A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a new private lunar lander to the moon for the company Intuitive Machines and NASA this week, and you can watch it live online in a series of free webcasts. Intuitive Machines‘ first Nova-C lander mission, called IM-1, will to launch to the moon on a Falcon 9 rocket Feb. 14 with payloads for NASA and other customers. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:57 a.m. EST (0557 GMT) from NASA’s Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If all goes well, IM-1…
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See SpaceX’s breathtaking launch of NASA’s PACE satellite (photos)
The SpaceX launch of NASA’s newest Earth observation satellite put on a stunning show for photographers. NASA’s PACE mission (short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 8, 2024 at 1:33 a.m. EST (0633 GMT). The nighttime launch provided a perfect opportunity for some gorgeous launch photography, as the following snapshots show. Related: SpaceX launches NASA’s PACE satellite to study Earth’s oceans, air and climate (video) Once operational, PACE will…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch NASA’s PACE ocean-monitoring satellite this week
A NASA satellite is about to take flight to map out the ocean’s many hues. NASA’s PACE spacecraft, which will help scientists gauge the health of oceans around the world, is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Feb. 6) at 1:33 a.m. EST (0633 GMT). You can watch the liftoff live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will begin at 12:45 a.m. EST (0545 GMT). Related: Earth is getting hotter at…
Read MoreWatch private Cygnus cargo ship arrive at the ISS early Feb. 1 (video)
Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station early Thursday morning (Feb. 1), and you can watch the rendezvous live. The Cygnus launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Jan. 30), kicking off a 40-hour orbital chase. That chase will come to an end around 4:15 a.m. EST (0915 GMT) on Thursday, when NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli captures Cygnus using the International Space Station‘s (ISS) Canadarm2 robotic arm. You can watch the action live here at Space.com,…
Read More1st gravitational wave detector in space ‘LISA’ will hunt for ripples in spacetime
Humanity’s first space-based gravitational wave detector has received the go-ahead. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, which consists of three spacecraft that together form a single gravitational wave detector, is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). It’s set to launch in the mid-2030s. The adoption of LISA was announced by ESA on Jan. 25, and recognizes that the mission concept and associated technology are sufficiently advanced. Getting the green light means scientists can start building the spacecraft as well as its required instruments; work will…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch 2 rockets 3 hours apart today in Starlink doubleheader
SpaceX plans to launch two more batches of its Starlink internet satellites today (Jan. 28), in doubleheader liftoffs just three hours apart. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today during a 3.5-hour-long window that opens at 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT). Another Falcon 9 will carry 22 more Starlinks skyward from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, during a nearly four-hour window that opens today at 9:16 p.m. EST (6:16 p.m. local time, and 0216…
Read MoreWatch Rocket Lab launch 4 private satellites, recover booster early Jan. 28
Rocket Lab plans to launch four private satellites and recover the returning booster early Sunday morning (Jan. 28), and you can watch the action live. The company’s Electron rocket is scheduled to lift off from New Zealand on Sunday during a 45-minute window that opens at 1:15 a.m. EST (0615 GMT; 7:15 p.m. local New Zealand time). You can watch live here on Space.com, courtesy of Rocket Lab, or directly via the companny’s website. Coverage will begin 30 minutes before the launch window opens. Related: Facts and information about Rocket…
Read MoreChinese company launches 5 remote-sensing satellites to orbit (video)
China’s commercial space activities continue to grow, with a solid rocket putting five privately built satellites into orbit. The third Kinetica-1 solid rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 11:03 p.m. EST on Monday (Jan. 22; 0403 GMT and 12:03 p.m. Beijing time on Jan. 23). Aboard were five Taijing satellites, all designed and built by Beijing-based private satellite maker Minospace. Related: The latest news about China’s space program CAS Space’s third Kinetica-1 rocket lifts off from Jiuquan spaceport on Jan. 22, 2024. (Image credit:…
Read MoreChina launches Tianzhou 7 cargo craft to Tiangong space station (video)
China has launched its first space station mission of the year to resupply the orbital outpost. A Long March 7 rocket topped with the robotic Tianzhou 7 cargo spacecraft lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island in the South China Sea on Wednesday (Jan. 17) at 9:27 a.m. EST (1427 GMT; 10:27 p.m. Beijing time). Tianzhou 7 is planned to rendezvous and dock with China’s three-module Tiangong space station around three hours after launch. The three crewmembers of the Shenzhou 17 mission onboard Tiangong will oversee the…
Read MoreStuck valve may have doomed private Peregrine moon lander mission, Astrobotic says
Astrobotic has homed in on a potential cause for the problems plaguing its Peregrine moon lander. Peregrine launched early Monday morning (Jan. 8) atop United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) new Vulcan Centaur rocket, with the goal of becoming the first private spacecraft to land softly on the moon. That dream was dashed, however, by a propellant leak that sprang up shortly after Peregrine deployed from the rocket’s upper stage. Astrobotic has been troubleshooting and analyzing the issue ever since, and the company may now know what happened. “Astrobotic’s current hypothesis about…
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