March 2022 – Page 15 – NeRDs Moonbase

SpaceX to launch 48 Starlink satellites, land rocket Wednesday morning: Watch live

March 9, 2022 NeRD

SpaceX will launch four dozen Starlink internet satellites and land the returning rocket on Wednesday (March 9), and you can watch the action live. A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket topped with 48 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. EST (13:45 GMT). If all goes according to plan, about nine minutes later, the Falcon 9 first stage will come down for a vertical landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which will be stationed in the Atlantic…

Russia’s Ukraine invasion and space impacts: Live updates

March 8, 2022 NeRD

Refresh 2022-03-08T23:46:41.620Z Ukrainian flag headed to space (Image credit: Polaris Program/Twitter) American billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates will take the Ukrainian flag to space and back later this year on his Polaris Dawn mission, a private spaceflight to be launched by SpaceX, as a show of solidarity with the people of Ukraine. “We stand with Ukraine and its brave citizens and all those fighting for freedom across the world. The Polaris Dawn crew will take this flag to a place in space that still remains beyond the reach of…

Tour Orion the Hunter as we visit a constellation icon

March 8, 2022 NeRD

Last month marks my 20th year writing the Night Sky column for Space.com. It is difficult for me to believe that in this forum I have penned over a thousand columns on a variety of different subjects covering space and stargazing. Among my constellation essays, I’ve probably written about the Orion constellation, the Hunter, more than any other and with good reason: No other star pattern can be compared to it. It has been recognized as perhaps the most eye-catching and extraordinary pattern of stars; a veritable treasure-trove of celestial…

Update from the Hope Probe at Mars

March 8, 2022 NeRD

The United Arab Emirates’ Hope Probe, on a wide orbit around Mars, provides views of the dynamic Red Planet. The post Update from the Hope Probe at Mars appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

How Many Moons Can an Asteroid Have?

March 8, 2022 NeRD

The discovery of the first quadruple asteroid system raises the question: Is there a limit to how many moons an asteroid can have? The post How Many Moons Can an Asteroid Have? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Engineering NASA’s Return to the Moon

March 8, 2022 NeRD

These engineers developed and tested Space Launch System software that will tell the rocket how to operate for the first 8 minutes of Artemis during launch and ascent.

NASA gearing up for rollout of Artemis 1 mission next week

March 7, 2022 NeRD

Teams are starting to retract the “kitchen drawer” platforms surrounding the first rocket that will launch a NASA Artemis mission toward the moon. Retracting the platforms surrounding the huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida is a key step to safely sending the rocket and spacecraft to the launch pad on March 17 ahead of the Artemis 1 launch, which is expected to take place no earlier than May. The uncrewed Artemis 1 will send an Orion spacecraft around the moon, to make…

Russian space chief, former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly trade barbs on Twitter

March 7, 2022 NeRD

The space partnership between Russia and the U.S. looks shakier and shakier every day. That partnership has been fraying badly since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, spurring the United States and a number of other countries to impose new economic sanctions. Russian space officials have decried these sanctions; in response, they have stopped the sale of Russian-made rocket engines to American companies and halted launches of Russian-built Soyuz rockets from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, among other measures. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, Russia’s federal space agency, has…

NASA orders 3 more SpaceX Crew Dragon flights to space station

March 7, 2022 NeRD

NASA has awarded a nearly $3.5 billion contract to SpaceX to provide three additional Crew Dragon launches to the International Space Station. The contract covers missions Crew-7, Crew-8 and Crew-9, but NASA says it might order more crew launches in the future. SpaceX began flying NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in 2020, marking the end of a long drought in which NASA had no direct access to the orbiting laboratory after retiring its space shuttle fleet in 2011. During this time, NASA astronauts flew aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft…

Why We Look Up: Relief for What Ails You

March 7, 2022 NeRD

We’re drawn to the night sky for different reasons. Wonder. Joy. Discovery. And sometimes, for relief. The post Why We Look Up: Relief for What Ails You appeared first on Sky & Telescope.