On May 20, 1978, NASA launched a spacecraft to Venus. The mission was called Pioneer-Venus 1, but it’s also known as the Pioneer Venus Orbiter. This was the first of two spacecraft that made up the Pioneer Venus mission. Pioneer Venus 2 launched a couple months later, and that spacecraft dropped five probes onto the …
On This Day in Space: May 20, 1978: NASA Launches Pioneer Venus Orbiter. Read More »
Blue Origin’s nearly two-year human spaceflight drought is over. Jeff Bezos‘ aerospace company launched its NS-25 mission today (May 19), sending six people — including the United States’ first-ever Black astronaut candidate — on a brief trip to suborbital space aboard its New Shepard rocket-capsule combo. It was Blue Origin‘s first space tourism launch since …
NASA is preparing to launch its latest climate science mission, the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experiment (PREFIRE), which aims to capture brand new data on how heat is lost to space from Earth’s polar regions. PREFIRE consists of a pair of cubesats that will launch separately into near-polar orbits. The first, “Ready, Aim, …
NASA’s PREFIRE Mission Is Ready To Unlock The Mysteries Of Earth’s Poles. Read More »
According to the news report released by the CITIZEN, the Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology, Mr Nape Nnauye, stated that Tanzania is taking a giant leap towards space exploration with plans to establish the country’s first-ever Space Agency in the 2024/2025 fiscal year. The government plans to continue implementing space programmes to promote …
The Orion Nebula may be a familiar and well-studied celestial object, but new images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) show this star-forming cloud of gas and dust in an incredibly new and vibrant light. The Orion Nebula, also known as “Messier 42” (M42), is located around 1,500 light years from Earth toward the …
James Webb Space Telescope Sees Orion Nebula In A Stunning New Light. Read More »
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for the 21st time tonight (May 17), setting a new reusability record for the company. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:32 p.m. EDT (0032 GMT on May 18), sending 23 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites toward orbit. The Falcon 9’s first …
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches Starlink Satellites On Record 21st Flight. Read More »
The first astronaut mission of Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft has been pushed back by an additional four days, to May 25. Tuesday (May 21) had been the latest target date for the launch of Starliner‘s Crew Flight Test (CFT), which will send NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS) …
Boeing’s 1st Starliner Astronaut Launch Delayed Again, To May 25. Read More »
Some American lawmakers are concerned that the U.S. Space Force’s two premiere spaceports can’t keep up with a steep increase in demand for launch pads. The House Armed Services Committee wrote a draft of its fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (the annual laws that oversee military spending). That draft states that the two main …
China launched the latest in its secretive Shiyan satellite series over the weekend. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, northwest China, at 7:43 p.m.EDT on May 11 (2343 GMT, or 7:43 a.m. Beijing time on May 12). Chinese authorities revealed the mission payload to be …
Pieces of a SpaceX spacecraft might have landed in Saskatchewan. A charred piece of debris, possibly from a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, was found in a Canadian farmer’s field in a town northeast of Regina, one of the largest cities in the prairie province. “We knew it came from the sky, because it couldn’t get …
Junk From A SpaceX Dragon ‘Trunk’ May Have Crashed Into A Canadian Farmer’s Field. Read More »
