ScientistPankaj: NASA's tiny CAPSTONE cubesat launches on pioneering moon mission

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

NASA's tiny CAPSTONE cubesat launches on pioneering moon mission

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June 28, 2022

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The Launchpad

NASA's tiny CAPSTONE cubesat launches on pioneering moon mission

(NASA TV)

NASA's tiny CAPSTONE spacecraft has begun its long, history-making journey to the moon.

The 55-pound (25 kilograms) cubesat launched today (June 28) atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster, which lifted off from the company's Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula of New Zealand at 5:55 a.m. EDT (0955 GMT; 9:55 p.m. local time in New Zealand).

Full Story: Space (6/28)

SpaceX's Super Heavy rocket for Starship moves to launch pad for tests

(SpaceX)

SpaceX's massive Starship project was on the move last week, as its "Booster 7" Super Heavy rocket prototype moved to its South Texas test pad Thursday (June 23).

The Starship rocket and its Super Heavy is set for pressure testing and perhaps, a static fire test at its facility near Boca Chica that would assess its abilities to burn fuel consistently over a period of time.

Full Story: Space (6/28)

Private Cygnus cargo ship departs space station for a fiery doom

(NASA TV)

A private cargo spacecraft cast off from the International Space Station early Tuesday (June 28) on a course toward oblivion as it wraps up its months-long mission to the outpost.

The Cygnus — named S.S. Piers Sellers after the late NASA astronaut and climate scientist — arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Feb. 21 with more than 8,300 pounds (3,760 kilograms) of scientific experiments and other supplies.

Full Story: Space (6/27)

POLL QUESTION:

Space Quiz: How long will NASA's CAPSTONE cubesat take reach the moon.

Learn the answer here!

Nearly 4 months! It arrives. Nov. 13.

3 days. It is on Apollo's same path.

500 days. It's flying a full mock Mars mission life.

14 days. It's on a 2-week cycle to and from the moon!

	Just the Facts, Ma'am "I stopped watching TV news a year ago, so sick of the bias everywhere. But in doing so, I was out of the loop. I decided to give 1440 a try & I've not been disappointed. Finally, Walter Cronkite style reporting! Just the facts. I also love that I can click a link to see more on many stories. Keep up the good work!" Join for free now.

Skywatching

July full moon 2022: The 'Buck supermoon' passes Saturn

(Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The full moon of July, also called the "Buck Moon" or "Thunder Moon," will occur July 13, at 2:37 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time(opens in new tab) (1837 GMT on July 13); The moon will also reach perigee, the closest point in its orbit to Earth, at 5:06 a.m. that day, creating a "supermoon" — a full moon that appears slightly larger than normal.

It is the third of four supermoons in a row, according to NASA eclipse watcher Fred Espenak.

Full Story: Space (6/27)

Science & Astronomy

Can we time travel? A theoretical physicist provides some answers

(Pixabay)

Time travel makes regular appearances in popular culture, with innumerable time travel storylines in movies, television and literature. But it is a surprisingly old idea: one can argue that the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles over 2,500 years ago, is the first time travel story.

But is time travel in fact possible? Given the popularity of the concept, this is a legitimate question. As a theoretical physicist, I find that there are several possible answers to this question, not all of which are contradictory.

Full Story: Space (6/28)

Mars rock samples from Curiosity rover contain key ingredient of life

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Martian rock samples collected by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover show signs of key ingredients for life as we know it on Earth.

The venerable Curiosity Rover drilled samples from Gale crater, the site of an ancient lake on Mars. Using these samples, scientists were able, for the first time, to measure the total amount of organic carbon in Martian rocks

Full Story: Space (6/28)

Spaceflight

Shuttered full-scale space station mockup finds new use with Axiom Space

(Brian Ewenson/collectSPACE.com)

A Houston company building a commercial orbital outpost has found the perfect place to move: a sprawling facility that comes pre-equipped with a full-scale mockup of the International Space Station.

Axiom Space, which has a contract with NASA to test components of its planned Axiom Station at the International Space Station, has leased the former location of Fry's Electronics in Webster, Texas to house its engineering operations. The former big-box retail store, which closed when the national chain went out of business in 2021, is unique for its football-field-long representation of the station.

Full Story: Space (6/28)

Technology

Venus Aerospace unveils its new dart-like Mach 9 hypersonic plane design

(Venus Aerospace)

Ambitious startup Venus Aerospace recently joined the growing crowd of firms attempting to achieve hypersonic flight when they unveiled their revolutionary "Stargazer" concept vehicle at the UP.Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas.

"Stargazer" was imagined as a next-generation Mach 9 hypersonic drone as well as a Mach 9 crewed aircraft, and both variants are hypothetically capable of taking a quick spin around Earth in about one hour.

Full Story: Space (6/28)

Star Wars

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' finale delivers the return of the Jedi

The thrilling conclusion to 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' is the best episode in the series and unequivocal proof that Disney knows how to get Darth Vader right.

The show is far, far away from being perfect, but the finale boasts some of Disney’s most compelling Star Wars yet.

Full Story: Space (6/28)