NX edge-computing processors, is scheduled to fly on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission.

SpaceX's Starship engine failure could impact NASA's moon mission objectives

The Starship engine failure that ​nearly foiled the orbital debut of SpaceX's next-generation spacecraft on its 14th uncrewed test flight may complicate NASA's ability to meet its time frame for astronaut missions to the moon. Starship, designed in ⁠part to carry large payloads to space, is one of two vehicles vying to become the first craft that NASA will use as early as 2028 to land humans on the moon and bring them safely home, a feat last achieved in ⁠1972 ​at the end of the Apollo era.

SpaceX's Starship makes orbital debut deploying Starlinks before early ending

SpaceX's giant Starship rocket reached orbit for the first time on Monday and deployed new Starlink satellites, achieving milestones in its 14th test flight despite an engine failure and a decision to cut the mission short. The uncrewed mission was scheduled to last 10 hours, but was reduced to three after one ⁠of Starship's three main engines shut down prematurely following separation from the spacecraft's lower-stage Super Heavy booster rocket.

SpaceX's Starship launches on 14th flight, first headed to orbit

SpaceX's next-generation Starship rocket lifted off from Texas ⁠on Monday for its debut flight to orbit ⁠and first operational release of satellites, marking its 14th launch ahead of a routine service that Elon Musk's company expects to begin later this year.

Swiss archaeologists redraw Roman maps after drought discoveries

Archaeologists are redrawing Roman maps of Switzerland after traces of long-buried ruins emerged as the country endured the hottest summer on ‌record. Drought can reveal hidden archaeological sites ‌through "parch marks" created when vegetation above them withers, one of several effects of this year's heatwaves, which ​also exposed World War Two wrecks on river beds.