On April 24, 1970, China became the fifth nation to independently launch a satellite into orbit. Dong Fang Hong I was the first of a series of satellites the China National Space Administration launched under the Dong Fang Hong space satellite program. It lifted off on a Long March 1 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Related: China’s Long March rocket family: History and photos Long March 1: The first Long March 1 rocket on the pad at Jiuquan in 1970. (Image credit: CALT) Related Stories: The name “Dong…
Read MoreMonth: April 2022
SpaceX, NASA delay undocking of private Ax-1 astronaut crew at space station
The world’s first all-private crew to the International Space Station must wait at least another day to depart the orbiting lab after bad weather prevented a planned undocking Saturday (April 23). NASA, SpaceX and the company Axiom Space, which is backing the private Ax-1 mission, called off plans to undock a SpaceX Dragon carrying its four-man crew due to unacceptably high winds at splashdown sites off the coast of Florida. Mission managers had been aiming for a Saturday evening undocking before the delay. “At the conclusion of a weather briefing…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 8 — Humans to Mars, part 2
On this episode of This Week in Space, look at NASA’s plans to land humans on the Red Planet from the Apollo era through today, and SpaceX’s parallel initiatives with the Starship mega-rocket. Which program will be the first to reach Mars, SpaceX or NASA? Elon Musk has lofty goals of reaching Mars in this decade with SpaceX’s Starship rockets, while NASA has a 2040 timeline to get astronauts to Mars. Also, a comet the size of Rhode Island heading our way, a cry for help to ET.. and a meteor…
Read MoreCocooned, dying stars may cause sudden, bright blasts that confound scientists
Extremely fast cosmic explosions puzzling scientists may be outbursts arising from dying stars, new research suggests. Dubbed fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), because of their “blue” heat and very rapid evolution, only a handful of these outbursts have been recorded. (Astronomers often give them evocative nicknames, like “the Camel” or “the Koala.”) A new model suggests the bursts happen amid the chaotic environment of a huge, dying star. Such stars shoot out powerful jets, which smash into layers of gas sloughing off the star as its fusion slows down. The…
Read MoreBuilding a home on Mars … with bacteria?
Imagine a home on Mars. Is it filled with bacteria? When we send humans to Mars, they’ll need places to live. In a new study, a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in collaboration with India’s space agency the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), suggest a new method to use bacteria to build these Martian habitats. In this method, the team shows how “space bricks” for building a habitat on the Red Planet could be made with a combination of local Martian soil, bacteria and urea,…
Read MorePearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder calls astronauts on space station for Earth Day chat (video)
Out of the billions of people on Earth, only a few hundred have ventured out past the bounds of our atmosphere into space. Iconic Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder recently reflected on this “incredibly rare” perspective to see Earth from space in a call with astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. In the call, Vedder chatted with NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer in celebration of Earth Day 2022. Vande Hei, who just returned to Earth…
Read MoreSpaceX inks 1st deal to provide Starlink internet service on planes
SpaceX just secured its first deal to provide inflight internet service on airplanes using its Starlink constellation of broadband satellites. The service will be available later this year to customers of JSX, a charter airline company that plans to equip 100 planes with Starlink-provided inflight Wi-Fi. “The service will be offered to all JSX customers at no charge, and will not require logging in or other complexities associated with legacy systems,” JSX representatives said in an emailed statement on Thursday (April 21) that announced the new deal. A JSX spokesperson…
Read MoreCelebrate Dark Skies This Week, April 22–30
Are you interested in combating light pollution? International Dark Sky Week, which starts today, offers events in which you can learn how. The post Celebrate Dark Skies This Week, April 22–30 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreSpace Station Science Highlights: Week of April 18, 2022
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of April 18 that included studying a new method for preserving biological materials, testing a technology for measuring radiation dose, and observing changes in muscle tone during spaceflight.
Read MoreA Sunrise Across Our World
An orbital sunrise beams across Earth’s horizon revealing silhouetted clouds above the South China Sea.
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