Category: Solar System

Our solar system

The 1st private mission to Venus comes together ahead of possible 2026 launch (photos)

NeRD

Engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley report progress in installing a heat shield on the first private spacecraft targeted for Venus. Rocket Lab of Long Beach, California, is leading the effort, along with their partners at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. NASA’s Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET) was invented at the NASA Ames center. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, supported the development of the heat shield for Rocket Lab’s Venus mission. You…

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You can buy Chewbacca’s Bowcaster or Luke’s medal at a ‘Star Wars’ auction, but it could cost you half a million dollars

NeRD

Poor Chewbacca never got his golden bravery medal for helping to destroy the Death Star during “Star Wars”‘ climactic Battle of Yavin, but you might be lucky enough to score Luke’s if you’re the high bidder in Propstore’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction that returns to Los Angeles on March 26–28, 2025. London-based Propstore is one of the world’s premier entertainment memorabilia auction houses and this spring they’re presenting a remarkable selection of priceless film-used “Star Wars” collectibles. Two of the showcase lots that should have fans and collectors salivating are…

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 152 — Atomic Rockets II: Nuclear Electric Boogaloo

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Atomic Rockets II: Nuclear Electric Boogaloo – Pathways to the Solar System – YouTube Watch On On Episode 152 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik host Dr. Robert O’Brien, Director of the Universities Space Research Association’s Center for Space Nuclear Research, for a fascinating deep dive into nuclear propulsion technology for space exploration. They discuss the history, current developments, and future potential of nuclear electric and nuclear thermal propulsion systems, which could revolutionize our ability to explore Mars and beyond — both robotically and with human…

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SpaceX aces 3rd launch in 13 hours, sending 23 Starlink satellites to orbit (video)

NeRD

SpaceX just pulled off a spaceflight tripleheader. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today (March 15) at 7:35 a.m. EDT (1135 GMT). It was SpaceX‘s third launch in a 13-hour span, as the company noted via X this morning. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 15, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX) The rocket flurry began at 7:03 p.m.…

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Where will the partial solar eclipse be visible in March 2025?

NeRD

Although it won’t be as spectacular as North America’s April 2024 total solar eclipse, the first solar eclipse since the “ring of fire” eclipse in October 2024 is set to bring stunning views to some lucky eclipse chasers. Just two weeks after a stunning total lunar eclipse on March 13-14, 2025, skywatchers across the western Northern Hemisphere will see at least a partial solar eclipse on March 29, 2025. For some observers, an eclipsed sun will appear on the eastern horizon at sunrise — if skies are clear — as…

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SpaceX Crew-10 folds traits, hopes into origami crane zero-g indicator

NeRD

What do you get when you fold together the ambitions and contributions of four space station-bound astronauts from the United States, Japan and Russia? A zero-g indicator in the form of an origami crane. Minutes after arriving in Earth orbit on Friday (March 14), the members of Crew-10 — SpaceX’s 10th operational mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA’s commercial crew program — revealed their choice for the traditional plush toy used to signal they entered the microgravity environment of outer space. Mission specialist Takuya Onishi of the…

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Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket launching for 6th time ever soon: Watch it live

NeRD

Update for 12:15 a.m. ET on March 15: Firefly has called off the planned March 15 liftoff attempt due to an issue with the launch range. No new target date has been announced. Firefly Aerospace will launch its Alpha rocket for the sixth time ever on Saturday morning (March 15), and you can watch the action live. Alpha is scheduled to lift off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday during a 52-minute window that opens at 9:25 a.m. EDT (1325 GMT; 6:25 a.m. local California time). Firefly will…

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SpaceX launches relief crew for NASA’s beleaguered Starliner astronauts on ISS (video)

NeRD

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Liftoff! Four astronauts are flying toward the International Space Station (ISS) to relieve crew members who have been waiting for a ride home since last summer. SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon capsule Endurance on a Falcon 9 rocket this evening (March 14) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) here on Florida’s Space Coast. The mission, called Crew-10, lifted off from KSC’s Launch Complex-39A at 7:03 p.m. EDT (2303 GMT), carrying mission commander Anne McClain and mission pilot Nichole Ayers, both of NASA, and mission specialists Takuya…

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Former Google chief Eric Schmidt takes the reins at rocket startup Relativity Space

NeRD

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has assumed the top job at an ambitious launch startup. Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 to 2011, has been named CEO at Relativity Space, a California company that’s building a rocket to compete with SpaceX and other major players in the launch industry. Schmidt, who’s worth about $33 billion, has also made a “significant” financial investment in Relativity Space, according to The New York Times, which broke the story on Monday (March 10). Former CEO & Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt speaks at Chainlink’s…

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Tom Hanks at ‘Moonwalkers’ film premiere predicts getting busy on moon

NeRD

Tom Hanks said he knows for certain there are two things that are going to happen in the future of space exploration. One, the day will come at some point when astronauts land on the moon and are greeted by other humans just like them, signaling that we have moved from the moon being a place we just visit to it being a home. The other — well, it is probably best to hear it straight from him. “Forgive my language, but someone’s going to get knocked up,” said Hanks,…

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