SpaceX's Crew-5 astronaut mission for NASA remains on target to launch next week, provided Mother Nature cooperates.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Hera team congratulates NASA asteroid impactors
ESA’s Hera mission team congratulates their counterparts in NASA’s DART mission team for their historic impact with the Dimorphos asteroid. Moving at 6.1 km per second, the vending-machine-sized Double Asteroid Redirect Test spacecraft struck the 160-m diameter asteroid at 01:15 CEST (00:15 BST) in the early hours of Tuesday morning, in humankind’s first test of the ‘kinetic impactor’ method of planetary defence.
NASA crashes DART spacecraft into asteroid in world's 1st planetary defense test
For the first time in history, a spacecraft from Earth has crashed into an asteroid to test a way to save our planet from extinction.
Live coverage: NASA’s DART spacecraft on course to slam into asteroid tonight
Live coverage of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART mission. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
NASA TV coverage
Live feed from NASA's DART spacecraft
'Quantum Leap' jumps into space shuttle history in 'Atlantis' on NBC
Something in space shuttle history needs changing. Or that seems to be case in the episode "Atlantis" of "Quantum Leap," which finds Ben Song headed into orbit on the space shuttle Atlantis.
When will we know how much DART changed the orbit of asteroid Dimorphos?
It will take days to weeks for astronomers to confirm whether or not NASA's asteroid smasher DART changed the orbit of its target, asteroid Dimorphos.
SpaceX rocket launch with Starlink fleet thrills stargazers along US East Coast
SpaceX's launch of 52 more Starlink satellites was visible all along the East Coast of the United States, generating footage of Saturday's sunset launch.
See the mighty Delta IV Heavy rocket's final West Coast launch in these stunning photos
The massive United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket put on a show in its last flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Why DART is a mover and shaker in asteroid planetary defense: NASA science chief
NASA will slam the DART spacecraft into an asteroid for target practice to get ready for the next big hit, but don't worry: nothing big is set to come at us for the next 100 years.
Rocket doubleheader: China launches 2 satellite missions 40 hours apart (video)
China just launched two missions less than 40 hours apart, sending three satellites to Earth orbit.
DART asteroid smasher's tiny companion spots Earth and stars (photos)
The DART spacecraft's tiny companion is ready to photograph a brand-new impact site Monday night (Sept. 26).
Hurricane Ian prompts NASA to move Artemis moon rocket back to its hangar
NASA’s crawler transporter moves into position near pad 39B on Saturday to prepare for the rollback of the Artemis 1 moon rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Faced with threatening weather from Hurricane Ian, NASA managers decided Monday to haul the $4.1 billion Artemis 1 rocket off its launch pad and back to the protection of the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building, likely ending any chance of launching the unpiloted moonshot before November.
NASA said in a blog post the decision was made “after additional data gathered overnight did not show improving expected conditions for the Kennedy Space Center area. The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system.”
After two launch scrubs August 29 and September 3 due to hydrogen leaks and other issues, NASA carried out on-pad repairs and targeted a third attempt for Tuesday. But then-Tropical Storm Ian forced NASA to pass that up in favor of a backup opportunity October 2.
Over the weekend, NASA managers monitored the strengthening storm while engineers began rollback preparations, but a final decision was put off until Monday in hopes the forecast would improve enough to preserve the backup launch opportunity. Early Monday, those hopes were dashed, with forecasters predicting torrential rain, lightning and high winds in Brevard County later this week.
The decision was the latest in a series of setbacks for the 330-foot-tall rocket, the most powerful ever built for NASA and the linchpin in the agency’s Artemis moon program.
Asteroid apocalypse: How big must a space rock be to end human civilization?
How big a space rock must be to no longer be just a mesmerizing sight? What size is big enough to wreck a whole city? And a continent? And what else does the damage depend on?
This Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope is £50 off
The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 6 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope is a very handy telescope and you can now save £50.
Artemis 1 will roll off launch pad to ride out Hurricane Ian
Artemis 1 will begin rolling back from the launch pad on Monday (Aug. 26) to seek out shelter in NASA's nearby Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida.
Lego unveils brand new $600 Ultimate Collector Series Razor Crest set
There's a new addition to the Lego Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series line: the biggest ever Razor Crest model - as seen in The Mandalorian.
Acid lake atop real-life 'Mount Doom' captured in striking new image from space station
An astronaut's photo of Mount Ruapehu, the real-life "Mount Doom" volcano shows the contrast between the hydrothermal lake at its summit and the snow surrounding its peak.
50 million tons of water vapor from Tonga's eruption could warm Earth for years
The explosive Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic event spewed so much moisture that it increased the global average of atmospheric water vapor by 5%.
Jupiter at Opposition 2022, Closest in 59 Years
Be sure to observe Jupiter this week, during its finest apparition of a lifetime.
You’ve never seen Jove like this. Jupiter opposition season for 2022 is upon us tonight, as the King of the Planet shines rising in the east opposite to the setting Sun in the west. This is the very best time to catch Jupiter and its retinue of moons, as they dominate the sky throughout the night. And although Jupiter reaches opposition as seen from the Earth nearly every year, this one is special as it’s the closest to the Earth in our lifetimes, and the nearest for the 21st century.
In fact, at 591 million kilometers (367 million miles) this is the closest approach of Jupiter to the Earth in 59 years, just shy of the average ~600 million kilometers usually quoted for opposition. You have to go alllll the way back to October 8, 1963 to find one closer. In fact, tonight’s opposition won’t be topped until (mark your calendars) next century, on October 7th, 2129. Tonight and for the remainder of the 2022 opposition season, Jove shines at a bright magnitude -2.9 and presents a disk 49.9” across.
Jupiter currently sits in the constellation of Pisces the Fishes, next the northward equinoctial point. Jove also crosses the celestial equator northward today, just nine hours prior to opposition. This means that future oppositions will now begin to favor the northern hemisphere until late 2028.
Looking east tonight on September 26th. Credit: Stellarium.The orbit of Jupiter versus Earth in 2022 both conspire to make this opposition a close one. We just passed aphelion for Earth in July, and Jupiter passes opposition today on September 26th, 2022 at ~19:00 UT/3:00 PM EDT… just four months prior to perihelion.
The summer solstice: When is it and what causes it?
The summer solstice marks the start of astronomical summer and the longest day of the year. Here we explore when the summer solstice occurs and why.
