Month: August 2022

Here’s how scientists spotted a 9th target for NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission

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NASA’s asteroid-touring mission has picked up a ninth target. In preparation for the Lucy mission to explore a distant class of asteroids called the Trojans, astronomers have been monitoring the targeted space rocks. One day in March, mission personnel gathered 26 different teams from around the world to watch one of those asteroids, 17-mile-wide (27 kilometers) Polymele, appear to pass in front of a star in what scientists call an occultation.  By comparing observations from many different locations on Earth, scientists can precisely measure the shadow an asteroid casts on…

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Celebrate NASA’s Voyager missions at 45 with this free webcast tonight

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NASA’s Voyager probes to interstellar space are icons of cosmic exploration, and you can celebrate their 45th anniversary with a free science webcast tonight (Aug. 18).  The space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California will host a live lecture tonight at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT, 0200 GMT) to showcase the Voyager mission, which launched two spacecraft toward the outer solar system in 1977. The first of those to launch, Voyager 2, lifted off 45 years ago this weekend.  Related: Celebrate 45 years of Voyager with amazing solar…

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‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ scores an IMAX re-release ahead of new Disney Plus ‘Andor’ series

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Let’s be honest, 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is far from a perfect movie.  But aside from some wonky CGI created to replicate the younger faces of Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia, it’s an engaging, well-acted chapter of the saga that should hold its head high and be accepted as a legitimate member of the “Star Wars” family. Its killer Darth Vader lightsaber attack scene and final battle unfolding on the tropical beaches of Scarif are some of the boldest action sequences in any…

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Watch a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule leave the space station Thursday

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A SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule will leave the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday morning (Aug. 18), and you can watch it live. The robotic Dragon is scheduled to depart the orbiting lab Thursday around 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 GMT). Watch the action live in the window above, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency (opens in new tab). Coverage will begin at 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT). The Dragon launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on July 14 and arrived at the ISS two days later…

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China prepares to launch yet another new solid rocket, the Smart Dragon 3

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China is continuing to boost its options for launching small satellites with a new rocket called the Smart Dragon 3, which is expected to fly for the first time soon. Smart Dragon 3, also known as Jielong 3, last week successfully passed payload fairing separation tests and has now entered the flight test phase for its first mission, according to its developer (opens in new tab), China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3 will be capable of sending 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) of payload to a 310-mile-high (500 kilometers) sun…

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