Rocket debris from China’s recent satellite launch fell to ground near inhabited areas, where bystanders caught the fiery touchdown on tape. The China National Space Administratio launched two satellites into orbit on Monday (Dec. 25) at 10:26 p.m. EST (0326 GMT Dec. 26 or 11:26 a.m. local time in China) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. The Long March 3B rocket carried two satellites for China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System, which is roughly equivalent to the GPS system used in North America. While the satellites were successfully…
Read MoreMonth: December 2023
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches mysterious X-37B space plane for US Space Force after delays
The U.S. military’s X-37B space plane has embarked on its latest clandestine mission at last. The robotic X-37B lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida Thursday night (Dec. 28) at 8:07 p.m. EST (0107 GMT on Dec. 29) after weeks of delays. SpaceX first two attempts to launch the secretive X-37-B military space plane earlier this month were delayed by bad weather and a ground equipment issue. Thursday’s launch marked the seventh liftoff for the X-37B to date but its first…
Read MoreMedia Invited to Learn About Moon-bound Langley Technologies
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Langley’s Navigation Doppler Lidar is a critical landing system on the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission 1, scheduled to launch to the Moon Jan. 8 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Image credit: NASA Hampton, Virginia — Media is invited to learn about two technologies developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, that will launch to the Moon in the coming weeks aboard two flights under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. During an event at Langley 9:30 a.m.…
Read MoreJapan’s H3 rocket will launch a 2nd time in February 2024 after explosive failure
The Japanese space agency’s H3 rocket system will return to the launchpad in early 2024 after an explosive failure this year. The H3 will launch from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency‘s (JAXA’s) Tanegashima Space Center as soon as Feb. 14, 2024, officials said in a statement released on Wednesday (Dec. 27). The prime launch window runs between 7:22 p.m. and 11:06 p.m. EST Feb. 14 (0022 and 0406 GMT, or 9:22 a.m. and 1:06 p.m. local time in Japan on Feb. 15.) Backup launch windows for the mission, designated H3…
Read MoreUnexpected cosmic clumping could disprove our best understanding of the universe
A survey of more than 25 million galaxies has found a strange contradiction in how astronomers measure the universe’s clumpiness, and it could threaten the standard model of cosmology, which describes how the universe formed and evolved. The discrepancy, found by measuring the warping of light by the powerful gravitational fields of distant galaxies, suggests that the cosmos is less packed-together than previously predicted. If the measurement is accurate, it will join the Hubble tension as yet another significant challenge to our preconceptions of how the cosmos evolved — one…
Read MoreLas mejores imágenes de las investigaciones en la estación del 2023
Cientos de experimentos viajaron a bordo de la Estación Espacial Internacional en 2023, cubriendo una amplia gama de temas científicos, incluyendo biología, investigación humana y ciencias de la Tierra. Echa un vistazo a las investigaciones en la estación con esta galería de imágenes. Biología y biotecnología Desarrollo de cristalización de proteínas a temperatura moderada (MTPCG) NASA (9 de enero de 2023) — El astronauta Koichi Wakata, de la JAXA (Agencia Japonesa de Exploración Aeroespacial), extrae muestras del experimento Desarrollo de Cristalización de Proteínas a Temperatura Moderada (MTPCG, por sus siglas…
Read MoreSave the Date: Apophis 2029 Innovation (A29I) Listening Workshop
3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) These images of asteroid Apophis were recorded in March 2021 by radio antennas at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone complex in California and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The asteroid was 10.6 million miles (17 million kilometers) away, and each pixel has a resolution of 127 feet (38.75 meters). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech and NSF/AUI/GBO Save the Date Apophis 2029 Innovation (A29I) Listening Workshop February 7, 2024 Please refer to this web page for any updated information OVERVIEW: NASA’s…
Read MoreNASA Wallops Signs Space Act Agreement to Support STEM Outreach
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Earlier this year, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility reaffirmed a 25-year relationship with the Virginia Space Flight Academy (VASFA) through the signing of a new Space Act Agreement. This formal partnership provides outreach opportunities for youth, including a residential space adventure camp each summer. “Wallops is proud to continue our 25-year partnership with VASFA,” said Wallops Director David Pierce. “The camp programs bring local and regional youth to the facility and our subject matter experts look forward to providing behind-the-scenes…
Read MoreReflection
Creating an artistic reflection, a Great Blue Heron skims its wings on a waterway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 11, 2021. The center shares a border with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Read MoreNASA’s Curiosity Rover Captures a Martian Day, From Dawn to Dusk
4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) While stationary for two weeks during Mars solar conjunction in November 2023, NASA’s Curiosity rover used its front and rear black-and-white Hazcams to capture 12 hours of a Martian day. The rover’s shadow is visible on the surface in these images taken by the front Hazcam. Videos from the rover show its shadow moving across the Martian surface during a 12-hour sequence while Curiosity remained parked. When NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover isn’t on the move, it works pretty well…
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