The Hubble Space Telescope has gone through its share of gyroscopes in its 34-year history in space. Astronauts replaced the gyros during the last servicing mission in 2009, bringing it back up to six (three with three spares), but they only last so long. Last week, HST went into safe mode because one of the gyros experienced fluctuations in power. NASA paused the telescope’s science operations today to investigate the fluctuations and perhaps come up with a fix.
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Mars exploration, new rockets and more: Interview with ESA chief Josef Aschbacher
Space.com caught up with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher recently to talk about Europe's space plans and priorities going forward.
Everything we know about James Gunn's Superman
James Gunn's Superman reboot kicks off the DC Extended Universe's refresh in 2025.
Sneak peek: Browncoats grab victory in Boom! Studios' upcoming 'Firefly: 'Verses' comic (exclusive)
A sneak peek at Boom! Studios' upcoming "What If?" one-shot, "Firefly: 'Verses."
SpaceX launching 23 Starlink satellites from Florida this evening
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch another batch of the company's Starlink internet satellites today (April 28).
NASA's mission to an ice-covered moon will contain a message between water worlds
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, headed to Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa in October 2024, will carry a laser-etched message that celebrates humanity’s connection to water.
SpaceX's 30th Dragon cargo mission departs the ISS, heads home to Earth
SpaceX's 30th robotic Dragon cargo ship undocked from the International Space Station today (April 28) and headed back home to Earth.
SpaceX launches European Commission’s Galileo satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of Galileo satellites for the European Commission’s constellation lifts off from Launch Complex 39A on April 27, 2024. The last time SpaceX launched an expandable Falcon 9 rocket was back in November 2022, 146 missions ago. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
SpaceX hit some notable milestones with the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. Most notably, the weekend flight marked the first time that the European Commission’s Galileo satellites (similar to the United State’s Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites) launched onboard an American-made rocket and from U.S. soil.
News from the Press Site: Boeing Starliner gets go ahead for Crew Flight Test, communication reestablished with Voyager 1
In this week’s edition of News from the Press Site, Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Tariq Malik, editor-in-chief of Space.com, and Passant Robie, space reporter for Gizmodo. The panel discusses the arrival of the NASA astronauts who will be the first to fly onboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, the reestablishment of contact with the Voyager 1 spacecraft, the 300th Falcon 9 booster landing for SpaceX and much more.
Russia vetoes UN resolution against nuclear weapons in space
Russia's ambassador to the U.N. vetoed a resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan that called upon all nations to never deploy nuclear weapons in outer space.
Beavers are helping fight climate change, satellite data shows
As global warming intensifies droughts, floods and wildfires around the world, scientists in western United States are turning to beavers to help reverse some of the damage.
Astronomers just discovered a comet that could be brighter than most stars when we see it next year. Or will it?
Although it is still more than 18 months from its closest approach to Earth and the sun, comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS already has social media buzzing, with optimistic articles being written about how it could be a spectacular sight.
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 108 — Starliner: Better Late Than Never?
On Episode 108 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk about the long-awaited crew flight test of Boeing's Starliner commercial spacecraft.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will not fly private missions yet, officials say
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is about to make its first launch May 6 with NASA astronauts on board. Unlike SpaceX, however, Boeing has not yet announced any private missions.
SpaceX launching Falcon 9 rocket on record-tying 20th mission today
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a European satellite-navigation mission today (April 27). It will be the record-tying 20th liftoff for this particular booster.
Einstein Probe opens its wide eyes to the X-ray sky
The first images captured by the innovative mission were presented at the 7th workshop of the Einstein Probe consortium in Beijing. They illustrate the satellite’s full potential and show that its novel optics, which mimic a lobster’s eyes, are ready to monitor the X-ray sky. The space X-ray telescope zoomed in on a few well-known celestial objects to give us a hint of what the mission is capable of.
Astronomers Will Get Gravitational Wave Alerts Within 30 Seconds
Any event in the cosmos generates gravitational waves, the bigger the event, the more disturbance. Events where black holes and neutron stars collide can send out waves detectable here on Earth. It is possible that there can be an event in visible light when neutron stars collide so to take advantage of every opportunity an early warning is essential. The teams at LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observatories are working on an alert system that will alert astronomers within 30 seconds fo a gravity wave event. If warning is early enough it may be possible to identify the source and watch the after glow.
Next Generation Ion Engines Will Be Extremely Powerful
During the Space Race, scientists in both the United States and the Soviet Union investigated the concept of ion propulsion. Like many early Space Age proposals, the concept was originally explored by luminaries like Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Hermann Oberth – two of the “forefathers of rocketry.” Since then, the technology has been validated repeatedly by missions like the Deep Space-1 (DS-1) technology demonstrator, the ESA’s Smart-1 lunar orbiter, JAXA’s Hayabusa and Hayabysa 2 satellites, and NASA’s Dawn mission.
Neutron Stars Could be Capturing Primordial Black Holes
The Milky Way has a missing pulsar problem in its core. Astronomers have tried to explain this for years. One of the more interesting ideas comes from a team of astronomers in Europe and invokes dark matter, neutron stars, and primordial black holes (PBHs).
Watch 2 gorgeous supernova remnants evolve over 20 years (timelapse video)
These supernova remnants are moving at extraordinary speeds only visible to us in long-term timelapses.
US Space Force picks Rocket Lab for 2025 Victus Haze space domain awareness mission
A recent $32 million contract between the U.S. Space Force and Rocket Lab will lead to the creation of a spacecraft to enhance national security supporting space domain awareness.
