On 8 September 2024, the first of four Cluster satellites will return home and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere in an uncontrolled ‘targeted reentry’ over a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean.
Space News & Blog Articles
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What time does SpaceX's Polaris Dawn private spacewalk mission launch?
What time does SpaceX's Polaris Dawn private spacewalk mission launch?
Rare Milky Way star cluster is packed with red supergiants 1 million times brighter than the sun
Many red supergiant monster stars lurk in a Milky Way cluster astronomers have discovered with the Gaia space telescope. The cluster, Barbá 2, could help understand why some stars become black holes.
This is ESA: your perfect introduction to what Europe does in space
This is ESA: your perfect introduction to what Europe does in space
The Big Fringe Telescope. A 2.2 KILOMETER Telescope on the Cheap. And it Can Make Exoplanet “Movies”.
Can a kilometer-scale telescope help conduct more efficient science, and specifically for the field of optical interferometry? This is what a recently submitted study hopes to address as a pair of researchers propose the Big Fringe Telescope (BFT), which is slated to comprise 16 telescopes 0.5-meter in diameter and will be equivalent to a telescope at 2.2 kilometers in diameter. What makes BFT unique is its potential to create real-time exoplanet “movies” like the movies featuring Venus transiting our Sun, along with significantly reduced construction costs compared to current ground-based optical interferometers.
Physicists find superconductor behavior at temperatures once thought 'impossible'
Scientists have observed an unexpected new behavior in a superconducting material. If physicists can figure out the cause, it could help them to find room-temperature superconductors.
NASA challenged the public to make 'deep space food' — here are the winners
Three U.S. teams in NASA's Deep Space Food Finale won a combination of $1.25 million for developing delicious and safe food for astronauts.
What Makes a Supercluster?
By eye, it’s impossible to pick out the exact boundaries of the superclusters, which are among the largest structures in the universe. But that’s because they are not defined by their edges, but by the common motion of their components.
How SpaceX's historic Polaris Dawn private spacewalk will work
SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission, which is scheduled to launch on Aug. 27, will feature the first-ever private spacewalk. Here's what to expect.
Where can I see the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026?
The total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026, will pass over parts of Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Portugal and Spain.
Neutron Star Mergers Could Be Producing Quark Matter
When neutron stars dance together, the grand smash finale they experience might create the densest known form of matter known in the Universe. It’s called “quark matter, ” a highly weird combo of liberated quarks and gluons. It’s unclear if the stuff existed in their cores before the end of their dance. However, in the wild aftermath a neutron-star merger, the strange conditions could free quarks and gluons from protons and neutrons. That lets them move around freely in the aftermath. So, researchers want to know how freely they move and what conditions might impede their motion (or flow).
Live coverage: SpaceX to static fire test its Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for the Polaris Dawn astronaut mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Launch Complex 39A, ready to support the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission. Image: SpaceX
The SpaceX and Polaris Dawn teams are working towards some of the final big tests before they are ready to launch the historic commercial mission.
Chinese Researchers Devise New Strategy for Producing Water on the Moon
In the coming years, China and Roscosmos plan to create the International Lunar Research PStation (ILRSP), a permanent base in the Moon’s southern polar region. Construction of the base will begin with the delivery of the first surface elements by 2030 and is expected to last until about 2040. This base will rival NASA’s Artemis Program, which will include the creation of the Lunar Gateway in orbit around the Moon and the various surface elements that make up the Artemis Base Camp. In addition to the cost of building these facilities, there are many considerable challenges that need to be addressed first.
NASA rules out bringing astronauts home on Boeing’s Starliner
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, seen from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Image: NASA.
After weeks of debate, NASA has ruled out bringing two astronauts back to Earth aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule because of lingering concerns about multiple helium leaks and degraded thrusters, both critical to a successful re-entry, officials said Saturday.
Boeing Starliner astronauts will return home on a SpaceX Dragon in 2025, NASA confirms
NASA decided Saturday (Aug. 24) to return its two Boeing Starliner astronauts to Earth in February 2025. Their Starliner capsule will come back empty over thruster concerns.
Is Science Slowing Down?
Paradoxically, even though we produce more scientific output than ever before – each year, researchers around the world publish millions of academic papers – the pace of scientific discovery is slowing down.
Quantum data beamed alongside 'classical data' in the same fiber-optic connection for the 1st time
Scientists have transmitted quantum and conventional internet data through the same fiber-optic channel, meaning a future quantum internet could theoretically use existing infrastructure.
Live coverage: NASA to announce final determination on how to conclude Starliner Crew Flight Test
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test Commander and Pilot respectively, inspect safety hardware aboard the International Space Station. Image: NASA
NASA is at a crossroads when it comes to the conclusion of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test. The agency is set to announce its decision on whether or not to return NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams on Starliner as originally intended or on a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn mission will set altitude record for female astronauts
Two women astronauts on Polaris Dawn are set to break an altitude record set in 1990. Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon will fly higher than any female astronaut before them.
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 125 —Back to Space School 2024
On Episode 125 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq chat about the next 9 months in space.
What happens when your warp drive fails? Scientists have the answer
Scientists have "boldly gone" where no one has gone before, discovering what would happen if a faster-than-light warp drive like the one used in Star Trek were to fail.
