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Ariane 6 media briefing – September 2023

Video: 01:00:57

Watch the replay of the media briefing and the question-and-answer session outlining the progress achieved and the upcoming steps in the Ariane 6 development test campaign. Updates are given on tests conducted at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and at the German Aerospace Center DLR’s technical centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany.

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The European Space Agency has a transparency problem — but it's completely legal

When it comes to disclosing information and informing taxpayers how it handles their money, the European Space Agency has far fewer obligations than NASA. But is such status justified?

See the moon meet up with Jupiter in the night sky tonight

The moon will meet up with Jupiter throughout the night on Sept. 4, making a close approach to the solar system's largest planet in the night sky.

SpaceX's Crew-6 astronauts splash down after 6-month stay on ISS

The SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, Sultan AlNeyadi and Andrey Fedyaev are back on Earth, having each completed their first long-duration spaceflight on the ISS.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket counting down to SpaceX’s record-breaking 62nd launch of the year

SpaceX rolled out a Falcon 9 Sunday for a record-breaking 62nd launch of the year. Image: Spaceflight Now.

A Falcon 9 rocket is being readied Sunday for a record-breaking 62nd orbital launch of the year for SpaceX. The previous record was set in 2022 with 61 launches by the company. Liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, with 21 Starlink satellites aboard, is currently targeted for 9:56 p.m. EDT (0156 UTC).

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A Bizarre Pulsar Switches Between Two Brightness Modes. Astronomers Finally Figured Out Why.

Pulsars are the lighthouses of the universe. These rotating dead stars shoot twin jets of radiation from their poles, usually with a predictable rhythm. But sometimes pulsars behave strangely, and one pulsar in particular has had astronomers scratching their heads for years. It’s called PSR J1023+0038, and a decade ago, it shut off its jets and began oscillating between two brightness levels in an unpredictable pattern. Now, scientists think they understand why: it is busy eating a neighboring star.

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The Closest Supernova Seen in the Modern Era, Examined by JWST

In November of 1572, Tycho Brahe noticed a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was the first supernova to be observed in detail by Western astronomers and became known as Tycho’s Supernova. Earlier supernovae had been observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers, but Tycho’s observations demonstrated to the Catholic world that the stars were not constant and unchanging as Aristotle presumed. Just three decades later, in 1604, Johannes Kepler watched a supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus brighten and fade. There have been no observed supernovae in the Milky Way since then.

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India's Chandrayaan-3 landed on the south pole of the moon − a space policy expert explains what this means for India and the global race to the moon

India made history as the first country to land near the south pole of the moon with its Chandrayaan-3 lander on Aug. 23, 2023. This also makes it the first country to land on the moon since China in 2020.

Did 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'' second season overdo the gimmicks?

With a "Lower Decks" crossover, a musical episode and lots of James T. Kirk, Captain Pike and his crew couldn't move for novelty episodes.

Taking out the trash: Here's how private companies could be vital for space debris removal

Space debris is becoming a major issue for both private companies and space agencies. But estimates of how much troublesome litter is actually in orbit are daunting and tricky to make.

Watch SpaceX launch 21 Starlink satellites tonight

SpaceX will launch 21 more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit tonight (Sept. 3), and you can watch the action live.

Boom's supersonic jet moves toward debut flight (photos)

Boom Technology's XB-1 supersonic jet has passed key milestones on the path to its historic first flight.

West Coast Falcon 9 launches 13 demonstration satellites for military mega-constellation

A double-exposure captures the launch of a Falcon 9 on a mission for the Space Development Agency and its landing seven and half minutes later. Image: SpaceX.

A Falcon 9 rocket launched 13 demonstration satellites for a planned U.S. military mega-constellation from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday. It was the 61st orbital launch of the year for SpaceX.

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Is Humanity Ready to Realize the Dream of Interstellar Travel?

For generations, humans have dreamed, speculated, and theorized about the possibility of journeying to distant stars, finding habitable planets around them, and settling down. In time, the children of these bold adventurers would create a new civilization and perhaps even meet the children of Earth. People could eventually journey from one world to another, cultures would mix, and trade and exchanges would become a regular feature. The potential for growth that would come from these exchanges – intellectually, socially, politically, technologically, and economically – would be immeasurable.

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Watch SpaceX's Crew-6 Dragon depart ISS with 4 astronauts aboard on Sept. 3 after delay

SpaceX's Crew-6 astronaut mission will head home to Earth from the International Space Station on Sunday morning (Sept. 3), and you can watch the action live.

Astronomers are Hoping the Event Horizon Telescope saw Pulsars Near the Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

Millisecond pulsars are amazing astronomical tools. They are fast-rotating neutron stars that sweep beams of radio energy from their magnetic poles, and when they are aligned just right we see them as rapidly flashing radio beacons. They flash with such regularity that we can treat them as cosmic clocks. Any change in their motion can be measured with extreme precision. Astronomers have used millisecond pulsars to measure their orbital decay due to gravitational waves and to observe the background gravitational rumblings of the universe. They have even been proposed as a method of celestial navigation. They may soon also be able to test the most fundamental nature of gravity.

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NASA's Ingenuity helicopter flies on Mars for the 56th time

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter flew for the 56th time last week, staying aloft for nearly 2.5 minutes on a sortie that covered 1,344 feet (410 meters) of ground.

India tests parachutes for Gaganyaan crew capsule using a rocket sled (video)

Last month, India tested the parachute system for its Gaganyaan crew capsule using a rocket-powered sled. See footage of the action.

Trial by fire for Ariane 6’s upper stage

Video: 00:01:01

On 1 September 2023 ESA’s all-new Ariane 6 launch vehicle fired its two upper stage engines to simulate the way they will have to operate together at German aerospace agency DLR’s engine test centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany. The test – of the new Vinci engine and a smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) – took place on a purpose-built test bench.

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