A satellite image captured Aug. 27, 2021 shows a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship on Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the company’s 23rd cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies) As launch preparations were underway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday (Aug. 27) ahead of SpaceX’s 23rd cargo launch to the International Space Station, a satellite captured images of the rocket from space. On Friday Maxar Technologies’ WorldView-2 satellite spotted…
Read MoreMonth: August 2021
Astra rocket aborts orbital test launch for US military at last second
[embedded content] Astra aimed to reach orbit for the first time ever today (Aug. 27), but the company’s Rocket 3.3 aborted the liftoff at the last second. The 43-foot-tall (13 meters) Rocket 3.3, also known as Launch Vehicle 006, was poised to lift off from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska’s Kodiak Island today at 5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT) on a milestone orbital test flight. And that very nearly happened: The countdown clock reached zero and the rocket’s first-stage engines ignited, but they shut down almost immediately. “It sounds…
Read MoreSpace Station Science Highlights: Week of August 23, 2021
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Aug. 23 that included demonstrating 3D printing using a regolith simulant, growing a plant for psychological benefits, demonstrating an optical fiber-based radiation dosimeter, and examining changes in muscle tissue.
Read MoreMedia Invited to Virtual Briefing on Launch of NASA, USGS Landsat 9
Officials from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will discuss next month’s planned launch of the Landsat 9 satellite during a media briefing at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Read MoreThis Week’s Sky at a Glance, Aug. 27 – Sept. 4
Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are all getting a little higher in early evening. Vega passes the zenith soon after dark; Deneb does so two hours later. Andromeda is up in the east. The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, Aug. 27 – Sept. 4 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreESCAPADE Blue and Gold Orbiters Head to Mars in 2024
A pair of spacecraft will head to Mars in 2024 as the ESCAPADE mission, to study the Martian space weather environment. The post ESCAPADE Blue and Gold Orbiters Head to Mars in 2024 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MorePrepping the Europa Clipper’s Propulsion Tanks
Contamination control engineers in a clean room at the Goddard Space Flight Center evaluate a propellant tank before it is installed in our Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Read MoreSee Captain Janeway from ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ come alive in epic new 1:6 scale Exo-6 figure
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of first airing of “Star Trek: Voyager” and the occasion was celebrated by a constellation of tributes, fan screenings, reflective interviews and even a deep dive into the backstory of Starfleet’s first female captain in “The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway” (2020, Titan Books). To keep the party soaring into 2021, EXO-6 is presenting a new premium collectible figure of the starship’s charismatic leader so capably played by Kate Mulgrew. Its upcoming release follows in the wake of the company’s sold-out renderings of Lt. Commander…
Read MoreSpaceX faces possible liquid oxygen shortage for rocket fuel amid pandemic
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Liquid oxygen (LOX) is in short supply as demand rises with COVID-19 cases in the United States. But as hospitals struggle to figure out how to treat patients, SpaceX worries the shortage could also jeopardize upcoming launches. With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, cases are on the rise as we push through the second year of the pandemic. Hospitals treating COVID-19 patients rely on LOX for ventilator treatments, and with rising numbers, LOX is becoming hard to find. However, as SpaceX President and…
Read More‘Guardians wanted!’ US Space Force unveils new recruitment video
[embedded content] The U.S. Space Force is seeking more recruits to address some of the forthcoming military challenges of spaceflight. A new recruitment video on YouTube notes that “space is hard” while citing growing challenges, such as foreign actors potentially moving into cislunar space and a growing presence of international companies operating satellites in near-Earth orbit. “It’s time for another giant leap,” the recruitment video says in part, citing an off-quoted line that civilian NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong delivered after stepping onto the surface of the moon for the first…
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