Week in images: 08-12 July 2024
Week in images: 08-12 July 2024
Discover our week through the lens
U.S. military to award $3 billion contract for AI-driven intelligence
Tina Ghataore, Group CSRO and CEO North America, Aerospacelab – Leading Women in Space
SpaceX space junk crashed onto Saskatchewan farmland, highlighting a potential impending disaster
In late April, farmers in Saskatchewan stumbled upon spacecraft fragments while preparing their fields for seeding. It sounds like the beginning of a science fiction movie, but this really happened, sending a powerful warning: it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed by falling space junk.
The Axiom Space private astronaut mission (Ax-3) concluded safely on Feb. 9 when its SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida. Several weeks later, the Crew Dragon's cargo trunk re-entered the atmosphere over Canada after being abandoned in orbit prior to the capsule's return.
Several incidents
The Federal Aviation Administration, charged with approving commercial spaceflight launches in the United States, has claimed that such trunks typically "burn up" during their re-entry.
This is clearly incorrect. Similar fragments, likely from the trunk of a different Crew Dragon mission, were found in North Carolina in May, including a smaller piece that landed on the roof of a house.
Starlink satellites lost on Falcon 9 upper stage failure
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket experiences rare failure
SpaceX's highly reliable Falcon 9 rocket has experienced a rare failure that means the latest batch of the company's Starlink satellites won't make it into orbit, the company said Friday, as regulators opened an investigation.
The rocket, a prolific launch vehicle that propels both satellites and astronauts into orbit, blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday night, with the first stage performing well and executing its impressive yet now routine droneship landing.
But the second stage developed a liquid oxygen leak, SpaceX said in a statement, leaving it unable to complete a planned second burn.
SpaceX rocket accident leaves company's Starlink satellites in wrong orbit
A SpaceX rocket has failed for the first time in nearly a decade, leaving the company's internet satellites in an orbit so low that they're doomed to fall through the atmosphere and burn up.
Canadian space junk incident shows growing risks as SpaceX launches thousands of Starlinks
In late April, farmers in Saskatchewan stumbled upon spacecraft fragments while preparing their fields for seeding. It sounds like the beginning of a science fiction movie, but this really happened, sending a powerful warning: it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed by falling space junk.
The Axiom Space private astronaut mission (Ax-3) concluded safely on Fe NASA Introduces Low-Cost Hybrid Rocket Motor Testbed
In June, engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, revealed a new 11-inch hybrid rocket motor testbed.
The innovative testbed features variable flow capability and a 20-second continuous burn duration, offering a cost-effective and quick-turnaround solution for conducting hot-fire tests on advanced nozzles, rocket engine hardware, composite materials, and pro 
