In 2014, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) dispatched its Hayabusa2 spacecraft to rendezvous with 162173 Ryugu, a Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) that periodically passes close to Earth. In 2018, this sample-return mission reached Ryugu and spent the next year and a half studying its surface and obtaining samples from its surface and subsurface. By 2020, these samples made it back to Earth, where scientists began analyzing them in the hopes of learning more about the early history of the Solar System and answering key questions about the origins of life.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Astronomers Watched a “Near-Sun” Comet Disintegrate as it Flew too Close to the Sun
Comets that venture close to the Sun can transform into something beautiful, but sometimes they encounter incineration if they get too close. Of the various types of comets that orbit close to the Sun, astronomers had never seen the destruction of the type classified as “near-Sun” comets. But thanks to a variety of telescopes on summit of Mauna Kea in Hawai?i, scientists have now captured images of a periodic rocky near-Sun comet breaking apart. They say the disintegration of this comet could help explain the scarcity of such periodic near-Sun comets.
Solar System Gets its Ducks in a Row
We'll have not one but many opportunities to enjoy a rare lineup of the bright planets over the next few weeks. Amazingly, they'll be aligned in order of their distance from the Sun.
Live coverage: NASA runs another countdown rehearsal for SLS moon rocket
Live coverage of the wet dress rehearsal for the Space Launch System on NASA’s Artemis 1 mission. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
SFN Live
ESA to wow the Berlin International Airshow
Crowds at the Berlin International Airshow – which will focus on innovation, new technology and sustainability – are set to be wowed by space.
Once Again, Galaxies Look Surprisingly Mature Shortly After the Beginning of the Universe
A young galaxy with the catchy, roll-off-the-tongue name A1689-zD1 has experts in galactic formation talking. Recent observations show that this galaxy, seen as it would have looked just 700 million years after the Big Bang, is larger than initially believed, with significant outflows of hot gas from its core, and a halo of cold gas emanating from its outer rim. A1689-zD1 is considered representative of young ‘normal’ galaxies (as opposed to ‘massive’ galaxies), and the new observations suggest that the adolescence of normal galaxies may be more rambunctious than previous models suggest.
'Obi-Wan Kenobi' episode 5: The force unleashed
Old Ben’s penultimate outing isn’t perfect, but it sets the stage for a high-stakes season finale and delivers a couple of moments fans have been clamoring to see.
International Space Station dodges orbital debris from Russian anti-satellite test
A piece of Russian space junk forced the International Space Station to steer clear to avoid a chance encounter with orbital debris on Thursday (June 16).
Robotics expert Robin Murphy explains why 'Star Wars' robots don't reflect reality
The sci-fi droids in the Star Wars TV shows The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett are super cool, but don't reflect robotics reality.
Hubble Space Telescope starstruck by a mysterious globular cluster (photo)
NASA/ESA releases a new photo of the enigmatic globular cluster Ruprecht 106
NASA's Lucy mission adds 9th asteroid to its list of attractions
NASA's Lucy mission has gained a new destination: a tiny asteroid that's orbiting one of its original target asteroids.
Newly spotted asteroid near Venus earns name from Pauma band of Native Americans
Scientists at the Palomar Observatory turned to the Pauma band, upon whose ancestral lands the facility sits, to name the asteroid, now dubbed 'Ayló'chaxnim, or 'Venus girl.'
SpaceX launches third Falcon 9 rocket in less than two days
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with the Globalstar FM15 satellite. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX hauled a Globalstar communications satellite into orbit early Sunday from Cape Canaveral, pulling off the third Falcon 9 rocket flight in 36 hours, the fastest sequence of three missions
Live coverage: SpaceX counting down to midnight hour launch from Cape Canaveral
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with the Globalstar FM15 voice and data relay satellite. Follow us on Twitter.
NASA tries again to complete moon rocket’s practice countdown
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION
The moon hangs in the sky behind NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System moon rocket on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA/Ben SmegelskyCountdown clocks began ticking Saturday for NASA’s fourth attempt to complete a dress-rehearsal countdown and fueling test of its Space Launch System moon rocket, a requirement before the huge booster can be cleared for launch on its long-awaited maiden flight.
“There’s nobody that wants to get through this more than the EGS (Exploration Ground Systems) team, and all of our teams … to get this vehicle tanked, understand where we get to in the terminal count and then get back … out for launch,” said Jim Free, director of exploration development at NASA Headquarters.
The countdown began at 5:30 p.m. EDT and if all goes well, the two-day test will tick into its final hours Monday morning when engineers plan to remotely load the rocket’s first and second stages with three quarters of a million gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel.
Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and her team plan to count down to T-minus 33 seconds and then carry out a recycle that will mimic an unplanned hold before counting all the way down to just inside T-minus 10 seconds. At that point, just before the rocket’s four main engines would begin their start-up sequence in an actual launch, computers will stop the test.
The goal is to make sure complex launch control software, the rocket’s electrical, mechanical and propellant systems, along with their interfaces with launch pad support equipment, will work together as required to safely launch the most powerful booster ever built for NASA.
Those complexities were on display in three previous attempts to fuel the SLS as engineers ran into problems with launch pad subsystems, unexpected propellant temperature and pressure excursions, a jammed upper stage helium valve and leaks in a fitting that connects a hydrogen fuel line to the rocket’s first stage.
Originally hauled out to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on March 18, NASA moved the 330-foot-tall SLS rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building on April 25 to replace the helium valve, fix the hydrogen leak and carry out several other upgrades and improvements.
Hydrogen leaks are notoriously hard to pinpoint and eliminate because they typically don’t show up until the hardware is exposed to cryogenic temperatures. But Free is optimistic that work to tighten up a flange in the fuel line connector has resolved the problem.
“We fixed some things we saw around the area where we saw the leak, including going back to some of the procedures we used and the know how from the shuttle days, which we really benefited from,” he said. “Obviously, we won’t know the results of that until we actually flow the liquid hydrogen at the pad.
“We also worked on some of the loading procedures,” he continued. “We saw some things with LOX (liquid oxygen) and hydrogen that our team was actually able to go back in (and) automate those procedures, which we know will help us during the upcoming flow.”
Along with addressing the hydrogen leak, engineers replaced the helium valve after finding a bit of rubber debris lodged in the mechanism. They also modified fueling procedures to eliminate some of the pressure and temperature issues experienced earlier.
Mounted atop a powerful crawler-transporter, the SLS rocket and its mobile launch stage were hauled back out to the launch pad June 6, setting the stage for this weekend’s fourth attempt to complete the rehearsal.
Assuming the test goes well, NASA will move the rocket back to the VAB one more time for final flight preparations.
NASA hopes to finally launch the SLS in late August, boosting an unpiloted Orion crew capsule on a test flight beyond the moon and back. The first piloted mission, a flight carrying four astronauts around the moon, is planned for 2023 with a landing in the 2025 timeframe.
Globalstar hush-hush ahead of launch with SpaceX
SpaceX raised a Falcon 9 rocket vertical on pad 40 Saturday in preparation for launch with the Globalstar FM15 satellite. Credit: SpaceX
Globalstar is set to add a spare spacecraft to its commercial data relay network early Sunday with a launch from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, but the satellite operator remained silent about the mission on the eve of liftoff.
SpaceX launches German military radar satellite from California
A Falcon 9 rocket soars by the moon in the sky over California’s Central Coast, carrying Germany’s SARah 1 military imaging satellite into orbit. Credit: Brian Sandoval / Spaceflight Now
A four-ton, cloud-penetrating radar observation satellite for the German military soared into orbit Saturday from California on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, beginning a 10-year mission to collect all-weather reconnaissance imagery.
Watch SpaceX launch 3rd rocket in 36 hours early Sunday
SpaceX aims to complete a remarkable hat trick early Sunday (June 19), and you can watch the action live.
Fire Acts Strangely in Microgravity. Astronauts Have Lit More Than 1,500 Fires on the Space Station to Figure Out Why
Ever since childhood, we were all told to never play with fire. Despite it being relevant to our everyday lives, to include heating our homes and water, cooking our food, producing electricity, and more, fire is extremely dangerous. We were all indoctrinated more with how to put out fires instead of how to start one. We’ve all been told about its destructive properties if mishandled, and that fire needs to be controlled. One of the perks of adulthood, and especially being a scientist, is you get paid to play with fire. Despite fire’s complexities, there’s still a lot we don’t know about its behavior. With more and more of humanity traveling to space and living in microgravity, it’s important to learn about how fire behaves in this unique environment to better prepare ourselves for worst case scenarios. But what if we could also control fire so it’s not as dangerous and less destructive to the environment back here on Earth?
'Beyond Infinity' launches deep into Buzz Lightyear's history on Disney Plus
The new Disney documentary "Beyond Infinity" showcases the back story of the loveable astronaut known for falling with style: Buzz Lightyear.
Look up! See the moon shine near massive asteroid Vesta this weekend.
The moon will pass main-belt asteroid Vesta this weekend. The pair will be visible to observers using a widefield telescope eyepiece.
