In July 2017, a giant iceberg, named A-68, snapped off Antarctica’s Larsen-C ice shelf and began an epic journey across the Southern Ocean. Three and a half years later, the main part of iceberg, A-68A, drifted worryingly close to South Georgia. Concerns were that the berg would run aground in the shallow waters offshore. This would not only cause damage to the seafloor ecosystem but also make it difficult for island wildlife, such as penguins, to make their way to the sea to feed. Using measurements from satellites, scientists have charted how A-68A shrunk towards the end

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 19, 2022
the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) of the Directorate of the Defense Research and Development (DDR and D) at Israel's Ministry of Defense, together with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Israeli Defense Forces, conducted a successful flight test of the Arrow Weapon System (AWS) and the Arrow 3 interceptor at a test site in central Israel. AWS radars detected the target

Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 20, 2022
Russia launched the multipurpose laboratory module "Nauka" from the Baikonur cosmodrome on 21 July and it docked at the ISS on 29 July. Watch a live broadcast from the International Space Station (ISS) as Roscosmos astronauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov are performing a spacewalk to integrate the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module into the Russian segment of the ISS. The modu

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 19, 2021
Two Russian cosmonauts completed the first spacewalk of 2022 outside the International Space Station to perform tasks that will allow spacecraft to dock with a new Russian segment. Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, spent seven hours, 11 minutes outside the space station after exiting just after 7 a.m. EST. The pair installed handrails, ante

Baltimore MD (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
Often portrayed as destructive monsters that hold light captive, black holes take on a less villainous role in the latest research from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. A black hole at the heart of the dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10 is creating stars rather than gobbling them up. The black hole is apparently contributing to the firestorm of new star formation taking place in the galaxy. The dwarf galaxy

San Antonio, TX (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
A Southwest Research Institute scientist set out to prove that the tiny, innermost moon of Saturn was a frozen inert satellite and instead discovered compelling evidence that Mimas has a liquid internal ocean. In the waning days of NASA's Cassini mission, the spacecraft identified a curious libration, or oscillation, in the moon's rotation, which often points to a geologically active body able t

Tempe AZ (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
Most galaxies, including our own, grow by accumulating new material and turning them into stars - that much is known. What has been unknown is where that new material comes from and how it flows into galaxies to create stars. In a recently published study, Arizona State University astronomer Sanchayeeta Borthakur has identified the faint fuel reservoirs that surround galaxies, and how this

Baltimore MD (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
Spirals are some of the most captivating shapes in the universe. They appear in intricate seashells, carefully constructed spider webs, and even in the curls of ocean waves. Spirals on cosmic scales - as seen in galaxies - are even more arresting, not only for their beauty, but also for the overwhelming amount of information they contain. How do stars and star clusters form? Until recently, a co

ABL Space Systems said the second stage of the small launch vehicle they are developing was destroyed in an accident during testing Jan. 19.

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The U.S. Air Force awarded SpaceX a $102 million five-year contract to demonstrate technologies and capabilities to transport military cargo and humanitarian aid around the world on a heavy rocket.