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Copernical Team

Copernical Team

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Paris, France (SPX) May 02, 2024
Gravity, a fundamental force in our everyday lives, continues to puzzle scientists: Is it a geometric force as Einstein suggested, or does it follow quantum mechanics? Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Ulm have introduced an innovative experiment to explore this, avoiding the challenges of previous methods that required entangling massive objects, which often lose their quantum pr
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Moffett Field CA (SPX) May 02, 2024
The future of space-based UV/optical/IR astronomy requires ever larger telescopes. The highest priority astrophysics targets, including Earth-like exoplanets, first generation stars, and early galaxies, are all extremely faint, which presents an ongoing challenge for current missions and is the opportunity space for next generation telescopes: larger telescopes are the primary way to address thi
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 02, 2024
Researchers from the University of Waterloo, in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, have observed what they term a "cosmic glitch," indicating a deviation in gravity's behavior on a vast cosmic scale. For a century, Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity has been the cornerstone of our understanding of gravity, asserting its influence across not just three physic
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 02, 2024
NASA has commissioned 12 concept studies from nine U.S. companies to explore how commercial services could support scientific missions to Mars. These studies, funded between $200,000 and $300,000 each, will investigate various services including payload delivery, communications relay, surface imaging, and payload hosting to aid future missions to Mars. The initiative began with a request f
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Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 06, 2024
Following the recent return of the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft, seeds that experienced space radiation for nearly a year aboard China's space station have arrived back on Earth. These seeds are now part of critical breeding experiments. The seeds, including alfalfa and oats, were exposed to space radiation on the space station's biology exposure equipment for 11 months, provided by the Lanzhou
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 06, 2024
White dwarfs, remnants of stars like the Sun, pack a mass equivalent to the Sun's but are as small as Earth, making up 97% of our galaxy's stars. The transformation of a star into this dense state marks the stellar lifecycle's end, rendering our galaxy a celestial necropolis. The chemical composition of white dwarfs, especially the unexpected presence of heavy metals like silicon, magnesiu
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Both SpaceX and Boeing have adopted the classic gumdrop-shaped capsule design, but with modern twists: sleek displays, autonomous flight, and full reusability
Both SpaceX and Boeing have adopted the classic gumdrop-shaped capsule design, but with modern twists: sleek displays, autonomous flight, and full reusability.

Throughout the annals of American space exploration, a select few spacecraft have had the distinction of carrying human beings beyond Earth.

Next week, Boeing is poised to join this elite group with the long-awaited launch of its Starliner capsule, just the sixth class of vessel built in the United States for NASA astronauts.

Here's a recap of their storied past, marked by groundbreaking triumphs and some devastating setbacks.

Mercury

Known as America's "man-in-space" program, Project Mercury was born just days after NASA itself was formed in 1958, and officials settled on the term "astronauts" for its space explorers.

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space during a 15-minute suborbital flight in the one-man, cone-shaped capsule—about a month after the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin became the first human to achieve the feat.

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NASA astronauts Suni Williams (L) and Butch Wilmore (R) will be the first humans to travel aboard the Boeing Starliner into space
NASA astronauts Suni Williams (L) and Butch Wilmore (R) will be the first humans to travel aboard the Boeing Starliner into space.

Launch day is finally here: Boeing's Starliner capsule blasts off Monday to the International Space Station on its first crewed mission—several years after SpaceX first achieved the same milestone.

The flight, a final test before Starliner takes up regular service for NASA, is critical for the US aerospace giant, whose reputation has suffered of late due to safety issues with some of its passenger jets.

Starliner, which was first ordered a decade ago by the US space agency, has had a bumpy ride to the finish line, with surprise setbacks and multiple delays—a saga Boeing is eager to complete.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are set to leave Cape Canaveral at 10:34 pm Monday (0234 GMT Tuesday) aboard the capsule.

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ESA's cloud and aerosol satellite aerosol-free
A few weeks ago, a team of engineers carefully extracted ESA's EarthCARE satellite from its protective transport container, initiating a meticulous process of inspection, testing and preparation for its liftoff later this month from the Vandenberg launch site in California.
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Ariane 6 launches: Exolaunch's EXOpod Nova
Artist's view of an Ariane 6 (A62) two booster launcher in its inaugural flight configuration, to be operated from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Ariane 6 provides a modular architecture using either two boosters (Ariane 62) or four boosters (Ariane 64), depending on the required performance. The P120C solid-propellant boosters will be common with Vega-C. Credit: ESA-D. Ducros

Europe's newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on.

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