ScientistPankaj: China plans to catch its reusable rockets with constricting wires (video)

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

China plans to catch its reusable rockets with constricting wires (video)

NASA to pick Artemis astronaut moon car today: Watch live | Space Quiz! What was the first spacecraft to fly through the sun's outer atmosphere? | China plans to catch its reusable rockets with wires (video)

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April 3, 2024

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The Launchpad

NASA to pick Artemis astronaut moon car today: Watch live

(NASA)

The curtain is about to rise on NASA's next moon car. The space agency will announce the company, or companies, that it has selected to develop the rover for its Artemis program of lunar exploration during a press conference today (April 3) at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT). You can watch the event live here at Space.com

Full Story: Space (4/3)

Space Quiz! What was the first spacecraft to fly through the sun's outer atmosphere?

Learn the answer here!

Voyager 1

Magellan

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

Parker Solar Probe

China plans to catch its reusable rockets with wires (video)

(CCTV)

While inspired by the overwhelming success of the SpaceX Falcon 9, China's approach will be slightly different. The rocket's first stage will still use variable-thrust engines to slow its descent, just like the Falcon 9. But instead of using landing legs, the rocket will deploy hooks near its top, which will be caught by tightwires.

Full Story: Space (4/3)

Total Solar Eclipse 2024

Solar eclipse sights might vary on the edge of totality

(NASA/Aubrey Gemignan)

New amateur calculations of the solar eclipse path suggest that variations in the local terrain might change if you see a total eclipse, or how long the eclipse is experienced, compared to older estimates. The work, first reported in Forbes, is not peer-reviewed, however. So take the findings with a dose of caution.

Full Story: Space (4/2)

A 'horned' comet may be visible during the solar eclipse

(Jan Erik Vallestad)

An unusual "horned" comet is now visible in the night sky -- and it may even make a rare appearance during the 2024 total solar eclipse on April 8. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks can currently be seen in the night skies of the northern hemisphere. Comets, composed of dust, rock and ices, heat up and expel gas when their orbits bring them closer to the sun, creating a glowing halo around the comet itself known as a coma. Outbursts observed from Comet 12P give it a horned-like appearance, earning it nicknames such as "Devil Comet" and "Millennium Falcon."

Full Story: Space (4/2)

Skywatching

Chinese space junk falls to Earth over Southern California

(Jennifer M./American Meteor Society)

A big piece of Chinese space junk crashed to Earth over Southern California early Tuesday morning (April 2), putting on quite a show for observers in the Golden State. The fall created a blazing fireball witnessed by people from the Sacramento area all the way down to San Diego, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). As of Tuesday afternoon, 81 people had reported sightings of the event to the AMS.

Full Story: Space (4/2)

Spaceflight

Boeing Starliner astronaut launch delayed again, to May 6

(Boeing/John Grant)

The first crewed launch of Boeing's new Starliner capsule has been delayed by an additional five days, to May 6. NASA and Boeing had been targeting May 1 for the highly anticipated Starliner mission, which is known as Crew Flight Test (CFT). But that's no longer the plan.

Full Story: Space (4/3)

Science & Astronomy

Parker Solar Probe makes 1st-of-its-kind observation

(U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

Every so often, the sun's simmering magnetic field burps colossal clouds of plasma out into the space beyond. These are called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). If one CME strikes Earth, for example, the result can be spectacular auroras - and, just-as-spectacular disruptions of electrical grids and satellites.

Full Story: Space (4/2)

Technology

JAXA 'Lunar Cruiser' moon rover is a Transformers toy

(collectSPACE.com)

It can now be revealed that Japan's proposal for a future moon rover is "more than meets the eye." As first announced last June but just now starting to ship, a new scale model of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Lunar Cruiser not only faithfully reproduces the details of the astronaut transport developed in conjunction with Toyota, but also transforms into Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots.

Full Story: Space (4/2)

Entertainment

Sneak peak at Universal Epic Universe's Celestial Park

(Universal Epic Universe)

First announced back in 2019 as an entirely new theme park within the sprawling Universal Orlando Resort campus in Florida, Universal Epic Universe will feature five elaborately imagined lands and a galaxy of thrill rides, shops and eateries when it opens its portals in 2025 - and we've got the recently released concept art to prove it.

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