ScientistPankaj: China says moonbound rocket stage was not from 2014 lunar mission

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February 22, 2022

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The Launchpad

China says moonbound rocket stage was not from 2014 lunar mission

(Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images)

China says a rocket stage set to slam into the moon on March 4 isn't from one of its missions, contradicting several recent reports. Several independent observations suggest the rocket is from the Chang'e 5-T1 mission in 2014, following a misidentification that said the stage was part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite in February 2015. Yet officials at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs now say the rocket for Chang'e-5-T1 was destroyed shortly after launch, according to SpaceNews.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

Blue Origin plans to boost spaceflight launches in 2022

(Blue Origin)

Blue Origin wants to double the number of people it flew to space in its first year of operations, a plan that can be accomplished "easily" by bringing in a second rocket, a media report indicates. So far, the space tourism company has flown 14 people to space across three flights in July, October and December. To meet the new flight rate, SpaceNews suggests, Blue Origin will need to bring on board another New Shepard vehicle and decrease the turnaround time between flights.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

Spaceflight

Fly around SpaceX's giant Starship rocket in this stunning drone video

(SpaceX)

A stunning drone video from SpaceX shows the company taking apart the fully stacked Starship it plans to launch into orbit later this year. The waterside view on Twitter, posted Saturday (Feb. 19), shows the giant Starship rocket on a crane next to the Super Heavy booster that will attempt the company's first orbital flight.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

NASA successfully retests moon rocket core stage engines after fault

(NASA)

All core stage rocket engines on NASA's moon rocket performed as expected in a recent series of tests that followed a replacement of a faulty control mechanism in one of those engines, the agency said. A faulty controller on the RS-25 engine number 4 forced the space agency to delay its upcoming uncrewed moon mission, Artemis I, which will mark the beginning of humanity's return to the moon.

Full Story: Space (2/21)

On This Day in Space! Feb. 22, 1966: Soviet space dogs launch on record-setting mission

(Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

On Feb. 22, 1966, two Soviet space dogs launched on a mission that would set a new record for the longest spaceflight. Veterok and Ugolyok, whose names translate to "Light Breeze" and "Coal" spent 22 days orbiting the Earth. See how it happened in our "On This Day in Space" video series!

Full Story: Space (10/16)

Science & Astronomy

Stunning image shows galactic dance of stars swirling around a supermassive black hole

(Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

Young stars surround a supermassive black hole in a stunning new image captured by an instrument designed to search for dark energy. The image shows a face-on view of the galaxy NGC 1566, which is nicknamed the Spanish Dancer for its dramatic swirling shape. The photograph comes from an instrument called the Dark Energy Camera, which is based at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

Metal clouds and liquid gems spotted in the atmosphere of hot Jupiter WASP-121 b

(Patricia Klein/MPIA)

Imagine a world where the clouds are made of metal and liquid rubies and sapphires rain down from the sky. A new study shows that, on the hot Jupiter exoplanet WASP-121 b, this could be the reality.

Full Story: Space (2/21)

Rogue planets: How wandering bodies in interstellar space ended up on their own

(ESO)

We now know of almost 5,000 planets outside the solar system. If you were to picture what it would be like on one of these distant worlds, or exoplanets, your mental image would probably include a parent star — or more than one, especially if you're a "Star Wars" fan. But scientists have recently discovered that more planets than we thought are floating through space all by themselves — unlit by a friendly stellar companion. These are icy "free-floating planets," or FFPs. But how did they end up all on their own and what can they tell us about how such planets form?

Full Story: Space (2/22)

Technology

Researchers unlock the keys to designing an interstellar sail

(Masumi Shibata/Breakthrough Initiatives)

How do you design a sail that can get a spacecraft to another solar system? NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, which launched in the 1970s, remain the only two human-made objects ever to leave our solar system. While the pair have defied expectations and are still operational, researchers continue to devise new missions that could explore beyond our stellar neighborhood. One technology known as a light sail, a sail pushed by light instead of wind, seems to be a promising way to accomplish such an ambitious goal.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

'Burning' hydrogen plasma in the world's largest laser sets fusion records

(Damien Jemison)

The secret behind a record-breaking nuclear fusion experiment that spit out 10 quadrillion watts of power in a split second has been revealed: a "self-heating" — or "burning" — plasma of neutron-heavy hydrogen inside the fuel capsule used in the experiment, according to researchers.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

NASA's 'quiet' X-59 supersonic plane moves to Texas for testing and calibration *CHANGE ME*

(Lockheed Martin)

A quiet supersonic plane designed and built by NASA to usher in a new era of superfast air travel made a pitstop in Texas to perform crucial structural testing ahead of a debut flight later this year. NASA's X-59 made the switch between Lockheed Martin facilities in late December, moving the plane between Palmdale, California and Fort Worth, Texas to take advantage of specialized equipment available in the Lone Star State to make sure the speedy vehicle won't face too much stress in mid-air.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

Sony unveils the PlayStation VR 2, giving a first look at the new design

(Sony)

It's here, the unveiling of the final design for the new PlayStation VR2 headset, and it looks impressive. The new design of the headset shows off an 'orb' look that matches that of the PS VR2 Sense controller, to give users a 360-degree feel when using the headset. The design also takes inspiration from the PlayStation 5 range of products.

Full Story: Space (2/22)

Entertainment

Climb aboard a haunted spaceship in S.A. Barnes' new sci-fi horror novel 'Dead Silence' (exclusive)

(Tor Nightfire)

There's just something about abandoned, derelict spaceships drifting in outer space that makes our skin crawl in the best possible way. Video games like "Dead Space" and Hollywood films such as "Event Horizon" have reinforced the popular “haunted house in space” horror hybrid theme to create an alluring sub-genre that spans across all arenas of popular culture. Riding the crest of this spooky sci-fi wave is "Dead Silence" (Tor Nightfire, 2022), a frightful new novel from author S.A. Barnes that’s been billed as "Titanic" meets "The Shining" in space.

Full Story: Space (2/21)

Fowl play: Turkey turmoil at NASA center in California

(Dominic Hart/NASA)

A flock of wild turkeys has gotten a little too interested in space exploration, so a NASA facility is helping the hefty birds explore a nice reserve instead. NASA's Ames Research Center in California just south of San Francisco covers some 500 acres and hosts scientists working on topics from exoplanets to flight technology — as well as, lately, about two dozen rowdy turkeys, according to reports from local news agencies. Ames has called in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to attempt to relocate the birds to San Antonio Valley Ecological Reserve, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of the space center.

Full Story: Space (2/19)