The first test flight of Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha launch vehicle ended in a fiery explosion. Credit: Gene Blevins / LA Daily News.
The first test flight of Firefly Aerospace’s privately-developed Alpha small satellite launcher ended in a fiery failure soon after liftoff Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Firefly Aerospace suffered a catastrophic failure during the first-ever launch of its Alpha rocket on Sept 2, 2021.
Perseverance has likely snagged its first-ever Red Planet sample, socking away a drilled-out core of a rock dubbed "Rochette."
Virgin Orbit has passed an FAA environmental review for future rocket launches from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
SpaceX's newest drone ship, "A Shortfall of Gravitas" (ASOG) arrived in port Tuesday (Aug. 31) with its first catch secured to its deck.
Home movies from astronauts offer a glimpse inside Russia's new Nauka space station module.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The live webcast of Firefly’s first launch attempt, provided by Everyday Astronaut, is set to begin one hour before launch. If launch remains set for 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT; 0100 GMT), the live stream will begin at 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. EDT; 0000 GMT).
Unity 23 will carry Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei and Lt. Col. Angelo Landolfi, as well as aerospace engineer Pantaleone Carlucci, a scientist with the Italian National Research Council.
At one time, the idea of sending humans to Mars either seemed like a distant prospect or something out of science fiction. But with multiple space agencies and even commercial space companies planning to mount missions in the coming decade, the day when humans will go to Mars is fast approaching the point of realization. Before this can happen, several issues need to be resolved first, including a myriad of technical and human factors.
Supply chains have been wreaking havoc across the industrial world. The complex web that holds the world’s economies together has been fraying at the edges, resulting in some unexpected shortages, such as a lack of rental cars in Alaska and a lack of Lunchables at the author’s local grocery store. Now there’s a supply shortage that directly ties to the pandemic that is starting to affect the space launch industry – oxygen.
Astronomers have uncovered evidence of explosions triggered by dead stars ramming into live stars, possible proof of a new type of supernova, a new study finds.
A new theory suggests dark matter may have come from quantum bags that got squished together in the early universe.
These planets are mostly made of gas, but a spaceship would have a rough time trying to get through a giant planet like Jupiter or Saturn.
Astronauts living and working on the International Space Station continue to monitor fires burning across California during a particularly serious fire season.
The classic TIE Fighter is a fan favorite, and it’s an easy build that will suit younger Lego enthusiasts well
Firefly Aerospace plans to launch its first-ever orbital mission this evening (Sept. 2), and you can watch the action live.
A citizen scientist's lucky discovery of an eccentric brown dwarf illustrates the tantalizing borderline between stars and planets.
Vesta, a massive world in the solar system's asteroid belt, sports two huge trough features that have long puzzled scientists, and it doesn't look like the mystery will be solved anytime soon.
After many technical and programmatic challenges, the first satellite of the next generation of the Meteosat family has taken a major step towards its first flight, currently scheduled for launch in autumn 2022.
It appears that the International Space Station is showing its age. Or, at least, the older modules that have been in space since 1998 certainly are. According to statements made by a senior Russian space official, cosmonauts aboard the ISS have discovered new cracks in the Functional Cargo Block (FCB) module – aka. Zarya (“Dawn”). These cracks were found in seven of the module’s twenty windows and could eventually threaten the entire station.
The flight could have ended very badly.
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