space

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Operator Confirms 'Total Loss' of Boeing-Made Satellite

Apparent explosion of Intelsat satellite leaves customers without communications services

(Newser) - Narrowed eyes are again on Boeing following the apparent explosion of a Boeing-made communications satellite on Saturday. Operator Intelsat confirmed the "total loss" of the satellite on Monday. Intelsat 33e, launched in 2016, was estimated to have a 15-year lifespan, though a propulsion issue in 2017 shaved a few...

Asteroids Could Become Astronaut Food
Scientists to Future
Astronauts: Eat Rocks
NEW STUDY
Oct 18, 2024 10:41 AM CDT

Scientists to Future Astronauts: Eat Rocks

Organic compounds from asteroids could be fed to microbes, creating 'edible biomass'

(Newser) - Scientists are slowly tackling the roadblocks to human life in space, including how to breathe without oxygen , how to build without bricks , and how to find food where there is none. In terms of the latter, a team from Canada's Western University has come up with what they say...

Civilians Head to Space to Walk, Make History

SpaceX's risky Polaris Dawn mission launched early Tuesday

(Newser) - After numerous delays , SpaceX has launched one of its riskiest missions yet , sending four civilians into Earth's Van Allen radiation belt and out on what could be the first commercial spacewalk. The roughly five-day mission, known as Polaris Dawn, launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:23am...

Powerful Capsule Will Shove ISS to Its Doom

NASA, SpaceX outline plan to bring down aging space station

(Newser) - SpaceX will use a powerful, souped-up capsule to shove the International Space Station out of orbit once time is up for the sprawling lab. NASA and Elon Musk's company on Wednesday outlined the plan to burn the space station up on reentry and plunge what's left into the...

As Russian Satellite Breaks Up, ISS Residents Take Shelter

Space debris sends astronauts, cosmonauts into spacecraft that carried them to space station

(Newser) - Astronauts on the International Space Station were forced to take shelter for an hour Wednesday as a defunct Russian satellite broke into nearly 200 pieces. The Resurs-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, declared inoperative in 2022, broke apart in low Earth orbit near the space station around noon ET Wednesday, creating...

2 Massive Asteroids Enter the Neighborhood

No risk to Earth, but a great chance to learn

(Newser) - An asteroid large enough to destroy a city will make a rare pass by Earth this weekend, coming close enough to spot with a telescope, "or perhaps even with some good binoculars," per the New York Times . Thankfully, there's a 0% chance that 2024 MK, discovered less...

In a First, Astronomers Watch a Black Hole Wake Up
In a First, Astronomers
Watch a Black Hole Wake Up
NEW STUDY
Jun 19, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

In a First, Astronomers Watch a Black Hole Wake Up

Black hole at center of galaxy SDSS1335+0728 recorded activating 'in real time'

(Newser) - A bright light erupting from a distant galaxy nearly five years ago was, in the view of researchers, way cooler than it sounds. Indeed, it was the first ever observation of the awakening of a black hole, according to a study accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics . Most galaxies...

US Tracks Object From Chinese Spaceplane

It's believed to be the seventh object ejected by mysterious Shenlong spacecraft

(Newser) - The US government is tracking a mysterious object in orbit around Earth known to be affiliated with China's space program, which has offered no explanation. China's Shenlong spaceplane, essentially an airplane-spacecraft hybrid, launched Dec. 14 on board a Long March 2F carrier rocket, Gizmodo reports. Shortly after, space...

Nation's First Black Astronaut Gets His Flight at 90

Ed Dwight's Blue Origin trip to space completes a 60-year quest

(Newser) - Ed Dwight's giant leap took 60 years. The first Black person to be trained as an astronaut, Dwight at last reached space on Sunday aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. The delay helped make Dwight, who's a few months older than William Shatner was during his flight,...

'Not Done Yet!' The Sun Emits Another Massive Solar Flare

This one appears to have only glanced Earth, so don't expect amazing auroras

(Newser) - The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places, per the AP . "Not done yet!" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in an update. It's the biggest flare...

Boeing Ready for Test Flight to ISS With Astronauts on Board
Why Boeing's
Astronaut Launch
Was Called Off
UPDATED
May 7, 2024 4:05 PM CDT

Why Boeing's Astronaut Launch Was Called Off

Buzzing valve raised concerns Monday night

(Newser) - Boeing's first astronaut launch was called off because of a valve problem on the rocket Monday night. The two NASA test pilots had just strapped into Boeing's Starliner capsule for a flight to the International Space Station when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned...

Satellite Lost in Space for 25 Years Reappears
Satellite Lost in Space
for 25 Years Reappears
in case you missed it
May 5, 2024 11:05 AM CDT

Satellite Lost in Space for 25 Years Reappears

S73-7 may have disappeared into a radar blind spot

(Newser) - A small, experimental satellite launched in failure in 1974 and lost to ground-based sensors for a quarter century has suddenly reappeared. On April 10, 1974, the large reconnaissance satellite KH-9 Hexagon ejected a much smaller, 26-inch-wide satellite, the Infra-Red Calibration Balloon or S73-7, which was supposed to inflate a balloon...

Voyager 1 Is Fixed—Sort Of
Voyager 1 Is
Fixed—Sort Of
Apr 23, 2024 6:15 AM CDT

Voyager 1 Is Fixed—Sort Of

Scientists bypass faulty chip to receive coherent engineering data, but more work is needed

(Newser) - For the first time in months, NASA is receiving readable data from Voyager 1. The spacecraft exploring interstellar space at a distance of 15 billion miles sends back science and engineering data in binary code, but that code suddenly became garbled in November. NASA scientists reportedly found a malfunction in...

How to Get Mars Rocks to Earth for Cheap? NASA Shrugs

Space agency seeks ideas to revive Mars Sample Return Mission

(Newser) - Calling all innovators: NASA is looking for out-of-the-box ideas about how to get Martian rocks to Earth in the next 15 years without breaking the bank. The space agency says it can't achieve this top priority before 2040 with the $5 billion to $7 billion in funding currently outlined....

Get Ready to Set Your Clocks for Moon Time

White House instructs NASA to figure out a unified standard of time to aid future missions

(Newser) - In the future, we'll have Earth time and we'll have Moon time. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on Tuesday directed NASA to establish what it called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), "a unified standard of time for the moon and other celestial bodies"...

Railroad on the Moon? It May Be in the Works

Northrop Grumman enlisted to explore construction, costs, and risks

(Newser) - Now that scientists have some ideas about how to build roads on the moon , focus is turning to a potential lunar railroad. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) envisions a future in which a network of rails covers the lunar surface, transporting humans, resources, and supplies from one...

NASA Has Successfully Nudged an Asteroid
NASA Did a Number
On the Asteroid It Hit
UPDATED
Mar 20, 2024 9:55 AM CDT

NASA Did a Number On the Asteroid It Hit

Dimorphos' shape was changed, in addition to its orbit time, a new study finds

(Newser) - It's safe to say NASA's test of whether an asteroid could be nudged off a collision path with Earth was a success. The DART spacecraft's impact with the asteroid Dimorphos not only shaved 33 minutes and 15 seconds off the time it takes to circle its parent...

47-Year-Old Voyager Probe Responds to 'Poke'

Communication not entirely lost as received data could offer clues to malfunction

(Newser) - The bad news is the Voyager 1 mission team still isn't sure why the 47-year-old spacecraft is sending garbled messages from the outer reaches of the solar system. The good news is that the communication link isn't entirely severed across a gap of 15 billion miles, as a...

Japanese Rocket Explodes Seconds After Launch
Japanese
Rocket Launch
Does Not Go Well
VIDEO
Mar 13, 2024 8:41 AM CDT

Japanese Rocket Launch Does Not Go Well

Space One stumbles in its quest to become first private Japanese company to launch a satellite

(Newser) - Space One hoped to become the first private company in Japan to put a satellite into orbit. While the dream is still alive, the company's first attempt went horribly wrong as the rocket exploded seconds after takeoff around 11am local time Wednesday, or 10pm ET Tuesday. Livestream footage showed...

Crime Scene Investigator Preps for Murder Probes in Space
Future Space Criminals
Will Face 'Astroforensics'
NEW STUDY
Mar 12, 2024 1:18 PM CDT

Future Space Criminals Will Face 'Astroforensics'

Crime scene investigator Zack Kowalske has been testing blood spatters in zero gravity

(Newser) - The emerging field of astroforensics will be called upon whenever humanity faces its first murder in space. Until that time, Zack Kowalske, a crime scene investigator in Atlanta, says "broadening the understanding of all forensic sciences in nonterrestrial environments is critical as we expand into a space-faring species."...

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