Europe’s Vega-C rocket returned to flight Thursday (Dec. 5) with a successful mission, two years after suffering a catastrophic failure. Vega-C, which is operated by the French company Arianespace, launched the Copernicus Sentinel-1C Earth-observation satellite on Thursday, lifting off from Kourou, French Guiana at 4:20 p.m. EST (2120 GMT; 6:20 p.m. local time). The mission …
Last week, China successfully debuted its new launch vehicle Long March-12, delivering two experimental satellites into orbit and marking the inaugural flight from the country’s first commercial spaceport that will support the country’s upcoming surge in commercial space activity, including deploying large satellite networks. The 205-foot (62.6-meter) Long March-12 rocket lifted off on Nov. 30 …
China Debuts $553 Million Spaceport With Launch Of New Long March-12 Rocket. Read More »
A European mission that will use two satellites to create artificial eclipses in Earth orbit launched early Thursday morning (Dec. 5) after a 24-hour delay. The European Space Agency‘s (ESA) Proba-3 formation-flying mission lifted off atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Center on Thursday at 5:35 a.m. EST (1035 …
India Launches European Proba-3 Satellites To Create Artificial Eclipses In Space. Read More »
The Square Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to develop an SKAO Africa Programme within the next 12 months. The programme will focus on developing human capital in radio astronomy and related computing disciplines across Africa. Such collaborations enable leading UK, …
SKAO And STFC Partner To Implement SKAO Africa Programme. Read More »
SpaceX notched a big milestone with a launch of its Starlink internet satellites on Wednesday night (Dec. 4). A Falcon 9 rocket launched 20 Starlink spacecraft from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday at 10:05 p.m. EST (7:05 p.m. local California time; 0305 GMT on Dec. 5) and deployed them in low Earth orbit …
SpaceX Completes 1st Starlink Direct-to-Cell Constellation With Launch From California. Read More »
A billionaire tech entrepreneur and private astronaut is Donald Trump’s choice for the next NASA chief. The president-elect announced via social media today (Dec. 4) that he has picked Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of payment-processing company Shift4 Payments, for the job of NASA administrator. Isaacman has spaceflight experience: He has funded and commanded …
Trump Picks Billionaire Private SpaceX Astronaut Jared Isaacman To Lead NASA. Read More »
A European mission that will use two satellites to create artificial eclipses in Earth orbit will now launch early Thursday morning (Dec. 5) after a delay, and you can watch the action live. The European Space Agency‘s (ESA) Proba-3 formation-flying mission is scheduled to lift off atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from …
For the first time since the launch vehicle’s catastrophic mission failure in 2022, Europe’s Vega-C rocket is poised to return to flight Thursday (Dec. 5), after a delay. The European Space Agency (ESA) is scheduled to launch the Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite today, lifting off from Kourou, French Guiana, during an instantaneous launch window on Dec. …
Watch Europe’s Vega-C Rocket Launch Dec. 5 After Delay, On 1st Flight Since 2022. Read More »
SpaceX just set a new rocket-reuse record. One of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday (Dec. 4) at 5:13 a.m. EST (1013 GMT). The mission delivered 24 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO). It was the 24th launch for this Falcon …
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches On Record-Breaking 24th Flight. Read More »
Scientists won’t be able to process much of the data gathered by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and IRIS spacecraft for a while, thanks to a burst water pipe. That pipe a 4-inch-wide (10 centimeters) cooling water line in a server room at Stanford University in California that’s home to the SDO Joint Science Operations …
Broken Water Pipe Knocks Out Data Processing For NASA Sun-Studying Spacecraft. Read More »
