The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will become the largest telescope to ever be launched into space, and Lego could be launching its own buildable model replica, if the idea gains enough support. This idea to for a Lego replica of the giant telescope into production comes from Lego Ideas creator tonysmyuncle and has already received over 600 supporters. In total, it will need 10,000 supporters for it to go to an expert review before the winner is announced — but there is plenty of time to support the idea…
Read MoreMonth: August 2021
Elon Musk is thrilled as SpaceX’s Starship becomes world’s tallest rocket — and he’s not alone
SpaceX’s Starship, fully stacked. (Image credit: Elon Musk/Twitter) SpaceX’s Starship has officially become the world’s tallest rocket — and Elon Musk is over the moon. On Friday (Aug. 6), for the first time, SpaceX stacked its Starship spacecraft on top of its Super Heavy rocket. At around 395 feet (120 meters) tall, the stacked spacecraft is the tallest in the world. (If you take the launch stand into account, it’s even taller, at about 475 feet, or 145 m, high). The excitement of this major milestone was not lost on…
Read MoreNASA’s Perseverance Team Assessing First Mars Sampling Attempt
Data sent to Earth by NASA’s Perseverance rover after its first attempt to collect a rock sample on Mars and seal it in a sample tube indicate that no rock was collected during the initial sampling activity.
Read MoreSpace Station Science Highlights: Week of August 2, 2021
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of August 2 that included testing a mobile ultrasound device and radio frequency identification tagging and tracking technology, and performance of a student robot-programming challenge.
Read MoreRussian Rocket Booster to Reenter Early Next Week
The spent rocket booster that deployed the Russian Spektr-R satellite a decade ago is now set to burn up over the Indian Ocean on Monday, August 9th. The post Russian Rocket Booster to Reenter Early Next Week appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreWhy does gravity pull us down and not up?
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Gravity is the reason things with mass or energy are attracted to each other. It is why apples fall toward the ground and planets orbit stars. Magnets attract some types of metals, but they can also push other magnets away. So how come you feel only the pull of gravity? In 1915, Albert Einstein figured out the answer when he published his theory of general relativity. The reason gravity pulls you toward the…
Read MoreJuno Celebrates 10 Years With a New View of Jovian Moon Ganymede
This infrared view of Jupiter’s icy moon Ganymede was obtained by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during its July 20, 2021, flyby.
Read MoreMotoArt makes mementos from scrapped NASA shuttle launch platform
When NASA announced earlier this year that it was going to destroy one of its three historic structures that was used to support Apollo rockets and space shuttles, the fate of Mobile Launch Platform-2 (MLP-2) seemed to be sealed as scrap metal. That is, until fans of MotoArt’s PlaneTags heard the news. Now, the public can own a small part of space shuttle history, thanks to a 20-year-old company with a reputation for preserving aviation history by making products out of old airplane parts. In addition to its business of…
Read MoreNASA, Russia stress that space partnership remains strong after Nauka incident at space station
Following a serious incident at the International Space Station last Thursday (July 29), Russia and the U.S. have reaffirmed their partnership and shared next steps to move forward. On Thursday, Russia’s long-awaited Nauka research module docked with the orbiting lab. But the new module soon hit troubles as, just a few hours after docking, its thrusters began to fire unexpectedly, pulling the module away from the station and causing the space station to lose what engineers call “attitude control,” spinning out of its normal orientation. Ground teams from NASA and…
Read MoreThis Week’s Sky at a Glance, August 6 – 14
It’s Perseid meteor week! Venus lights the western twilight. Saturn and Jupiter are up in the southeast by mid-twilight and await your telescope later at night. And explore the deep-sky glories of Sagittarius before moonlight returns. The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, August 6 – 14 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
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