ScientistPankaj: Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to launch critical NASA test flight tonight (again)

Friday, May 20, 2022

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to launch critical NASA test flight tonight (again)

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May 19, 2022

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The Launchpad

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to launch critical NASA test flight tonight (again)

(Nasa/Getty Images)

Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi will launch on a critical test flight tonight (again) marking the company's third attempt to fly an uncrewed capsule to the International Space Station for NASA. Liftoff is set for 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 GMT).

Starliner's test flight, called OFT-2, comes after Boeing failed to reach the ISS with its first mission (OFT-1) in December 2019. An attempt to launch this current mission in 2021 was stalled by stuck valves on the spacecraft. So, yeah, there's a lot riding on the launch tonight.

Full Story: Space (5/19)

How to watch Boeing Starliner's OFT-2 launch: Webcast guide

See Boeing's Starliner launch tonight from southeastern US (visibility map)

Live Starliner OFT-2 mission updates

POLL QUESTION:

Space Quiz: Boeing's Starliner is launching a mannequin into space tonight. What is its name?

(Learn the answer here!)

The Astro-nut!

Buzz Lightyear (to Infinity and Beyond!)

Rosie the Rocketeer!

Starman 2, better than SpaceX.

Voyager 1 glitch? Strange signals from venerable probe has NASA baffled

(NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Spending 45 years traversing the solar system really does a number on a spacecraft like Voyager 1.

Now in interstellar space, the spacecraft is still operating properly. But scientists recently noticed that the probe seems confused about its location in space without going into safe mode or otherwise sounding an alarm. It's a mystery.

Full Story: Space (5/18)

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Spaceflight

See Boeing's Starliner on the launch pad atop Atlas V rocket (photos)

(Nasa/Getty Images)

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft successfully rolled out to its Florida launch pad early Wednesday, setting the stage for a crucial test flight for NASA this week.

It will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida tonight (May 19).

Full Story: Space (5/18)

Groundbreaking set for launch pad-like display of retired space shuttle Endeavour

(collectSPACE.com/California Science Center)

More than a decade after it was grounded, NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour is soon to be the focus of a groundbreaking.

The California Science Center in Los Angeles is set to begin construction of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, a new museum that will display Endeavour vertically, as if poised for another launch, complete with a fuel tank and two side-mounted boosters.

Full Story: Space (5/19)

Science & Astronomy

Glimmering Hubble Space Telescope photo shows stunning starburst effect

(ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Cohen)

The iconic Hubble Space Telescope has captured a glimmering new photo of a densely packed region of stars located in the constellation Sagittarius.

The grouping of stars is a globular cluster known as NGC 6558, which lies 23,000 light-years from Earth. At this distance, the cluster resides closer to the center of the Milky Way than Earth does, according to a statement from the European Space Agency, which released the image May 16.

Full Story: Space (5/19)

Building a better black hole with supercomputer simulations

(Texas Advanced Computing Center)

Astronomers used a perhaps unlikely tool to understand what they saw in their historic first image of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole: a library of computer simulations that mimic the black hole with millions of variations.

Taking an image of a black hole, such as Sagittarius A* in the center of our galaxy, with the Event Horizon Telescope is one of the most complicated feats that any astronomer will ever undertake. The new image combines petabytes of data from eight radio telescopes distributed all over the world; advanced computer algorithms then go to work to turn all this disparate data into a false-color image.

Full Story: Space (5/18)

Technology

DARPA launches 'Ouija' project to study radio signals in Earth's atmosphere

(NASA)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has set up a new program, called Ouija, which will use sensors on "low-orbiting satellites" to track high-frequency radio waves in the ionosphere. DARPA has a solicitation for proposals available now for one part of the proposal and plans to release a second solicitation at another date.

Full Story: Space (5/18)

Entertainment

Everything we know about Starfield: Release window, platforms, trailers & more

(Bethesda Softworks)

With Bethesda's highly anticipated spacefaring RPG just around the corner, we've compiled everything we know about Starfield to bring you up to light-speed.

Full Story: Space (5/19)

New 'Asteroid Rush' documentary looks at peril and promise of space rocks (exclusive sneak peek)

(Curiosity Stream)

A new trailer for the coming documentary "Asteroid Rush" has dropped, and Space.com can exclusively show it to you here. "Asteroid Rush" consists of two episodes, each of them an hour long, and it's set to be released on Curiosity Stream on June 9.

The first episode examines the danger posed by asteroids, which may seem abstract but is quite real. A 6-mile-wide (10 kilometers) space rock slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, after all, leading to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and many other species — and it's only a matter of time before a huge asteroid comes our way again.

Full Story: Space (5/18)