Category: Space Stations

Space stations in orbit or planned

Watch SpaceX launch its last Falcon 9 rocket of 2024 overnight tonight

NeRD

SpaceX is preparing to launch its last mission of the year and you can watch it live. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 21 Starlink broadband internet satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, is poised to lift off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday (Dec. 30). The 3.5-hour launch window opens at 12 a.m. EST (0500 GMT). A live webcast of Monday’s mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on SpaceX’s website and on the social…

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Rocket launch today: Is there a rocket launch and what time?

NeRD

Dec. 28: SpaceX launching 2 rockets today (Image credit: Astranis) SpaceX is planning two rocket launches in the next 12 hours, one from California and the other from Florida. The first launch is a Falcon 9 rocket launching Saturday, Dec. 28, from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 5:48 p.m. PST (8:48 EST, 0148 GMT). You can watch the launch on SpaceX’s X account and mission page starting about 15 minutes before liftoff. This mission, called Starlink 11-3, will launch 22 new Starlink…

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Watch SpaceX attempt to launch 4 Astranis satellites for the 2nd time tonight after abort

NeRD

SpaceX will make a new attempt to launch a miniature fleet of communications satellites overnight tonight and you’ll be able to watch it live online. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four “MicroGEO” satellites for the company Astranis from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is set for 12 a.m. EST (0500 GMT) on Sunday. You can watch the launch on SpaceX’s X account and mission page starting about 15 minutes before liftoff. The midnight launch will mark SpaceX’s second attempt to…

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DJI Neo drone review

NeRD

It’s not often that DJI is behind the curve, but even the world’s leading drone manufacturer isn’t going to be leading the pack all of the time. The DJI Neo is a sub-250 g beginner drone that can be flown autonomously, with the DJI Fly app, using the DJI RC-N3 Controller, and even flown as an FPV drone when connected to DJI’s FPV controllers and goggles. Key Specs Weight: 4.76 oz / 135 g Dimensions: 5.12 x 6.18 x 1.90in / 130 × 157 × 48.5mm Battery: 1435 mAh /…

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Christmas solar flares erupt from the sun. Will they trigger aurora ‘fireworks’ as we close out 2024?

NeRD

In the final hours of Christmas Day, the sun fired off four solar flares within less than three hours. The biggest flare of the series, recorded at a M7.3, erupted from sunspot region AR3938 on Dec. 25 at 10:15 p,m. EST (0315 GMT on Dec. 26). Solar flares are ranked and categorized by their power on a 4-level classification scale, with M-class the second strongest to the beastly X-class at the top. According to Spaceweather.com, this was part of a group of four different flares that happened within two and…

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How to use monoculars for stargazing

NeRD

Monoculars are basically a half pair of binoculars and can be a super compact way for you to enjoy stargazing wherever your travels take you. Because of their small size, monoculars are highly portable, meaning that you don’t have to worry about lagging a heavy telescope to a dark sky site to enjoy some skywatching. Monoculars use a lens and prism system to magnify an image for the user. They are great for beginner stargazers due to their simple operation: point your monocular at your subject, and look through it.…

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Lego Marvel Avengers Helicarrier review

NeRD

Essential info Price: $79.99/£69.99 Model number: 76295 Number of pieces: 509 Dimensions: 7 x 13 x 8.5 inches (18 x 33 x 22cm) Recommended age: 18+ It’s safe to say that the Lego Marvel Avengers Helicarrier won’t be finding a place in our list of the best Lego Marvel sets any time soon. It’s a real shame too: when the Helicarrier was first announced, I was very excited about it. I’d missed out on the huge Helicarrier when it retired in 2017, so getting another model of it — a…

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‘Silo’ scores a third and fourth season from Apple TV+

NeRD

Apple TV+ has achieved a quiet confidence with its galaxy of science fiction programming over the past few years, bolstered by an impressive roster of compelling series such as “Foundation,” “Invasion,” “For All Mankind,” “Hello, Tomorrow!,” and the most recent must-watch endeavor, “Silo.” This past week, fans were thrilled to hear the fantastic pre-holiday news that Apple TV+ has shown its boundless confidence in the show’s future by ordering up not just one, but two more seasons to finish out its extraordinary survival saga. Now mid-way through its second season…

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Scientists await signal from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe after historic close sun flyby. Will it phone home?

NeRD

On the heels of a NASA spacecraft’s historic close flyby of the sun on Christmas Eve, scientists on Earth have one question on their minds: Did their probe survive as an epic Christmas gift, or is it a burned up lump of coal in space? For a few days, they simply won’t know, at least not until the spacecraft — NASA’s Parker Solar Probe — phones home with a simple “status beacon” on Friday (Dec. 27) to let its science team know it’s okay. But scientists behind the spacecraft’s sun…

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Just a fraction of the hydrogen hidden beneath Earth’s surface could power Earth for 200 years, scientists find

NeRD

A mountain of hydrogen is lurking beneath Earth’s surface — and scientists say that just a fraction of it could break our dependence on fossil fuels for 200 years. New research suggests the planet holds around 6.2 trillion tons (5.6 trillion metric tons) of hydrogen in rocks and underground reservoirs. That’s roughly 26 times the amount of oil known to be left in the ground (1.6 trillion barrels, each weighing approximately 0.15 tons) — but where these hydrogen stocks are located remains unknown. Most of the hydrogen is likely too…

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