Copernical Team
China launches Shenzhou-16 with first civilian to space station
China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the first time as it pursues plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by the end of the decade.
The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia.
The Shenzhou-16 crew took o Juice's final deployments complete: Ready for study of Jupiter
Flight controllers at ESA's mission control center in Germany have been busy this week, working with instrument teams on the final deployments to prepare ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) for exploring Jupiter.
It has been six weeks since Juice began its journey, and in that time the Flight Control Team have deployed all the solar panels, antennas, probes and booms that were tucked away safely during launch. The last step has been the swinging out and locking into place of the probes and antennas that make up Juice's Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI).
"It's been an exhausting but very exciting six weeks," says Angela Dietz, deputy spacecraft operations manager for the mission. "We have faced and overcome various challenges to get Juice into the right shape for getting the best science out of its trip to Jupiter."
We've had regular snapshots of the entire deployment process thanks to Juice's two onboard monitoring cameras, each with a different field of view.
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Weather clears as SpaceX knocks out overnight satellite launch
After a week of stormy weather delays, SpaceX waited just a bit longer but managed an early Saturday liftoff of a satellite to knock out the Space Coast's 26th launch of the year.
A Falcon 9 carrying the Arabsat BADR-8 telecommunications satellite headed for geosynchronous orbit let the winds die down from the opening of the launch window late Friday, but managed to blast off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 12:30 a.m. a little over an hour later.
It was the fourth night launch for SpaceX this month with three previous successful Starlink missions from Cape Canaveral lighting up the sky in the wee hours.
The first-stage booster made its 14th flight with a recovery on SpaceX's droneship Just Read the Instructions down range in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 195th time the company has recovered a booster from its rockets.
This was the second launch SpaceX has done for Arabsat following what was the first Falcon Heavy launch with a customer in 2019. SpaceX has a third launch contracted for what will be the first of Arabsat's seventh-generation satellites.
China plans to land astronauts on moon before 2030, another step in what looks like a new space race
China prepares to send first civilian into space
China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday as it pursues its ambitious plans for a manned lunar landing by 2030.
The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme, trying to catch up with the United States and Russia after years of belatedly matching their m China to send first civilian to space on Tuesday: space agency
China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday, the country's Manned Space Agency said.
"Payload expert Gui Haichao is a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics," China Manned Space Agency Spokesperson Lin Xiqiang told reporters Monday.
Until now, all Chinese astronauts sent into space h China to launch Shenzhou 16 on Tuesday
The Shenzhou XVI spacecraft, transporting three Chinese astronauts to the Tiangong space station, is slated to launch on Tuesday morning, the China Manned Space Agency has announced.
Marking the inaugural mission for China's third generation of astronauts, this event will also represent the first occasion a Chinese civilian ventures beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Speaking at a news confe Planet Partners with UAE to build satellite atlas for climate resilience
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) has announced a partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency, to build a regional satellite data-driven loss and damage atlas for climate change resilience. The initiative aims to provide data to a select country facing high degrees of climate risk to help build resilience, make informed policy decisions, and stimulate financial programs for climate ada