Screenshot: SpaceX The Starship upper stage continued on its journey through space, attaining, for the first time, an orbital velocity exceeding 16,156 miles per hour (26,000 kilometers per hour). Technically, Starship didn’t achieve Earth orbit (that wasn’t the plan), but its velocity was within the ballpark of the speed needed for it to maintain a … Read more
Earlier this week, a new satellite launched to track methane as it emanates from oil and gas fields across the world, hoping to expose major producers of the greenhouse pollutant and hold them accountable for their commitment to lower emissions. Prime Day Ain’t That ‘Green’ MethaneSAT launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on … Read more
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus landing during its descent towards the lunar surface. Image: Intuitive Machines It was a topsy-turvy month in spaceflight, with yet another lunar lander falling over and an upsetting new view showing NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter missing a rotor blade, among other memorable moments. February is the shortest month of the year, but it … Read more
A new photo of Odysseus released by NASA illustrates just how rough the lander’s journey to the Moon has been, shining a light on its spunky resilience against all odds. Moon Knight Gives Us Hope Taken on February 22, the day the lander touched down on the Moon, the photo shows Odysseus, affectionately called “Odie,” … Read more
Image: Photo: Shutterstock Graphics: Vicky Leta Survivor has produced a whopping 45 seasons, with more in development. If you remember the buzz around season 1 but can’t believe it’s been 45 years, it hasn’t. They’ve cranked out two seasons per year for most of its run to feed their insatiable fanbase. Each season, the mega-successful … Read more
Intuitive Machines’ private lander stumbled on its way down to the lunar surface and is possibly leaning over on a rock on the Moon. The vehicle is still operational and flight engineers are working to gather more data on its less than ideal position, the company said. China’s Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon … Read more
Intuitive Machines landed its Odysseus spacecraft on the Moon on Thursday at 6:23 p.m. ET, becoming the first private company to pull off a soft landing on the lunar surface. China’s Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon The IM-1 mission delivered 12 payloads near the Malapert A crater in the Moon’s South Pole region … Read more
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander has begun its eight-day voyage to the Moon. The mission is fraught with peril, as every previous attempt by private companies to land softly on the Moon has ended in failure. Here’s what needs to go right for this Houston-based company to enter into the history books. China’s Plan to Land … Read more
Humanity’s most distant spacecraft is glitching out—again—and engineers are having quite a difficult time solving the problem. Voyager 1, what are we going to do with you? Trump Went Through Twitter Withdrawal The issue is with the 46-year-old Voyager 1’s flight data system (FDS), one of its three onboard computers. The FDS collects data from … Read more
The EnVision mission to Venus was officially adopted by the European Space Agency on Thursday, which means the organization has committed to getting the spacecraft Venus-bound by the early 2030s. NASA Delays Return to Earth’s Evil Twin, Venus EnVision is a planned Venus orbiter designed to study the planet from its upper atmosphere to its … Read more