Mars-bound payload on way to Florida for 1st launch of Blue Origin New Glenn
Monday, 19 August 2024 08:49
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The Mars-bound twin spacecraft for NASA's ESCAPADE mission were packed up in California to be shipped out to Florida this week ahead of what would be the first ever launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral.
ESCAPADE stands for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, and the mission's purpose is to orbit Mars and observe plasma and magnetic fields around the planet to help understand what processes strip atoms from Mars' magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. That could help explain why Mars' atmosphere is so thin, and how it may have evolved over time.
The two small satellites, dubbed Blue and Gold, were built by Rocket Lab in California for NASA and the University of California Berkeley's Space Science Laboratory.
They will soon arrive at Kennedy Space Center where they will head to a cleanroom for post-transport inspections and tests. Eventually, they will be encapsulated for launch on New Glenn from Blue Origin's pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36, something Blue Origin officials state will happen before the end of the year.
Webb data suggests our model of the universe may hold up after all
Sunday, 18 August 2024 17:11 Write a comment
We know many things about our universe, but astronomers are still debating exactly how fast it is expanding. In fact, over the past two decades, two major ways to measure this number - known as the "Hubble constant" - have come up with different answers, leading some to wonder if there was something missing from our model of how the universe works.
But new measurements from the powerful Ja Starship: Unpacking the Complexities of SpaceX's Two-Stage Vision
Sunday, 18 August 2024 17:11 Write a comment
SpaceX's Starship program stands as one of the most ambitious endeavors in the history of space exploration. Envisioned as a fully reusable spacecraft capable of carrying humans and cargo to destinations such as the Moon, Mars, and beyond, Starship represents a significant leap in space travel technology. However, the journey to achieving this vision is far from straightforward, and the technica GovMilSpace 2025 to Highlight Crucial Government and Military Space Collaborations
Sunday, 18 August 2024 17:11 Write a comment
The SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition is set to debut GovMilSpace 2025, a significant new addition aimed at enhancing collaboration between government, military, and space industry leaders. This forum will complement the established SATELLITE show, recognized globally as the premier event for the satellite and space sectors.
As space and cybersecurity increasingly become cornerstones of China Deploys First Batch of Qianfan Satellites to Enhance Global Mobile Connectivity
Sunday, 18 August 2024 17:11 Write a comment
On August 6, the China National Space Agency successfully launched 18 communication satellites, the initial group of the Qianfan network, using a Long March 6A rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. These satellites have been positioned in their designated orbit, marking a significant step toward expanding mobile communication services globally.
The Qianfan con Rare 'Supermoon Blue Moon' begins Monday; 1st of 4 upcoming supermoons
Sunday, 18 August 2024 17:11 Write a comment
Sky gazers across the United States and the rest of the world have a treat in store next week when a rare "Supermoon Blue Moon" will come into view, one of four on tap in the coming months.
The upcoming supermoon event begins at 2:26 p.m. EDT on Monday and will last for three days, according to NASA.
A supermoon is defined as a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within Senegal's first satellite successfully launched
Sunday, 18 August 2024 10:25 Write a comment
Senegal's first satellite has been successfully launched into orbit, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said, adding the move marked a major step towards the West African country's "technological sovereignty".
The GAINDESAT-1A satellite was launched at 18:56 GMT Friday from the Vandenberg base in California, Faye wrote in a post on X late Friday.
"The result of five years of hard work by our engineers and technicians, this advance marks a major step towards our technological sovereignty," Faye said.
"I would like to express my pride and gratitude to all those who made this project possible," he added.
Senegal's public broadcaster RTS said the satellite was designed and manufactured by Senegalese engineers, in partnership with the French Montpellier University Space Centre (CSUM).
The broadcaster said a Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg base and launched a number of satellites, including the GAINDESAT-1A, into orbit.
RTS said the satellite will collect data for various state agencies including the Directorate for Water Resources Management and Planning (DGPRE) and the National Civil Aviation and Meteorology Agency.
© 2024 AFP
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 carrying Transporter-11 satellite mission
Saturday, 17 August 2024 22:03 Write a comment
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the Transporter-11 mission into low-Earth orbit Friday afternoon as scheduled from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
After the rocket booster stage separation, the Falcon 9 landed on Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base with no issues.
The at 2:53 p.m. EDT launch was streamed live.
SpaceX s Scientists Trace Dinosaur-Extinction Asteroid to Outer Solar System
Saturday, 17 August 2024 22:03 Write a comment
Geoscientists from the University of Cologne have led an international research team in pinpointing the origins of the asteroid responsible for the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago. By examining samples from the boundary layer between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods-a time that marked Earth's last major mass extinction-the researchers identified the An oasis in the desert on Mars
Saturday, 17 August 2024 22:03 Write a comment
Curiosity didn't kill the cat in this case. Instead, NASA's 1-ton rover, which for the past 12 years has been searching for the building blocks of life on Mars, discovered something never before detected on the red planet: pure sulfur. And it all happened by chance.
While exploring Gediz Vallis, a channel that winds down part of the 3-mile-tall Mount Sharp in the center of the Gale Crater, Rocket Lab Prepares Twin Satellites for NASA Mars Mission Launch
Saturday, 17 August 2024 22:03 Write a comment
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has successfully packed and shipped two spacecraft bound for Mars to Cape Canaveral, FL, where they will undergo final preparations for launch. These twin spacecraft, part of the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, were developed by Rocket Lab for the University of California Berkeley's Space Science Laboratory and NASA. SpaceX launches Terran Orbital's Pathfinder-R and Pathfinder-4 satellites
Saturday, 17 August 2024 22:03 Write a comment
Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a leading provider of satellite-based solutions for the aerospace and defense sectors, has successfully launched its Pathfinder-R (PTD-R) and Pathfinder-4 (PTD-4) spacecraft. These 6U Triumph class space vehicles were launched aboard SpaceX's Transporter-11 Rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on August 16. Both spacecraft are When the lights turned on in the universe
Saturday, 17 August 2024 22:03 Write a comment
Watching crowds of people hustle along Massachusetts Avenue from her window seat in MIT's student center, Dominika Durovcikova has just one wish.
"What I would really like to do is convince a city to shut down their lights completely, apart from hospitals or whatever else needs them, just for an hour," she says. "Let people see the Milky Way, or the stars. It influences you. You realize th