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Space News & Blog Articles
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SpaceX will launch a classified spy satellite on a new Falcon 9 rocket today and you can watch it live
A new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a classified spy satellite for the United States today (Feb. 2). Watch it online here.
Finally, a Practical use for Space-Based Power Beaming. Sending Power to Satellites in Shade
Power beaming is one of those technologies that can completely change the world. Almost unlimited power wherever it is needed, whenever it’s needed, is literally a technology straight out of science fiction. Researchers have been working on the technology for decades at this point, but there has been little commercial headway so far, so what is holding this revolutionary technology up? A “killer app” would certainly help move it along – and that is what a team from Space Power, a private company, and the University of Surrey think they have found in the form of powering other microsatellites.
NASA lays out plan for the International Space Station's final years
NASA just released a report outlining the big-picture goals for the rest of the orbiting lab's operational life, which is expected to end with a controlled deorbit in January 2031.
Watch NASA astronaut Victor Glover and colleagues talk space station research today
This will be the third virtual 'Destination Station' session.
Tom Cruise asks NASA astronaut Victor Glover all about spaceflight (video)
"Top Gun" star Tom Cruise and NASA astronaut Victor Glover bonded virtually over fast planes and SpaceX spaceships in a wide-ranging conversation about astronaut training.
The mission to reduce the carbon footprint of astronomy
Astronomy is one of the most power-hungry science disciplines, but astronomers are committed to curb their large carbon footprint to survive in the climate-anxious future.
Roof of the satnav world
Image: Roof of the satnav world
Astronomers Finally Find a Second Asteroid in Earth’s Trojan Belt
Earth has a new companion. Asteroid 2020 XL5, a newly discovered kilometer-wide carbonaceous space rock, has been discovered at Earth’s L4 Lagrange point – a place where the gravitational forces of Earth and the Sun balance out, creating a stable point in which objects can become trapped. A new paper published this week in Nature Communications confirms that 2020 XL5 will be stuck at L4 for at least another 4000 years, shepherded silently through the Solar System by the gravitational tug of our home planet.
Photos: SpaceX launches Italian COSMO-SkyMed radar satellite
A spectacular launch from Cape Canaveral just after sunset Monday delivered to orbit Italy’s second satellite in a new generation of COSMO-SkyMed radar remote sensing spacecraft. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket put on a memorable sky show over Florida’s Space Coast during its climb into space and return to Earth.
'The Book of Boba Fett' chapter 5 is an incredible episode of 'The Mandalorian'
We'd hoped Boba Fett would've had a deeper story rather than simply serve to set up the third season of "The Mandalorian."
SpaceX set to launch top secret spy payload from California
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sits horizontal at Space Launch Complex 4-East on Tuesday ahead of a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Credit: Brian Sandoval / Spaceflight Now
A classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is closed up in the nose cone of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff Wednesday from California’s Central Coast, debuting a brand new booster that will land back near the launch site for reuse on another national security mission later this year.
A Chinese Space Tug Just Grappled a Dead Satellite
A Chinese satellite pulled a defunct navigation satellite out of the way of other satellites on January 22nd. The satellite, called SJ-21, appeared to operate as a space tug when it grappled onto the navigation satellite from the Chinese CompassG2 network. The operation details didn’t come from Chinese authorities but a report by ExoAnalytic Solutions, a commercial space monitoring company.
Powerful solar flare from recent sun eruption should reach Earth Wednesday
A powerful solar flare has been traveling through space and it will arrive at planet Earth Wednesday (Feb. 2).
New Milky Way mosaic reveals nearly 1,000 strange 'filaments' at the heart of our galaxy
A detailed new telescope image of the heart of our galaxy is now giving researchers their best view yet of hundreds of strange magnetic filaments seen nowhere else.
Mars rover Perseverance collects new sample after clearing pebble clog
NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has snagged a sample to replace the material that got stuck in its throat.
SpaceX's next Starlink mission may fly Wednesday, setting up rocket launch doubleheader
SpaceX appears to be targeting Wednesday (Feb. 2) to fly its next batch of Starlink satellites, setting up what could be a coast-to-coast launch doubleheader.
Space shuttle Challenger and the disaster that changed NASA forever
Space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986, changing NASA's space program forever.
China’s Rover Finds That Regolith on the Moon’s far-Side is Stickier Than the Near-Side
We’re never able to see the far side of the moon from the Earth, but that doesn’t mean it’s that different. Recently rovers and satellites have started exploring the lesser-known side of the moon. They found a slightly different geology than that discovered on the near side, which might have implications for navigating the far side in the future.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope turns on cameras to look at first star target
Spacecraft controllers started powering up James Webb Space Telescope's four cutting-edge instruments as they prepare to take test images of the first star.
Earth has an extra moon, a Trojan asteroid that will hang around for 4,000 years
In 2020, astronomers thought they'd found something incredible: the second so-called Earth Trojan asteroid ever seen. Now, a new team of researchers has confirmed that it's real.
