A model of SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy rocket has passed NASA wind tunnel testing, marking another milestone in its development as part of plans to launch future Artemis missions to the moon. NASA tested a 1.2% scale model of the Super Heavy rocket in the transonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at the space agency’s Ames […]
SpaceX launched a new batch of Starlink satellites into orbit from its West Coast launch site on Thursday (Sept. 12). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink internet satellites soared into space from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:45 p.m. EDT (0145 GMT Friday, Sept. 13 or 6:45 p.m. local time). The first
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is ultimately headed for the Jovian system, but on Aug. 20, it took a quick look at Earth. The spacecraft returned some very exciting news: the Earth is indeed habitable. The probe launched in April 2023 and is currently making its way through the solar system on an eight-year
ESA’s JUICE Spacecraft Confirmed Earth Is Habitable. Read More »
The private Polaris Dawn astronauts keep notching milestones in Earth orbit. The four-person Polaris Dawn mission launched aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule early Tuesday morning (Sept. 10). Later that day, the astronauts got farther from Earth — 870 miles (1,400.7 kilometers) — than any crewed mission since the Apollo era. Polaris Dawn next pulled off
SpaceX’s Private Polaris Dawn Astronauts Beam Photos To Earth Using Starlink Satellites. Read More »
Polaris Dawn astronaut Sarah Gillis, a violinist, released a new music video from space this morning. Just yesterday (Sept. 12), Gillis was one of two Polaris Dawn astronauts to perform a historic spacewalk, the world’s first commercial extravehicular activity, or EVA. During the one-hour and 46-minute spacewalk, Gillis and Polaris Dawn mission commander and financier
SpaceX Polaris Dawn Astronaut Plays ‘Star Wars’ Song In Music Video Beamed From Space. Read More »
SpaceX’s Starship will be grounded for a while longer yet. Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — flew for the fourth time in June, and SpaceX has been gearing up for flight number five ever since. But that test mission is probably still at least 2.5 months away, according to the U.S.
SpaceX’s Starship Won’t Be Licensed To Fly Again Until Late November, FAA says. Read More »
The private Polaris Dawn crew called home from space to share their historic mission with two nonprofit organizations close to their hearts. Polaris Dawn, funded and commanded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, lifted off early Tuesday morning (Sept. 10) and has since accomplished the first commercial spacewalk and the highest orbit of a crewed vehicle
Two private astronauts conducting the first commercial spacewalk did not so much float out of their spacecraft as they did “stand up.” Polaris Dawn crewmates Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis took turns emerging from the upper hatch of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft “Resilience” on Thursday (Sept. 12). It was the first time that non-government astronauts have
World’s 1st Commercial Spacewalk Was History’s 20th Stand-Up EVA. Read More »
A NASA cubesat designed to search for the universe’s most powerful and violent explosions has successfully detected its first massive burst, space agency officials announced earlier this week. BurstCube, a shoebox-sized satellite placed into orbit in April to detect and study gamma-ray bursts, or GRBs, spotted a “mega blast” in the small, dim constellation of
Tiny NASA Satellite Detects Its 1st Massive Gamma Ray Burst. Read More »
Saturday, Sept. 14 marks NASA’s annual Observe the Moon Night, a worldwide event to promote lunar science and astronomy, celebrate cultural connections to the moon, and promote amateur lunar observations. On the day, NASA will be hosting a broadcast channel (all live streams available here), along with a Twitch livestream on Thursday, Sept. 12, where
‘International Observe the Moon Night’ is Sept. 14. Read More »
