On May 22, 2012, SpaceX launched the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. The Dragon was the first American spacecraft to visit the space station since NASA ended the space shuttle program almost a year earlier. When the space shuttles were retired, NASA decided to contract private companies to start launching cargo to …
SpaceX launced a pioneering set of spy satellites for the U.S. government early on Wednesday morning (May 22). A Falcon 9 rocket hoisted the NROL-146 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to space after liftoff from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT; 1 a.m. local California time). We don’t …
The U.S. Space Force has ordered a first-of-its-kind satellite docking mission in order to give an on-orbit spacecraft an additional two years of propulsion and maneuverability. Space Systems Command (SSC), an organization within the U.S. Space Force tasked with acquiring and deploying new military space technologies, awarded a $37.5 million contract to Seattle-based company Starfish …
Space Force Orders ‘Jetpack’ To Give 2 Years Of Maneuverability To Military Satellite. Read More »
China’s robotic Chang’e 6 sample-return mission to the lunar far side is now in orbit around the moon, gearing up for its landing attempt. The multi-component spacecraft is scheduled to touch down in early June in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, a giant impact feature about 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) wide. Chang’e 6 is currently …
China’s Chang’e 6 Mission Gearing Up For Early June Landing On Moon’s Far Side. Read More »
SpaceX just fueled up its giant Starship rocket, checking another box ahead of the vehicle’s fourth test flight. The company performed a “wet dress rehearsal” with Starship at its Starbase site in South Texas today (May 20), filling both of the vehicle’s stages with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid methane in a key prelaunch test. …
SpaceX Fuels Up Starship Megarocket Ahead Of 4th Test Flight. Read More »
The lead scientist for NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is excited about material that has been stored in the rover’s sample tubes, both dropped on the surface of Mars and contained within the rover itself while wheeling about within Jezero Crater. Given the samples of Mars that Perseverance has collected so far, could one of those …
Ed Dwight got to live out his long-delayed spaceflight dream over the weekend — and set a record in the process. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy selected Dwight to train at the U.S. Air Force’s Aerospace Research Pilot School. ARPS was widely regarded as a conduit into NASA’s astronaut corps at the time, so …
There might be total darkness in the depths of the sea, but the sun still impacts the abyss. During this month’s solar storms — you know, the ones that resulted in the aurora lighting up half of the planet on May 10 — Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) deep-sea observatories recorded disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. The …
Solar Storm Frenzy Of May 2024 Was Strong Enough To Affect The Deep Sea. Read More »
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, Starlink Services, LLC, is Nigeria’s third-largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) by subscriber count in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023. The satellite internet constellation company has an aggregate of 23,897 active subscribed customers, cementing its status as one of the leading ISPs in the country. In addition, the NCC’s …
Starlink Emerges As Nigeria’s Third-largest ISP In Q4 2023. Read More »
An innovative rocket system could revolutionize future deep space missions to Mars, reducing travel time to the Red Planet to just a few months. The goal of landing humans on Mars has presented a myriad of challenges, including the need to quickly transport large payloads to and from the distant planet, which, depending on the …
NASA-Funded Pulsed Plasma Rocket Concept Aims To Send Astronauts To Mars In 2 Months. Read More »
