WASHINGTON The European Space Agency has selected one of the continent’s largest space companies and one of its best-funded startups for research contracts that could lead to commercial payloads and crew vehicles. ESA announced on May 22 that it has awarded contracts worth about 25 million euros ($27 million) each to Thales Alenia Space and … Read more
For generations, Space Coast roads have been clogged with empty vehicles when hundreds of thousands of spectators flock to watch high-profile launches, such as when up to 250,000 out-of-county visitors were expected for NASA’s historic SpaceX Crew-1 astronaut mission. in November 2020. But in general, the crush of drivers has decreased. Brevard County hosted a … Read more
BOULDER The upcoming Artemis moon crew missions, which will send astronauts beyond the protective cocoon of Earth’s magnetic field, are prompting a look at the rules of flight and sharpening space weather forecasting skills. Our planets atmosphere and magnetic field protect us from the steady stream of radiation and charged particles emitted by the Sun. … Read more
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) SpaceX has filed a request that would allow another Starship launch while earlier disaster investigations are still open. The FAA is currently investigating the third Starship test flight, similar to the investigations that were launched after the first two tests. In a statement sent to ValleyCentral, the FAA stated that on April … Read more
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 for the 21st time on Friday with a launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, breaking their record set just 35 days earlier. It took just 35 days for Booster 1062 to take to the skies again to help send 23 V2 mini Starlink … Read more
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket lifted off from its launch site in West Texas on Sunday, carrying a crew of seven on a short hop to space and back. This was the first crewed mission for Blue Origin since September 2022 after the loss of a vehicle on an uncrewed flight when a nozzle failure … Read more
The spacecraft is now beyond the distance of Mars and is using ion propulsion to accelerate toward a metal-rich asteroid, where it will orbit and collect science data. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft passed its six-month checkup with a clean bill of health, and there are no snags now. Navigators are firing up its futuristic-looking electric thrusters, … Read more
The interstellar clouds of distant, ancient galaxies are often filled with carbon. That means, if astronomers can track down and detect these bits of carbon, which they call neutral carbon absorbers, they can learn a lot about how galaxies evolve. However, actually detecting neutral carbon absorbers—a process that usually involves finding the signature fingerprint of … Read more
The US says Russia launched a satellite last week that it believes may be able to attack other such probes. “Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we assess is likely to be an anti-space weapon,” Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said Tuesday evening. It was in the “same orbit” as a US … Read more