The total lunar eclipse of November 8th favors western North America, but the whole continent will enjoy much of the spectacle, provided skies are clear.
Space News & Blog Articles
Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.
Unlock the secrets of the ice giants with All About Space magazine
All About Space issue 136 explores Neptune and Uranus like never before, taking a peek into the unknown. Explore the latest issue here.
Testing Galileo for space
Video: 00:06:36
Galileo has grown to become Europe’s single largest satellite constellation, and the world’s most accurate satellite navigation system, delivering metre-level positioning to more than 3.5 billion users around the globe.
It all began at ESTEC’s Test Centre, Europe’s largest satellite testing facility. This is where the very first positioning fix took place in March 2013, after the launch into orbit of the initial four IOV satellites. Following that, all 34 Galileo Full Operational Capability satellites also passed by ESTEC for their pre-flight testing.
This 3000 sq. m environmentally-controlled complex, operated and managed by European Test Services for ESA, hosts an array of test equipment able to simulate all aspects of spaceflight, from the noise and vibration of launch to the vacuum and temperature extremes of Earth orbit.
The production line at manufacturer OHB in Germany completed one new satellite every six weeks. After integration each satellite was then shipped to the ESTEC Test Centre for a three-month test campaign, after which it would be accepted by the Agency and declared ready for flight. Some facilities have had to be adapted specifically for Galileo, and the ESTEC Test Centre had to institute new security protocols because this was the first time that satellites with security restrictions were being tested at the site.
Today there are 28 of these Galileo First Generation satellites in service, with 10 more due to be launched in the next years. Upgraded Galileo Second Generation satellites are under development and will follow them into orbit later this decade.
Members of ESA’s Galileo team and ETS look back on this massive testing effort that established Galileo was ready for space.
Leonid meteor shower 2022: When, where & how to see it
The Leonid meteor shower is active between Nov. 3 and Dec. 2 and will peak on Nov. 18, producing up to 15 meteors per hour.
Don't miss the brilliant Taurid meteor shower next week
During a one-week time frame extending from Nov. 5th through Nov. 12, the Taurid meteor shower will be most active.
25 More Years for Webb, LUVOIR and Quantum Telescopes
What’s the current state of James Webb? What were the main technical difficulties and what does the future look like? What comes after JWST and LUVOIR? Will it be possible to ever build quantum telescopes? We’ve got the answers.!
Aquarius constellation: Everything you need to know
Aquarius is a constellation in the Western Zodiac that is best viewed in the fall. The constellation is one of the oldest constellations documented in the historical record.
The Light Show of Jupiter’s Dark Side
The unique vantage point of NASA's Juno spacecraft has revealed a new side to Jupiter's auroras.
US Air Force will unveil its advanced new B-21 Raider stealth bomber on Dec. 2.
On Dec. 2, the world will finally get a glimpse at the B-21 Raider, a new stealth bomber that has been described as "the most advanced military aircraft ever built."
Europe warming twice as fast as rest of the world, new report reveals
The European continent is bearing the brunt of climate change, warming at a rate that is twice as fast as the global average, a new report found.
Watch NASA roll Artemis 1 moon rocket to launch pad early Friday
NASA's Artemis 1 moon rocket will head back to the launch pad once again early Friday morning (Nov. 4), and you can watch the slow-moving action live.
The International Space Station Gets a Clean Bill of Health. Despite a Few Opportunistic Microbes, the Station is “Safe” for Astronauts
In a recent study published in Microbiome, a team of researchers led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory conducted a five-year first-of-its-kind study investigating the microbiome (environmental profile) of the International Space Station (ISS). The purpose of the study was to address “the introduction and proliferation of potentially harmful microorganisms into the microbial communities of piloted spaceflight and how this could affect human health”, according to the paper.
Live coverage: SpaceX counting down to late-night launch for Eutelsat
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13G geostationary communications satellite. Follow us on Twitter.
NASA’s new Glider Could Turn any Airport Into a Spaceport
Getting to space has almost always been a multi-stage process. Those stages typically took the form of different stages of chemical rockets, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Plenty of alternative options have been proposed, and one that NASA has been working on for almost a decade is getting closer to commercialization. The project, known as the Towed-Glider Air Launch System (TGALS), uses three very different stages – a business jet, and glider, and two separate rockets – sort of. But its main advantage means that any airport large enough to host a business jet could also become a spaceport.
Navigation Satellites fly at 23,000 km Altitude. Europe Wants to Build a Constellation That Flies Much, Much Lower
Distances to different orbits can be hard to understand. For example, the ISS sits around 400 kilometers from Earth, whereas some satellites, such as Starlink, orbit at about 550 km. Often that is intentional, as objects in those orbits will eventually degrade their orbit and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. However, many systems orbit a few orders of magnitude higher – such as the Galileo satellites that make up the backbone of the European Union’s satellite navigation network. At an orbit of around 23000 km, it has some advantages over lower-hanging satellites but also plenty of disadvantages too. Now, the EU was to eliminate some of those disadvantages by releasing a whole new set of lower-orbiting satnav satellites.
SpaceX teams in Florida prep for second launch in as many days
An Airbus Beluga cargo plane delivered the Hotbird 13G communications satellite, seen here inside its shipping container, to Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 15. Credit: Airbus
One day after launching a triple-body Falcon Heavy rocket a few miles up the coast, SpaceX rolled its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket to a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Wednesday for a late night mission to haul a Eutelsat television broadcasting satellite into orbit.
Another huge piece of Chinese space junk is falling to Earth. 'Here we go again,' experts say
Another Chinese Long March 5B rocket body will once again plummet to Earth in the coming days above a yet-to-be-determined location.
SpaceX will fly 2 Saudi astronauts to space station on private Axiom Space mission
NASA and Axiom Space are adding two Saudi astronauts to the Ax-2 manifest that already includes a NASA astronaut and a motorsports racing driver.
ESO Finds the Ghostly Image of a Dying Star
Astronomical images never cease to delight, and the European Southern Observatory’s image of the Vela nebula is no exception.
When an Asteroid Gets Close to Earth, we get a Rare Opportunity to Learn What it’s Made of
Gravity calculations can provide plenty of insight into a variety of phenomena. Everything from Einstein rings to the rocket equation is at least partially dependent on gravity. Now an undergraduate student and professor team from MIT think they have a new use for gravity calculations – understanding the interior density of asteroids.
Milky Way stars photobomb picturesque spiral galaxy in stunning Hubble photo
The Hubble Space Telescope captured the sight of a beautiful spiral galaxy, adorned with the sparkle of two nearby stars.
