SpaceX successfully launched two Falcon 9 rockets within an hour early Saturday, delivering 42 Starlink satellites into orbit and achieving back-to-back booster landings. The launches, from Florida and California, followed a recent failure where a booster landed unsuccessfully on August 28. The Florida mission, carrying 21 satellites with new “Direct to Cell” capabilities, saw its booster land on the Atlantic drone ship “Just Read The … Continue reading SpaceX launches back-to-back Falcon 9 rockets

General Stephen Whiting, head of the US Space Command, has urged China to improve communication about space debris as its rocket launches increase. China’s efforts to expand its satellite network, including the Qianfan Constellation, have resulted in significant debris in orbit. Notably, a recent Long March 6A rocket launch created over 700 fragments, while another in November 2022 dispersed more than 530 pieces of debris. … Continue reading US Space Force general urges China to report space debris as G60 satellite network launches

NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines a $116.9 million contract to deliver six payloads to the moon’s south polar region in 2027. This mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, will use Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander to transport experiments from NASA, the European Space Agency, and the University of Colorado Boulder. The payloads include studies on biology, planetary science, and a laser retroreflector … Continue reading NASA selects Intuitive Machines for south pole lunar lander mission

Blue Origin successfully launched and landed its eighth suborbital space tourism mission, NS-26, from its West Texas spaceport this morning. The flight, which took off at 9:07 a.m. EDT, reached an altitude of 341,000 feet before returning to Earth at 9:19 a.m. EDT. The six-person crew, including philanthropist Nicolina Elrick and NASA-funded researcher Rob Ferl, enjoyed a few minutes of weightlessness. Ferl conducted plant growth … Continue reading Blue Origin launches 6 people to space, lands safely on NS-26 flight

NASA’s Endurance rocket has confirmed the existence of a long-hypothesized ambipolar electric field surrounding Earth. Launched from Norway’s Svalbard in May 2022, the rocket detected this weak electric field, which is believed to influence the polar wind and contribute to Earth’s unique atmospheric conditions. The field’s detection, reported in Nature, shows an electric potential change of just 0.55 volts, sufficient to drive the polar wind and … Continue reading NASA Discovers Hidden Atmospheric Force Driving Particles Into Space

NASA’s Perseverance rover is embarking on a challenging climb up 1,000 feet to the rim of Jezero Crater on Mars, after spending 3 1/2 years exploring its floor. The rover, which has already collected 22 rock samples from the crater’s bottom, will now gather samples from the crater’s rim. These samples could provide insights into Mars’ ancient climate and the possibility of past life. The … Continue reading NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars begins steep climb to rim of a crater

Stargazers can enjoy a rare planetary alignment this week, with several planets visible just before sunrise on Wednesday. This “planetary parade” will feature Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, all gathered closely on one side of the Sun. While Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye, spotting Mercury may be challenging due to its proximity to the horizon. Telescopes … Continue reading Big ‘planetary parade’ will see 6 planets line

SpaceX has delayed the launch of its Polaris Dawn mission, which aims to send four private citizens to space, due to unfavorable weather off the coast of Florida. The mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, was scheduled for an early Wednesday launch but was postponed to ensure safe reentry conditions, as the capsule won’t be docking at the International Space Station. A backup launch window … Continue reading SpaceX postpones the launch of private Polaris mission once again

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost, a 6½-foot-tall robotic moon lander, is set to launch later this year aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. This mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, will carry scientific instruments to the Moon’s Mare Crisium basin. Currently undergoing environmental testing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Blue Ghost is expected to gather critical data for future human … Continue reading Blue Ghost, a robotic moon lander built by Firefly Aerospace, to launch soon on SpaceX Falcon 9

China’s Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering (SAST) has proposed a magnetic catapult system on the Moon to transport resources, such as helium-3, back to Earth. This concept, which has been explored by scientists for decades, could become part of China’s long-term lunar development plans within the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a joint project with Russia. The system would use magnetic levitation to launch payloads … Continue reading China Proposes Magnetic Launch System for Sending Resources Back to Earth

New research suggests that gravitational waves generated by the collapse of massive, spinning stars, known as collapsars, could be detectable by instruments like LIGO and Virgo. These waves, caused by material spiraling into black holes after a star’s explosive death, could offer insights into the inner workings of stars and black holes. Previously, gravitational waves have only been detected from mergers of compact objects like … Continue reading Dying Stars Send Out Gravitational Waves Across the Universe

NASA announced that Boeing will return its Starliner capsule from the International Space Station (ISS) without the astronauts it delivered in June. Instead, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will stay on the ISS for six more months and return to Earth in February on SpaceX’s Crew-9 vehicle. The decision to bring Starliner back empty marks a significant shift, as the capsule was originally intended … Continue reading Boeing Starliner returning empty as NASA turns to SpaceX to bring astronauts back from ISS

Former Pentagon insider Luis Elizondo claims that the Department of Defense has a secret program to retrieve crashed spacecraft and has recovered nonhuman specimens. In a NewsNation special, Elizondo provided more details than any previous Pentagon official, naming government agencies and aerospace companies allegedly involved in these recoveries. He asserts that the U.S. government recovered an unidentified craft during the 1947 Roswell incident and has … Continue reading Ex-Pentagon official alleges US has recovered nonhuman specimens

Chinese scientists have discovered a new method to produce water using lunar soil from China’s 2020 Chang’e-5 mission, which retrieved lunar samples for the first time in 44 years. Researchers found that the moon’s soil contains minerals with high amounts of hydrogen, which can be heated to produce water vapor. This breakthrough could significantly aid in building future lunar research stations and space outposts, as … Continue reading Chinese scientists use lunar soil to produce water, state media reports

On September 26th, 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroids Redirect Test (DART) successfully collided with Dimorphos, a small moonlet orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, demonstrating the kinetic impact method as a strategy for deflecting potentially hazardous asteroids. By October 2026, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission will examine the impact site to confirm the effectiveness of this planetary defense approach. However, while this method could divert asteroids … Continue reading NASA Asteroid Collision Debris May Be Headed Toward Earth

Scientists have discovered that the Moon’s south pole was once covered by an ocean of molten rock, supporting the Lunar Magma Ocean theory, which suggests the Moon’s surface formed from magma around 4.5 billion years ago. This finding was made by India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, which landed on the Moon’s south pole in August 2023. The mission, a historic first for exploring this isolated region, found … Continue reading Ancient ocean of magma found on Moon south pole

A rocket engine exploded during a test launch at the SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, on Monday evening, according to German manufacturer Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA). No injuries were reported. Video footage showed the engine exploding on the launchpad, engulfing the structure in flames and thick smoke. The spaceport, recently licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is the only fully-licensed vertical rocket launch … Continue reading Rocket engine explodes during test launch from new spaceport in Scotland

SpaceX launched a new batch of 22 Starlink internet satellites into orbit on August 20, using a Falcon 9 rocket on its maiden flight. The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and successfully returned to Earth, landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. This launch is notable because SpaceX typically uses pre-flown rockets for its missions. The new … Continue reading SpaceX launches 22 Starlink internet satellites into orbit

Chinese scientists are planning to build an $18 billion magnetic space device to launch resources from the moon back to Earth, aiming to address the planet’s energy crisis. Developed by researchers at the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, the device will use magnetic levitation to fling lunar materials, such as helium-3, toward Earth. Helium-3 is seen as a potential clean energy source through nuclear fusion, … Continue reading Chinese scientists planning rotating launch system on the moon

The European Space Agency’s Juice mission is set to achieve two historic firsts as it embarks on its journey to study Jupiter’s icy moons. Launched in April 2023, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will perform the first-ever consecutive flybys of the moon and Earth, along with the first double gravity assist maneuver on August 19-20. These maneuvers will use Earth’s gravity to adjust Juice’s … Continue reading Spacecraft will slingshot around Earth and the moon this week on its way to Jupiter

The Polaris Dawn mission crew landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on August 19, preparing for their upcoming launch scheduled for no earlier than August 26. This marks the second privately crewed SpaceX mission funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, following his 2021 Inspiration4 mission. Polaris Dawn will push the boundaries of private spaceflight, aiming to fly farther from Earth than any human has in 50 … Continue reading SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew lands at launch site ahead of 1st-ever private spacewalk mission

SpaceX successfully launched its Transporter 11 mission on August 16, sending 116 satellites into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The rocket’s first stage landed back near the launch site, marking its 12th successful flight. Among the payloads was an Nvidia Jetson Orin NX chip, protected by a nanoparticle-infused polymer developed by Cosmic Shielding Corporation. This mission is … Continue reading SpaceX launches 116 satellites

NASA’s Perseverance rover is embarking on a challenging new mission to ascend the steep western rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater. After spending two and a half years exploring the crater floor and river delta, Perseverance, which has already collected 22 rock cores and traveled over 18 miles, will begin its ascent the week of August 19. The rover’s climb, which will see it gain about … Continue reading NASA’s Mars rover to begin ‘most challenging’ journey up crater rim

Astronauts are preparing for lunar construction in anticipation of NASA’s Artemis missions, which aim to land astronauts on the moon by 2026 and eventually establish a permanent base. To support this goal, an experiment on the International Space Station is testing cement-mixing techniques using simulated lunar soil. NASA is exploring ways to construct habitats on the moon more economically by using local materials, potentially reducing … Continue reading Astronauts on ISS practice moon base cement-mixing tech in microgravity

On August 15, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched two Maxar Intelligence imaging satellites, known as Maxar-2, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This launch, SpaceX’s 79th of 2024, is the second of three missions to deploy Maxar’s WorldView Legion constellation of six high-resolution imaging satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully returned to Cape Canaveral, and both satellites were confirmed to be deployed about … Continue reading SpaceX launches second pair of Maxar WorldView Legion imaging satellites