‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ episode 4 embraces classic, submarine-style space battles

Warning: Spoilers  for “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 1, episode 4 Every sci-fi fan must feel like Christmas has come early with Lucasfilm dialing the hype up to 11 at the Star Wars Celebration 2022, the first two episodes of the latest live-action “Star Wars” spin-off, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” making its debut, Season 3 of “The Orville” beginning in a little over a week, plus of course our recommended weekly intake of “Star Trek” on Paramount Plus (opens in new tab). And the fourth episode of the first season of…

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China rolls out rocket for crewed Shenzhou 14 mission ahead of Saturday launch (video, photos)

China is gearing up to send the third crew to its new Tiangong space station, with launch set for late Saturday (June 4) U.S. Eastern time. The Shenzhou 14 spacecraft, sitting atop a Long March 2F rocket, was rolled out to its pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Sunday (May 29), according to China’s human spaceflight agency. Launch is expected around 10:40 p.m. EDT on June 4 (0240 GMT or 10:40 a.m. local time on Sunday, June 5) according to airspace closure notices. Livestreams of the launch are expected…

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Blue Origin targets June 4 for next space tourist mission after delay

Blue Origin aims to conduct its fifth human spaceflight this weekend. NS-21, the next mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicle, is now targeted for Saturday (June 4), company representatives announced today (May 31). NS-21 is scheduled to launch from Blue Origin’s West Texas site on Saturday during a window that opens at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT); you can watch it live here at Space.com when the time comes. NS-21 was originally supposed to launch on May 20, but Blue Origin delayed things after discovering a potential issue…

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Do Trojan exoplanets exist?

Co-orbiting worlds, also known as Trojans, have not been found yet outside the solar system. That’s a strange thing, a new study suggests, given we see them constantly closer to home. Our solar system is full of Trojans; the asteroids orbit the sun along the same path as a larger planet (like Jupiter) about 60 degrees ahead of and behind the planet. But it might be that tidal forces alter the orbits of larger worlds, like an exoplanet. While exoplanets with Trojan orbits may form, the study led by the…

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Low Earth orbit: Definition, theory and facts

In very simple terms, low Earth orbit (LEO) is exactly what it sounds like: An orbit around the Earth with an altitude that lies towards the lower end of the range of possible orbits. This is around 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) or less. The majority of satellites are to be found in LEO, as is the International Space Station (ISS). In order to remain in this orbit, a satellite has to travel at around 17,500 miles per hour (7.8 kilometers per second), at which speed it takes around 90 minutes…

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Possible early tau Herculid meteors caught on camera

Should we be getting ready for a meteor storm tonight? While predictions are still all over the place about how many shooting stars will be generated from 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, it appears a few meteors could have fallen into our atmosphere already as Earth plows into the debris stream. The tau Herculids, as the new meteor shower is called, is expected to peak with possible storm conditions tonight (May 30 to 31). They have likely already been spotted in numerous countries in projects led by Spain and NASA. Spain’s Fireballs and…

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How to watch the potential tau Herculids meteor storm live online

A brand-new meteor shower could light up the Memorial Day night sky on Monday and Tuesday (May 30-31) or it may be a big bust. But either way, you’ll be able to watch it live online.  Called the tau Herculids meteor shower, the event has the potential to be a so-called “meteor storm” of 1,000 shooting stars per hour overnight Monday as the Earth passes through debris from Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3. But it could also fizzle out completely, scientists just don’t know yet. One NASA scientist called it an “all…

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