Washington DC (SPX) Feb 10, 2022
On a flyby of Venus, NASA's Parker Solar Probe captured the first visible light images of the cloudy planet's surface from space, a new study reports. The nightside view of the extremely hot surface could help scientists understand the contrasting evolution of Earth's nearest neighbor. Smothered in thick clouds, Venus' surface is usually shrouded from sight. But in two recent flybys of the

San Antonio TX (SPX) Feb 10, 2022
Southwest Research Institute scientists joined a team that reanalyzed and modeled data from a planned lunar impact more than a decade ago. The findings suggest that volatiles present in a crater near the Moon's south pole were likely delivered by a comet. Volatiles are chemical elements and compounds that can be readily vaporized and, in this case, were stabilized in ice lurking in this permanen

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 9, 2021
A solar storm has knocked out 40 of 49 SpaceX Starlink broadband communications satellites the company launched on Thursday, the company said. While the loss of dozens of spacecraft is likely a multimillion-dollar blow to SpaceX, the Starlink business plan will survive and the satellites do not pose a risk to Earth as they fall back and burn up in the atmosphere, Harvard astrophysicist

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 10, 2021
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk gave an update plans for the company's Starship rocket on Thursday night in South Texas, as the company prepares for the rocket's first orbital test flight, saying it would fly sometime this year - a less ambitious time frame than he'd previously offered. SpaceX has not yet received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to launch orbital fli

Vienna VA (SPX) Feb 10, 2022
Spire, a leading provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, has successfully completed its previously announced acquisition of exactEarth Ltd., a leading provider of global maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions, by way of a plan of arrangement, following the completion of all closing conditions. The Arrangement, which was annou

Starbase, United States (AFP) Feb 11, 2022
Elon Musk delivered updates on SpaceX's efforts to develop its interplanetary Starship rocket on Thursday night, but stopped short of announcing a firm launch date for an orbital test or new missions, despite considerable buildup ahead of the rare presentation. Addressing an audience at the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica, south Texas, the tycoon merely said: "I feel at this poi

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 10, 2021
California-based Astra Space suffered a rocket failure during launch of a NASA mission from Florida on Thursday after two previous delays. The company's stock plunged by more than 32% to $3.59 following the launch failure, but recovered a portion of that loss in subsequent trades. The plunge prompted a brief trading halt by the Nasdaq. NASA's Launch Services Program, which had hi

Hereford, and its surrounding colourful patchwork of agricultural fields, is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.

Image: The devil’s in the detail

ESA in close collaboration with ArianeGroup and Arianespace has selected payloads which best fit the profile of the first mission of its new generation Ariane 6 launch vehicle from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.