Red Giant Betelgeuse was yellow some 2,000 years ago
Tuesday, 06 September 2022 08:40
With progressing nuclear fusion in the center of a star, brightness, size, and color also change. Astrophysicists can derive from such properties important information on age and mass of a star. Those stars with significantly more mass than our Sun are blue-white or red - the transition from red via yellow and orange is relative rapid for astronomical time-scales.
Astrophysicists of Friedr While Artemis scrubs, SpaceX treats Space Coast to launches
Monday, 05 September 2022 17:47
While hundreds of thousands of people made their way to the Space Coast two weekends in a row for a shot to see the most powerful rocket to ever lift off from Earth, a couple of scrubs for NASA's Artemis I mission left them disappointed.
But for those who were making a weekend out of their efforts, there was at least one rocket that lit up the sky for those who hung around.
SpaceX has continued its frenetic pace of Falcon 9 launches including a couple of Starlink missions that took flight: one right before midnight last weekend on Aug. 27, about 32 hours before NASA called off its first Artemis I attempt; and then again Sunday night about 32 hours after NASA was aiming for its second try to send up its Space Launch System rocket with the Orion capsule to the moon.
So while NASA may eventually have to roll back the Artemis I hardware capable of 8.8 million pounds of thrust on liftoff to the Vehicle Assembly Building, SpaceX keeps sending up its 1.7 million pounds of thrust servings.
Rocketlab sent this engine to space and then retrieved it: A new test shows it's still working fine
Monday, 05 September 2022 15:11
Reusable rocket engines have become all the rage lately, even as NASA's continually delayed Artemis I mission attempts to launch with non-reusable technology. Realistically, the only way to significantly lower launch costs is to reuse the engines rather than build them from scratch every time. Another small start-up company, RocketLab, has successfully retested a rocket that has flown in space.
SpaceX famously has flown several of its Raptor engines into space multiple times already, making headlines along the way. But it's not the only company with ambitions for reusing its rockets. RocketLab, which makes a much smaller rocket called the Electron, has also been eyeing this milestone for a while now.
The company made headlines back in May when it made a spectacular show of catching its rocket stage out of the air with a helicopter.
Space Force extends Saber Astronautics’ contract for space visualization software
Monday, 05 September 2022 13:57
Saber Astronautics announced Sept. 5 the U.S. Space Force has extended the company’s contract to develop a space domain awareness tool designed for satellite operators.
The post Space Force extends Saber Astronautics’ contract for space visualization software appeared first on SpaceNews.
Explore the solar system with NASA's new-and-improved 3D 'eyes'
Monday, 05 September 2022 12:17
NASA has revamped its "Eyes on the Solar System" 3D visualization tool, making interplanetary travel easier and more interactive than ever. More than two years in the making, the update delivers better controls, improved navigation, and a host of new opportunities to learn about our incredible corner of the cosmos—no spacesuit required. All you need is a device with an internet connection.
Trace the course Artemis I will take to lunar orbit, or touch down with Perseverance during its harrowing entry, descent, and landing on the Red Planet. Learn the basics about dwarf planets or the finer points of gas giants, and ride alongside no fewer than 126 space missions past and present. You can even follow the paths of spacecraft and celestial bodies as far back as 1949 and as far into the future as 2049.
Scientists apply boron to tungsten components in fusion facilities
Monday, 05 September 2022 11:53
What is the connection between boron, an element in a common household cleaner, and tokamaks, ring-shaped fusion facilities that heat fuel to million-degree temperatures? Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have conducted research showing that a PPPL-developed powder dropper can successfully drop boron powder into high-temperature plasma Coronal mass ejection hits Solar Orbiter before Venus flyby
Monday, 05 September 2022 10:48
Duo undertake 7-hour spacewalk
Monday, 05 September 2022 08:59
Chinese astronauts on the Shenzhou XIV mission have carried out their first spacewalk, also known as an extravehicular activity, which finished early on Friday morning, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
Mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong opened an extravehicular activity hatch on the Tiangong space station at 6:26 pm on Thursday Beijing time and then floated out of the st Everything is Dust in the Wind
Monday, 05 September 2022 08:59
Well, not quite. But for scientists like me, who study atmospheric and aeolian (wind-driven) processes, wind-blown dust is extremely important to understand on Mars. Because the Martian atmosphere is so thin, adding even a small amount of dust greatly increases the amount of sunlight absorbed, which greatly affects temperature, which in turn affects the entire atmospheric circulation.
Part NASA awards LISA mission laser instrument contract
Monday, 05 September 2022 08:59
NASA has selected Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, to provide the Laser Prestabilizaton System (LPS) for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) laser assembly.
The total value of the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is $11,906,675, and the period of performance is from Sept. 1, 2022, through April 1, 2025. The work will be performed at the contractor's facility Rocket to carry Mengtian space lab module arrives at launch site
Monday, 05 September 2022 08:59
A Long March-5B Y4 rocket, tasked with sending China's space station lab module Mengtian into orbit, has been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan, the China Manned Space Agency said Saturday.
The rocket will undergo final assembly and testing together with the Mengtian lab module, which arrived earlier.
Preparations for the launch mis China begins launch campaign for final space station module
Monday, 05 September 2022 08:44
Work to assemble a Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket is underway at Wenchang spaceport as China prepares to complete the construction of its Tiangong space station.
The post China begins launch campaign for final space station module appeared first on SpaceNews.
Training astronauts to be scientists on the Moon
Monday, 05 September 2022 08:30
Astronauts with their sights on the Moon are receiving world-class geology training during the fifth edition of ESA’s Pangaea campaign. From choosing landing sites for a future Artemis mission, to designing science operations for the lunar surface, the course challenges space explorers to become field scientists.
NASA unsure next Moon rocket launch attempt possible this month
Sunday, 04 September 2022 12:00
After scrapping a second attempt to get its new 30-story lunar rocket off the ground due to a fuel leak, NASA officials said Saturday it may not be possible to try again this month.
The current launch window for NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the Moon ends Tuesday and is "definitely off the table," said Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, at a press conference NASA will not try new Moon rocket launch attempt in coming days
Saturday, 03 September 2022 23:37
After scrapping a second attempt to get its new 30-story rocket off the ground due to a fuel leak, NASA announced on Saturday it will not try again during its current window of opportunity, which ends early next week.
Determined by the position of the Earth and Moon, the current launch period for NASA's Artemis 1 mission ends Tuesday and is "definitely off the table," said Jim Free, associat