Solar System – Page 60 – NeRDs Moonbase

SpaceX’s private Polaris Dawn astronauts will return to Earth early Sunday. Here’s how to watch live online

September 14, 2024 NeRD

After an eventful five days in space, which included the first-ever commercial spacewalk, the private astronaut crew of Polaris Dawn is returning to Earth. If all goes according to plan, the SpaceX Dragon capsule Resilience — orbital home to the four-person over the past five days — will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida on Sunday, Sept. 15, at about 3:36 a.m. EDT (0736 GMT), SpaceX said in an update. The landing will mark the end of Polaris Dawn, a mission to…

Astronauts 3D-print first metal part while on ISS

September 14, 2024 NeRD

ESA scientists have successfully demonstrated 3D printing of a metal part in space for the first time. 3D printing in space poses challenges, as many methods rely on gravity to position materials during the printing process. This is because when creating metal structures, molten metal is often used as part of the filament, or printable medium. In space, its behavior can be unpredictable, which can result in poor-quality objects, as the filament might shift or be placed incorrectly due to the lack of gravitational forces. Scientists therefore had to adapt…

Astronauts 3D-print 1st metal part while on ISS

September 14, 2024 NeRD

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 128 —Starliner is Back! What Now?

September 14, 2024 NeRD

Starliner is Back! What Now? – Can Boeing Compete with SpaceX’s Dragons? – YouTube Watch On On Episode 128 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk about what’s going on with Boeing’s Starliner CST-100 spacecraft. Starliner is back and, by all accounts, could have returned with its crew had it been necessary. However, with NASA’s “safety forward” approach prevailing, the spacecraft landed uncrewed on September 6, three months after it docked with the International Space Station. Now, the work begins to try to solve the problems-…

Super Harvest Moon lunar eclipse: How to watch online for free on Sept. 17

September 13, 2024 NeRD

A partial lunar eclipse of September’s Super Harvest Moon is coming, and you can watch online for free. On Tuesday (Sept. 17), the Full Harvest Moon will experience a partial lunar eclipse that will be visible for North and South America (except for Alaska), Europe, most of Africa, western Asia, and parts of Antarctica. This eclipse will take place during a “supermoon,” which will make the moon appear slightly larger in the night sky. This occurs when the moon is slightly closer to Earth, which happens because the moon’s orbit is…

‘We just ran out of time’: Boeing Starliner astronauts on why their spaceship returned to Earth without them

September 13, 2024 NeRD

Boeing’s Starliner capsule might have been able to finish its mission as planned if time had been on its side. Starliner launched June 5 on its first-ever crewed flight, a trial run that sent NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS). The duo were supposed to live on the orbiting lab for just a week or so, but NASA extended their stay to about three months while studying thruster issues that cropped up during Starliner‘s rendezvous with the ISS. Ultimately, the agency concluded that…

The best 70s sci-fi movies

September 13, 2024 NeRD

When it comes to the best 70s sci-fi movies, the decade grabbed the baton passed by the decades that came before and ran away with it, ten-fold. It’s the decade where franchises were born – from deadly xenomorphs to intergalactic adventures and it was also a time where technology offered new possibilities to cinematic endeavors. While it was a solid decade for filmmaking in general, the sci-fi genre really got a chance to expand to new heights. In the 1970s, directors were given the chance to test out some other-worldly…

SpaceX’s Starship won’t be licensed to fly again until late November, FAA says

September 12, 2024 NeRD

SpaceX’s Starship will be grounded for a while longer yet. Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built — flew for the fourth time in June, and SpaceX has been gearing up for flight number five ever since. But that test mission is probably still at least 2.5 months away, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “SpaceX must meet all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements prior to FAA launch authorization,” agency officials said in an emailed statement to Space.com on Wednesday (Sept. 11). “A final license…

Sun fires off X-class solar flare, increasing aurora viewing chances into weekend

September 12, 2024 NeRD

A parade of solar activity continues to flow from the sun this week, opening up more chances to spot the aurora across the United States this weekend. On Thursday morning (Sept. 12), a sunspot region that has not been numbered yet made its presence known blasting off a X1.3 class solar flare. X-class solar flares are the most powerful of their kind, and are typically followed by a full or partial loss of high frequency (HF) radio signals for sunlit locations on our planet. The energetic eruption, which peaked at…

SpaceX’s private Polaris Dawn astronauts talk US flag and kids’ books from orbit on historic spaceflight (videos)

September 12, 2024 NeRD

The private Polaris Dawn crew called home from space to share their historic mission with two nonprofit organizations close to their hearts. Polaris Dawn, funded and commanded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, lifted off early Tuesday morning (Sept. 10) and has since accomplished the first commercial spacewalk and the highest orbit of a crewed vehicle since the Apollo years. But Isaacman and his crew also are supporting nonprofits through fundraising and public events to raise awareness. As an example, the four astronauts unveiled the U.S. flag in their SpaceX Crew…