A group of researchers wants to save Earth from a potential asteroid apocalypse using a new planetary defense method they call PI — short for “Pulverize It.” The plan — detailed in a lengthy technical paper on the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Experimental Cosmology Group website and submitted to the journal Advances in Space Research — aims to smash large, potentially life-threatening asteroids into hundreds of tiny pieces by launching an array of “penetrator rods” into the asteroid’s path. These rods, each measuring about 6 to 10 feet…
Read MoreMonth: October 2021
NASA targets February launch for Artemis 1 mission on its 1st first moon rocket since Apollo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is now targeting early next year for the maiden launch of its next megarocket: the Space Launch System. The behemoth moon rocket, the first since the Apollo program, is months behind schedule (it was initially slated to launch in November) but could now potentially fly Feb. 12 if its final tests go well, NASA officials said Friday (Oct. 22). That’s when the first launch window opens for its uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon, they said. The Space Launch System, or SLS, is the…
Read MoreFAA wraps up public hearings on SpaceX Starship launch site environmental review
News flash: People have strong opinions about SpaceX. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) held two public hearings this week about its environmental assessment of SpaceX’s orbital launch activities at Starbase, the company’s facility near the South Texas village of Boca Chica. Those activities center on the testing and eventual operation of Starship, the heavy-lift transportation system SpaceX is developing to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and other deep-space destinations. Photos: SpaceX lifts huge Super Heavy rocket onto launch stand The FAA released a draft of the…
Read MoreThe US military just launched 3 rockets from a NASA center to boost hypersonic weapons research
A trio of hush-hush rocket launches from a NASA space center in Virginia this week tested advanced hypersonic weapons technology for the U.S. military, Navy officials revealed Friday (Oct. 22). The weapons tests were carried out across three small sounding rocket launches from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. The space center announced the launches ahead of time but shared little about their nature aside from the fact that they were for the U.S. Department of Defense. On Friday, NASA and the U.S. Navy revealed that the launches…
Read MoreStreetlights to Satellites: Addressing Light Pollution with the United Nations
The United Nations’ Office of Outer Space Affairs is considering issues of light pollution spanning from streetlights to satellites. The post Streetlights to Satellites: Addressing Light Pollution with the United Nations appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreNASA Invites Media to Launch of IXPE Mission to Study X-rays in Space
Media accreditation is open for the upcoming launch of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, which will measure polarized X-rays from exotic cosmic objects, such as black holes and neutron stars, to better understand these types of phenomena and extreme environments.
Read MoreNASA Commits $28 Million to Underfunded US Jurisdictions
NASA has awarded $28 million to fund the next five years of research infrastructure development across 28 jurisdictions.
Read MoreSpace Station Science Highlights: Week of October 18, 2021
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Oct. 18 that included demonstrating robotic technology, studying impurities in protein crystal growth, and testing single-board computing in space.
Read MoreOrion Spacecraft Joins Artemis I Moon Rocket at Kennedy
Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida lifted the Orion spacecraft and placed it atop the Space Launch System Moon rocket.
Read MoreNASA Completes Mega-Moon Rocket Stacking, Invites Media to Learn More
NASA has completed stacking of the agency’s mega-Moon rocket and spacecraft that will launch the next generation of deep space operations, including Artemis missions on and around the Moon.
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