Smoke Blankets Oregon

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Earth Observatory Science Wildfires Smoke Blankets Oregon Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote Sensing Technology Snow & Ice Water More Content Collections Global Maps World of Change Articles Earth Matters Blog Blue Marble: Next Generation EO Kids Mission: Biomes About About Us Subscribe 🛜 RSS Contact Us Search   Smoke pours from dozens of large fires in Oregon in this image captured by MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s…

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Starship in space! See highlights of SpaceX megarocket’s epic Flight 13 test launch (video)

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The 13th test flight of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket went pretty well — and provided some amazing visuals, too. Flight 13 launched on Friday (July 24), sending the 408-foot-tall (124 meters) Starship Version 3 (V3) vehicle aloft from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas. Starship’s Super Heavy booster had some engine issues on its way back to Earth. But the Ship upper stage hit all of its marks, successfully deploying 20 next-gen Starlink satellites, re-igniting one of its Raptor engines in space as planned and splashing down softly off the coast…

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Rocket Lab to start launching missile-defense missions from Alaska under $266 million Space Force deal

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Rocket Lab is expanding its launch operations to the snowy north. The California-based company, which already flies from New Zealand and Virginia, just inked a $266 million deal with the U.S. Space Force to fly up to 18 missile-defense missions, most of them from Alaska. “The size and scale of this contract reflects the Space Force’s confidence in our ability to meet their urgent national security demands with speed, responsiveness and scale, and we’re proud to provide the high-frequency launch capacity required to keep the U.S. ahead of global threats,”…

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NASA Astronaut Chris Williams to Discuss Space Station Mission

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NASA astronaut and Expedition 74 flight engineer Chris Williams shows off the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Williams was supporting semiconductor crystal research to help advance the commercial space economy and promote Earth-based industries. NASA/Chris Williams NASA astronaut Chris Williams will recap his recent eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station during a news conference at 2:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 4, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA will stream this event live through a variety of platforms. Learn where to…

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NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse

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6 min read NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse Each time the Moon covers the Sun during a total solar eclipse — darkening daytime skies and briefly revealing the Sun’s ethereal outer atmosphere, the corona — it presents new opportunities to better understand our star and its influence on Earth. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, as the next total solar eclipse sweeps over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, NASA-funded science teams will be chasing the Moon’s shadow with a high-altitude jet and scientific balloons to investigate the Sun’s dynamics and…

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NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Returns to Earth

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NASA astronaut Chris Williams is seen outside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft after he landed with Expedition 74 Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, July 26, 2026. The trio returned to Earth after logging 241 days in space as a members of Expeditions 73 and 74 aboard the International Space Station.

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NASA to Cover Three US Spacewalks, Host Preview News Conference

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NASA astronaut Jessica Meir works inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock in March, her reflection visible in a spacesuit helmet visor as she installs leg and arm components and swaps parts between suits. Credit: NASA/Jack Hathaway Editor’s note: This media advisory was updated July 27, 2026 to reflect an updated start time for the spacewalk on Thursday, Aug. 6. NASA will provide coverage as astronauts venture outside the International Space Station during three spacewalks in August to continue upgrading solar arrays, replace a communications antenna, and connect power and…

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What happened to space horror movies?

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We all know the cliché: any horror franchise that goes on long enough inevitably goes to space. Critters, Hellraiser, Friday the 13th, Dracula… they’ve all taken a trip to the stars. The trope, fair or not, has often overshadowed the fact that science fiction and horror are absolutely perfect bedfellows, with outer space’s total isolation, tiny quarters, and oppressive vastness perfectly suited for the horror genre. Horror movies set in space have delivered classics of both genres that have lasted generations and built entire franchises in and of themselves. Why…

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NASA Astronaut Chris Williams, Crewmates Return from Space Station

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The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 74 NASA astronaut Chris Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev aboard, Sunday, July 26, 2026.  NASA/Bill Ingalls Concluding an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Chris Williams returned to Earth on Sunday alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. The crew made its safe, parachute-assisted landing at 5:27 a.m. CDT (3:27 p.m., Kazakhstan time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, after departing the space…

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I’m not an astronaut, but I went to the International Space Station (sort of)

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NEW YORK — I’m the kind of person who, every so often, falls into accidental daydreams about the concept of space. Usually because I’m listening to some sort of sad girl Spotify playlist, I start feeling infuriated that we may never learn the true meaning of the cosmos and become embarrassingly poetic about our isolation on Earth. I tend to ponder how strange microgravity is and begin Googling things like “what lies beyond the edge of the universe best evidence we have” and “when commercial rocket launch become same price…

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