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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SpaceX will launch 21 more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit tonight (Sept. 3), and you can watch the action live.
Boom Technology's XB-1 supersonic jet has passed key milestones on the path to its historic first flight.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Last month, India tested the parachute system for its Gaganyaan crew capsule using a rocket-powered sled. See footage of the action.
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.
India’s first dedicated solar science mission Aditya L1 heads spaceward.
India launched its first dedicated solar probe early Saturday morning (Sept. 2), sending the Aditya-L1 spacecraft skyward to tackle some big sun mysteries.
Poor Russia. They can’t seem to get much right. Their most recent failure is their Luna 25 spacecraft. It was supposed to land near the Moon’s south pole but instead crashed into the surface on August 19th.
Chris Hadfield is a retired Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station (ISS). He gained widespread fame for his social media presence and educational outreach during his time aboard the ISS. Here are some key details about Chris Hadfield:
All Rights Reserved. 2025. SpaceZE.com
