Rocket Lab will launch a private Japanese Earth-observing satellite to orbit this morning (Aug. 20), and you can watch the action live. An Electron vehicle is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site today, during a window that opens at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT; 1 a.m. on Aug. 21 local New Zealand time), carrying aloft a radar satellite for the Tokyo-based company iQPS. Rocket Lab will stream the proceedings live, starting at about 30 minutes before liftoff. You can watch via the company, and Space.com will…
Read MoreAPOD: 2026 August 20 – The Elephant’s Trunk in Cepheus
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 20 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. The Elephant’s Trunk in Cepheus Explanation: Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story, the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula winds through the emission region and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far off…
Read MoreScientists just found the fastest known star in the Milky Way. It zooms around our black hole at 15,500 miles per second
Astronomers have found the fastest known star in the Milky Way, a faint object racing around Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy. Dubbed S301, the star reaches about 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometers) per second at its fastest — more than 8% the speed of light. “What is special about this star is that it’s orbiting Sagittarius A* on a very tight orbit, taking just 8.7 years to complete it, and is approaching the black hole at a mere 12 times the distance of Earth…
Read MoreNASA TechLeap Prize: Orbital Clarity Challenge
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Orbital Clarity Challenge — the sixth in the NASA TechLeap Prize series — is a collaborative effort between NASA’s Heliophysics Division, Flight Opportunities program, and Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. The Heliophysics Division studies space weather, including how it heats and expands Earth’s outer atmosphere during intense solar activity, creating orbital drag through atmospheric density changes. The challenge calls for low-cost methods of measuring thermospheric density, pressure, or drag in low Earth orbit. NASA is seeking approaches that are inexpensive and…
Read MoreNASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, shown in this artist’s concept, has orbited Earth for more than 20 years, studying the ever-changing universe. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an agency satellite to a higher altitude to extend its science mission as planned. However, LINK still will attempt to conduct rendezvous and proximity operations with NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to demonstrate key capabilities for…
Read MoreHuman-Related Microbes May Survive Moon’s South Pole, NASA Finds
This image was taken by an Artemis II astronaut from the Orion capsule in April 2026, as the spacecraft traveled past the Moon and back over 10 days. The gray-brown, heavily cratered Moon dominates the frame against black space, with a partially lit crescent Earth setting behind its upper-left edge. NASA Lee esta historia en español aquí. Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA scientists say. Published on…
Read MoreAncient Milky Way Merger
About 12 billion years ago, a dwarf galaxy known as LKH collided with a young Milky Way and merged with it. This artist’s concept portrays that collision. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope uncovered definitive evidence of this collision by studying globular star clusters.
Read MoreNASA Establishes State Hubs to Grow Technical Aerospace Workforce
From left, Sean McCrary and Katie Mortensen, mechanical engineering technicians, paint NASA’s Artemis logo on the White Room connected to the crew access arm and mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux NASA has awarded approximately $10.5 million to seven institutions to help strengthen and streamline state-based pathways for students into skilled technical jobs in the aerospace industry. The awards were made through the new NASA Aerospace Skilled Technical Workforce Hubs initiative, or NASA State…
Read MoreNext Up! A Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse on Aug. 27–28
A near-total lunar eclipse wraps up August’s trifecta of two major eclipses and the Perseids. The post Next Up! A Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse on Aug. 27–28 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreCareer Spotlight: Mechanic (Ages 14-18)
4 Min Read Career Spotlight: Mechanic (Ages 14-18) What does a mechanic do? Machines and engines are all around us. They power everything from cars and boats to airplanes and even rockets. Mechanics are experts who know how machinery works, especially engines, and how to fix them. When you think of a mechanic, you might picture someone working on cars. But mechanics can be experts on all kinds of machinery. What are some of the different types of work mechanics do at NASA? At NASA, mechanics perform a variety of…
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