Category: Space Stations

Space stations in orbit or planned

Estonia joins Artemis Accords as moon-exploration coalition agrees to continue outreach efforts

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MILAN — The nations signed up to the Artemis Accords are looking to spread the word on common principles and best practices on exploring outer space.  Estonia became the 45th country to sign up to the Accords just ahead of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here, which opened on Monday (Oct. 14). But engagement and enlargement efforts won’t stop there. The Artemis Accords — a set of statements that set out common principles, guidelines and best practices for exploration of the moon and beyond — had its third heads-of-agencies meeting…

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Spooky on the Space Station

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Science in Space: October 2024 Cultures around the world celebrate Halloween on Oct 31. In many places, in addition to people wearing costumes and eating candy, this day is associated with spooky decorating using fake blood, skeletons, flies, and spiders, some of them glow-in-the-dark. Crew members on the International Space Station have been known to indulge in a bit of dressing up and candy consumption to mark the day, and the research they conduct year-round occasionally involves these iconic…

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‘Predator: Hunting Grounds’ scores a striking makeover for PS5 and Xbox X/S

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Rising production costs for A-list video game projects are entering the stratosphere these days, but one way for publishers to deliver new products without going bankrupt is to upscale older games with a modern makeover for next-gen consoles. While we’re still waiting to hear about the next entry in the “Predator” movie franchise, the most recent Predator video game — the four-year-old “Predator: Hunting Grounds — recently got the deluxe treatment with a shiny new update for modern consoles.”  This revamped game entered into the sci-fi horror gaming sphere on…

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James Webb Space Telescope takes center stage in ‘Infinite Cosmos’. Author Ethan Siegel explains it all (exclusive)

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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been an astonishing piece of technology for the advancement of humankind’s understanding of the universe, and the source of awe-inspiring images of black holes, galaxies, and nebulae it’s returned to scientists and astronomers since it was deployed into a solar orbit back in 2022. “Infinite Cosmos: Visions From the James Webb Space Telescope” is a 224-page hardback published Oct. 8, 2024 from National Geographic that breaks down the history of this remarkable $10 billion observatory platform from conception to deployment, and reveals the…

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HTC threw us into the Squid Games to preview their new VR headset — the Vive Focus Vision

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It’s fair to say that virtual reality has transitioned from a flashy wonder technology of the future into something that we’re just kind of used to. New VR headsets are constantly trickling out, and while some of them cause a big splash because of their outrageous price tag (looking at you Apple Vision Pro), they’ve still yet to truly deliver on the space-age promise of the technology that will help it smash through into the mainstream. Now HTC is here with their latest VR headset — the HTC Vive Focus…

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NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter: Live updates

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2024-10-14T03:32:07.823Z Europa Clipper “GO” for launch A triple booster SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on the launch pad. (Image credit: SpaceX/NASA/JPL) NASA and SpaceX are both “GO” to launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft toward Jupiter’s moon Europa on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 after days of delays caused by the impacts of Hurricane Milton on its Florida launch site. Europa Clipper, a $5 billion flagship mission to an icy moon of Jupiter, is currently scheduled to lift off at 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy…

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What time will SpaceX launch NASA’s Europa Clipper to icy Jupiter moon today (and how to watch online)?

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Watch live! SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch NASA’s Europa Clipper – YouTube Watch On NASA’s first mission to another ocean world in our solar system will launch toward Jupiter on Monday (Oct. 14), but if you want to watch it live, you’ll need to know when to tune in. Europa Clipper, a $5 billion NASA mission to study the salty ocean beneath the ice of Jupiter’s moon Europa, will launch on its way Monday atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Liftoff is set for 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 GMT) from…

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SpaceX catches giant Starship booster with ‘Chopsticks’ on historic Flight 5 rocket launch and landing (video)

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The biggest and most powerful rocket ever built took to the skies again. And this time, it came back. SpaceX launched its 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship vehicle for the fifth time ever today (Oct. 13), sending the giant rocket aloft from its Starbase site in South Texas at 8:25 am. EDT (1225 GMT; 7:25 a.m. local Texas time).  The mission aimed to break new ground for Starship, and for spaceflight in general: SpaceX planned to return Starship’s huge first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, directly to its launch mount, catching…

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What time is SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5 launch test on Oct. 13 (and how to watch online)?

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Watch live! SpaceX to launch Starship, attempt to catch booster – YouTube Watch On It’s official: SpaceX is “go” to launch what may be its most ambitious Starship test flight yet, and if you’re hoping to watch it live online, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.  SpaceX’s next Starship test launch, called Starship Flight 5, is now officially scheduled to launch on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) from the company’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. It will be 7 a.m. local time…

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FAA clears SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches

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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket a green light to return to flight. The Falcon 9 had been grounded since Sept. 28, when the rocket suffered an issue with its upper stage during the launch of the Crew-9 astronaut mission for NASA. (A Falcon 9 did launch Europe’s Hera asteroid-inspection probe on Oct. 7, but that was a one-time exception granted by the FAA.) “The FAA notified SpaceX on Oct. 11 that the Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to regular flight…

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