Tag: Space Exploration

SpaceX launches 23 more Starlink satellites from Florida (video)

NeRD

SpaceX sent another batch of its Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Florida early Tuesday morning (June 3). Twenty three (23) of the broadband internet units, including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, rode atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a nine-minute trip into space. Liftoff occurred at 12:23 a.m. EDT (0423 GMT). The satellites were set to be released into orbit about an hour later. You may like The bright thrust from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket…

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Elon Musk says SpaceX will launch its biggest Starship yet this year, but Mars in 2026 is ’50/50′

NeRD

SpaceX is still shooting for Mars next year with its giant Starship rocket, despite some recent explosive hiccups with the megarocket. That was one of the takeaways from a new update that Elon Musk just gave about SpaceX‘s plans to help humanity settle the Red Planet — an ambitious goal that has driven the billionaire for decades. “Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars,” Musk said in the 42-minute presentation, which SpaceX posted on X on Thursday (May 29), referring to the ongoing work…

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Watch Rocket Lab launch private Earth-observing satellite to orbit tonight

NeRD

Rocket Lab plans to launch an Earth-observing satellite for the company BlackSky tonight (May 28), and you can watch the action live. An Electron rocket is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab‘s New Zealand site today at 9:15 p.m. EDT (0115 GMT and 1:15 p.m. New Zealand time on May 29), carrying a “Gen-3” satellite for Virginia-based BlackSky toward low Earth orbit (LEO). Rocket Lab will stream the launch live, beginning 30 minutes before liftoff. You can watch live via the company and here at Space.com if, as expected,…

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Scientists worry Trump’s budget cuts will halt satellite air pollution studies: ‘It’s incredibly short-sighted’

NeRD

Crucial research into the effects of rocket and satellite air pollution on Earth’s atmosphere is reportedly being cut as part of Donald Trump administration’s cuts to climate science budgets. Experts say the cancellation comes at the worst time and will cause a major setback for the emerging field of science. Research funding for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is set to be cut by an estimated $1.52 billion with funding covering climate science to be hit the hardest, according to Science. These cuts are expected to include…

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Scientists question possible signs of life on exoplanet K2-18b in new study: ‘We never saw more than insignificant hints’

NeRD

In 2023, scientists from Cambridge University reported what appeared to be very exciting news. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, they said, had detected signs of a liquid water ocean — and possibly life — on the exoplanet K2-18b, a temperate sub-Neptune world located about 124 light-years away from Earth. Then, earlier this year, the same team announced what they called even stronger evidence for those potential signs of alien life. The signs were rooted in a tentative detection of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) — a molecule produced on Earth solely by…

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Could deciphering dolphin language help us communicate with ET?

NeRD

There are creatures here on Earth that may give us clues on getting “chat-time” with extraterrestrial intelligence — dolphins, which are famously social and smart. Recently, the Coller Dolittle Challenge awarded the winner of its first $100,000 annual prize to accelerate progress toward interspecies two-way communication. A prize of equal value will be awarded every year until a team deciphers the secret to interspecies communication. This year’s winning team of researchers has discovered that dolphin whistles could function like words — with mutually understood, context-specific meaning. You may like Crack…

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Watch SpaceX’s 32nd Cargo Dragon spacecraft undock from the ISS today

NeRD

Live 4K video of Earth and space: 24/7 Livestream of Earth by Sen’s 4K video cameras on the ISS – YouTube Watch On A SpaceX cargo Dragon is scheduled to depart the International Space Station (ISS) today (May 22), after about a month docked with the orbital laboratory. NASA will livestream the undocking on its NASA+ streaming platform. You can also watch the action in the window above via Sen’s 4k 24/7 high-definition cameras, which are mounted on the station’s exterior. Dragon is scheduled to undock at 12:05 p.m. EDT…

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National Air and Space Museum to reveal more renovated galleries on July 28

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From John Glenn’s Friendship 7 to Blue Origin’s New Shepard, space capsules and more are set to return to or debut on display with the opening of five “reimagined” galleries at the National Air and Space Museum this summer. As part of a still on-going, seven-year renovation of the museum’s flagship building in Washington, the Smithsonian has announced that it is ready to premiere more of its exhibitions following the reveal of eight of its halls on the building’s west end in 2022. The next launch, scheduled for July 28,…

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Watch India launch its 2nd space mission of the year tonight

NeRD

ISRO’s 101st Launch | PSLV-C61 / EOS-09 | 18 May 2025 – YouTube Watch On India will launch an Earth-observing radar satellite tonight (May 17) on the nation’s second mission of 2025, and you can watch the action live. The Indian Space Research Organisation‘s (ISRO) EOS-09 spacecraft is scheduled to lift off atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre tonight at 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT and 5:59 a.m. India Standard Time on Sunday, May 18). You can watch the launch live here at…

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Launch of Australia’s 1st homegrown orbital rocket delayed indefinitely due to payload fairing issue

NeRD

We’ll have to wait a bit longer for the first-ever launch of an Australian orbital rocket. Queensland-based company Gilmour Space had aimed to debut its Eris rocket today (May 15), but a problem with the vehicle’s payload fairing scuttled that plan. “Last night, during final checks, an unexpected issue triggered the rocket’s payload fairing. No fuel was loaded, no one was hurt, and early inspections show no damage to the rocket or pad,” Gilmour Space said via X this afternoon. You may like “We’ll send a replacement fairing from our…

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