Category: Nasa

Nasa

3 big hunks of space junk crash to Earth every day — and it’s only going to get worse

NeRD

At least three old satellites or rocket bodies fall back to Earth every day, a new report reveals. And experts warn that the number of objects returning from space is set to increase, a possible concern for the health of Earth’s atmosphere and for the safety of humans on the ground. The Space Environment Report, released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on April 1, found that some 1,200 “intact objects” reentered the atmosphere in 2024, in addition to countless space debris fragments. Despite this incessant rain of junk battering…

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 27 Starlink satellites to orbit on record-breaking 27th flight (photos)

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SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of rocket reuse. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 27 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites lifted off at midnight (0400 GMT) on Monday (April 14) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 27th launch for the rocket’s first stage, breaking a reflight record that this same booster set two months ago. Sixteen of its liftoffs have been Starlink flights, SpaceX wrote in a mission description. You may like Booster 1067 missions The booster came back to Earth safely for the…

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Katy Perry and Blue Origin’s all-female rocket crew get Monse designer flight suits

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When Katy Perry and the all-woman crew of Blue Origin’s next astronaut launch lift off on Monday, they’ll launch in style. Literally. Lauren Sánchez, the journalist and author who organized the flight (she’s also fiancee of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos), recruited designer Monse to reimagine Blue Origin’s flight suits. “I think the suits are elegant, but they also bring a little spice to space,” Sánchez told the New York Times. Perry and Sanchez will launch on Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocket on Monday (April 14) along with “CBS…

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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket, lands booster on ship at sea

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Another batch of Starlink wireless internet satellites is in orbit after a full moon-lit SpaceX launch from Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink 12-17 mission Saturday night (April 12) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Falcon 9 lifted off from KSC’s historic Launch Complex-39A at 8:53 p.m. EDT (0053 on April 13 GMT), carrying a stack of 21 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO). The Falcon 9 rests on the deck of a drone ship at sea shortly after its touchdown on April 12, 2025.…

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‘The Dream is [still] Alive’: First IMAX film shot in space at 40 years

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James Neihouse had one more thing to share. From inside a tote bag, he pulled out a chrome frame displaying 11 strips of tape, each of which had printed text and handwritten notes. These were labels removed from film cans, the award-winning cinematographer explained. But not just from any film — these were the 41-year-old labels from the third space shuttle mission to carry an IMAX camera into Earth orbit. The rolls were used in the making of the first movie to include scenes shot in space, as first released…

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‘I’m really excited about the engineering of it all.’ Katy Perry is psyched for her Blue Origin launch on April 14

NeRD

Katy Perry is about to blast off like a firework on her Blue Origin rocket launch this Monday. Blue Origin will launch its eleventh crewed flight on April 14, with pop star Katy Perry strapping into the New Shepard space capsule alongside five other passengers, all of them women. The mission, NS-31, will be the first all-female crew since the Soviet Union’s Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space during a solo flight in 1963. “Im really excited about the engineering of it all,” Perry told the Associated Press,…

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Easter is coming late in 2025, astronomically speaking. Here’s why

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Saturday night (April 12) brings us the April full moon, which traditionally is known as the “Pink Full Moon.” The Native Americans who once occupied the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by attaching distinctive names to each full moon that occurred at approximate 29-day intervals during the course of the year The “Pink Moon” name is rather deceptive, however, because it might initially give some the idea that on that particular night the full moon will appear to glow with a pinkish or salmon hue.…

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Sols 4507-4508: “Just Keep Driving”

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Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read Sols 4507-4508: “Just Keep Driving” NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on April 9, 2025,…

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The newest GOES weather satellite in NOAA’s fleet is now fully operational (video)

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The final satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R weather satellite series has a new place in orbit … and a new name. The GOES-19 weather satellite, which launched into orbit in June 2024, has officially taken the place of its predecessor GOES-16 to watch over the Western Hemisphere from its perch 22,236 miles (35,785 kilometers) above us. To mark the milestone, the satellite has the new name of GOES East to serve as the dominant geostationary satellite in the fleet, NOAA officials said in a statement. “With GOES-19 now in operation, NOAA…

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Auroras could spice up April’s Full Pink ‘micromoon’ this weekend

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Aurora chasers and night sky enthusiasts get ready – the stars could align for you to have quite the cosmic show this weekend! We already told you that this month’s Full Pink ‘micromoon’ is scheduled to rise on Saturday (April 12), getting to its fullest point at 8:22 p.m. EDT (0022 GMT April 13). If you’re not familiar, unlike the powerful and larger-than-life supermoon that we will get to experience later this year, a micromoon is actually the opposite. This is when the moon will be located the farthest away…

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