ScientistPankaj: Rocket Lab aborts launch of 5 'Internet of Things' satellites at last second (video)

Friday, September 20, 2024

Rocket Lab aborts launch of 5 'Internet of Things' satellites at last second (video)

Europa Clipper on track for Oct. 10 launch | Rocket Lab aborts launch of 5 'Internet of Things' satellites | The moon meets Seven Sisters of the Pleiades this weekend

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September 20, 2024

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The Launchpad

Europa Clipper on track for Oct. 10 launch

(NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Three weeks from now, NASA's Europa Clipper probe will lift off and embark on a long-awaited mission to study Jupiter's icy moon Europa, which scientists think is one of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth. The launch appears to still be on track for Oct. 10, as per the agency's original schedule, which comes as a relief to scientists after the team discovered a few possibly defective transistors just months prior that threatened to imperil the mission.

Full Story: Space (9/19)

Rocket Lab aborts launch of 5 'Internet of Things' satellites

(Rocket Lab)

Rocket Lab aborted a launch at the last second today (Sept. 18). The company's Electron rocket was scheduled to launch five "Internet of Things" satellites for the French company Kinéis today at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) from New Zealand. The countdown clock reached zero, and Electron appeared to fire up its first-stage engines. But they immediately shut down, resulting in an abort.

Full Story: Space (9/18)

Skywatching

The moon meets Seven Sisters of the Pleiades this weekend

(Future/Chris Vaughan/Starry Night)

Sunday's event, known to astronomers as an occultation, is part of a series of such events of the moon engaging with this famous group of stars that will continue for the next few years.

Full Story: Space (9/20)

Spaceflight

Europe's Hera probe will inspect asteroid NASA hit in 2022

(ESA)

Europe's highly anticipated Hera mission to catalog the wreckage of the asteroid Dimorphos has arrived at its Florida launch site for final checks ahead of its planned liftoff early next month.

Full Story: Space (9/20)

Science & Astronomy

Starlink satellite radio pollution poses threat to astronomy

(Victoria Girgis/Lowell Observatory)

SpaceX's new Starlink satellites produce 32 times more radio noise than their predecessors, causing concerns among astronomers about their interference with radio astronomy observations.

Full Story: Space (9/19)

SpaceX

SpaceX fires up 6th Starship to prep for test flight

(SpaceX)

SpaceX just fired up another Starship vehicle, to prep for a test flight that's likely several months away. The company performed a "static fire" on Wednesday (Sept. 18) at its Starbase site in South Texas, briefly igniting the six Raptor engines of Ship 31, the upper stage of the vehicle that will conduct the sixth Starship test flight.

Full Story: Space (9/19)

Technology

Europe's Mars 'fetch rover' nails sample pick-up test

(Airbus)

European aerospace giant Airbus has taken two of its Mars rovers out for field tests in a quarry near London, showcasing for the first time a new robotic arm for autonomous sample collection on alien planets. The company also experimented with a model of its ExoMars rover, hoping to improve its navigation system to enable the robot to travel faster and explore more terrain once it reaches the Red Planet in 2028.

Full Story: Space (9/19)