Liftoff is scheduled for 4:34 p.m. ET on Sunday (Feb. 25).
Category: satellites – Page 31
A Fiery Farewell to ESA’s Pioneering ERS-2 Satellite
At approximately 18:17 CET (17:17 UTC) on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, ESA’s ERS-2 satellite completed its atmospheric reentry over the North Pacific Ocean. No damage to property has been reported.
ESA’s second European Remote Sensing satellite, ERS-2, was launched almost 30 years ago, on April 21, 1995. Together with the almost-identical ERS-1, it provided invaluable long-term data on Earth’s land surfaces, ocean temperatures, ozone layer, and polar ice extent that revolutionized our understanding of the Earth system. It was also called upon to monitor and assist the response to natural disasters.
“The ERS satellites have provided a stream of data which has changed our view of the world in which we live,” said ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli. “They have provided us with new insights on our planet, the chemistry of our atmosphere, the behavior of our oceans, and the effects of mankind’s activity on our environment – creating new opportunities for scientific research and applications.”
Finding the Right Targets to Treat Biliary Tract Cancers
Researchers are working on ways to improve the effectiveness of currently approved bile duct cancer, also called cholangiocarcinoma, treatments and finding early success in the development of more targeted therapies. Read more on the AACR Blog:
To overcome this issue, researchers are exploring next-generation FGFR inhibitors. During the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in January 2024, phase II clinical trial results were announced for tinengotinib, a FGFR1-3 inhibitor that binds to FGFR in a way that blocks FGFR2 fusion and rearrangement, preventing the mutations that cause resistance to treatment. Of the patients in the trial whose tumors had developed resistance to a previous FGFR inhibitor, 37.5% demonstrated a partial response with tumor reductions ranging from 40.7% to 54.6%. A phase III trial for the drug candidate kicked off in December 2023.
Other next-generation FGFR inhibitors are in various stages of development, including RLY-4008 (phase I/II trial), erdafitinib (phase IIa), KIN-3248 (phase I/Ib), derazantinib (phase II), tasurgratinib (phase II), and HMPL-453 (phase II).
Another target researchers have been studying in relation to BTC treatment is the immune checkpoint molecule PD-1. In 2017, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy that blocks PD-1, for use in several cancer types, including all advanced solid tumors that have a high tumor mutation burden or microsatellite instability. About 5% of patients with cholangiocarcinoma have that type of tumor, according to a study published in ESMO Open.
ERS-2: A European Space Agency satellite will reenter Earth’s atmosphere this week
A European Space Agency satellite is expected to reenter and largely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday morning.
The agency’s Space Debris Office, along with an international surveillance network, is monitoring and tracking the Earth-observing ERS-2 satellite, which is predicted to make its reentry at 3:53 p.m. ET Wednesday, with a 7.5-hour window of uncertainty. The ESA is also providing live updates on its website.
“As the spacecraft’s reentry is ‘natural’, without the possibility to perform manoeuvers, it is impossible to know exactly where and when it will reenter the atmosphere and begin to burn up,” according to a statement from the agency.
ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium 2024
NEJM Journal Watch Oncology and Hematology Associate Editor David Ilson was on hand at the 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium and highlights the latest research in colorectal, neuroendocrine, and esophagogastric cancers.
Important new studies with the potential to impact clinical practice were presented at the 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium held January 18 to 20 in San Francisco. NEJM Journal Watch Oncology and Hematology Associate Editor David H. Ilson, MD, PhD, was on hand and reports on some of them.
COLORECTAL CANCER
Researchers presented results from CheckMate 8HW, an industry-sponsored, international, open-label, phase 3 trial evaluating first-line treatments in patients with microsatellite instability (MSI)-high/DNA mismatch repair protein-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients were randomized to investigator’s choice of chemotherapy (mFOLFOX6 or FOLFIRI, with or without bevacizumab or cetuximab), single-agent nivolumab (240 mg every 4 weeks followed by 480 mg monthly), or nivolumab combined with ipilimumab (1 mg/kg for 4 doses). An interim analysis was presented for the 303 patients treated with chemotherapy or ipilimumab/nivolumab.
Rocket Lab, Astroscale launch historic mission to monitor space junk
The ADRAS-J satellite, which weighs 150 kilograms (330 pounds), lifted off on top of an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s launch site in New Zealand at 9:52 am EST (1452 GMT; 3:52 am local New Zealand time on February 19).
Lift-off for #OnCloserInspection! ADRAS-J is on its way to orbit. pic.twitter.com/1cu9BI7BBp — Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) February 18, 2024
Astroscale Japan was tasked by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to lead Phase I of its Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program, which involved designing, manufacturing, testing, launching, and operating the ADRAS-J spacecraft.
A satellite designed to inspect space junk just made it to orbit
Astroscale’s ADRAS-J spacecraft, a demonstration satellite that could inform future space junk cleanup efforts, is now in orbit after a successful launch from New Zealand on Sunday. The satellite was sent to space atop an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab. Its mission, which was selected by Japan’s space agency (JAXA) for Phase I of the Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program, will see ADRAS-J rendezvous with an old Japanese rocket upper stage that’s been in orbit since 2009.
There it goes! 🛰️👋
ADRAS-J is now in orbit, ready to start its mission of rendezvousing with an aging piece of space debris and observing it closely to determine whether it can be deorbited in future.
Japan’s flagship H3 rocket successfully reaches orbit after failed debut launch
The H3’s main missions are to secure independent access to space and be competitive as international demand for satellite launches grows. “We made a big first step today toward achieving that goal,” Yamakawa said.
The launch is a boost for Japan’s space program following a recent streak of successes, including a historic precision touchdown on the moon of an unmanned spacecraft last month.
The liftoff was closely watched as a test for Japan’s space development after H3, in its debut flight last March, failed to ignite the second-stage engine. JAXA and its main contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been developing H3 as a successor to its current mainstay, H-2A, which is set to retire after two more flights.