ScientistPankaj: Space MacGyver: NASA astronaut and inventor Don Pettit eager to return to ISS on Sept. 11

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Space MacGyver: NASA astronaut and inventor Don Pettit eager to return to ISS on Sept. 11

Polaris Dawn crew flies higher than 1966 Gemini 11 record | Space Quiz! What is the name for the regions of bright light emissions and powerful outflows around a supermassive black hole? | NASA astronaut and inventor Don Pettit eager for ISS return

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September 11, 2024

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The Launchpad

Polaris Dawn crew flies higher than 1966 Gemini 11 record

(SpaceX)

The four members of the Polaris Dawn mission, riding aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft "Resilience," climbed into an elliptical orbit with a high point, or apogee, of 870 miles (1,400.7 kilometers) on Tuesday (Sep. 10). They reached the record distance about 15 hours after lifting off at 5:23 a.m. EDT (0923 GMT) from Florida earlier in the day and circling the planet about eight times in an initial orbit of 190 by 1,200 miles (306 by 1,930 km).

Full Story: Space (9/10)

Space Quiz! What is the name for the regions of bright light emissions and powerful outflows around a supermassive black hole?

Learn the answer here!

Accretion disk

Singularity

Active Galactic Nuclei

Event horizon

NASA astronaut and inventor Don Pettit eager for ISS return

(NASA)

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is about to embark on his fourth space mission - one sure to be filled with chances to tinker with things in orbit. Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, will ride on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday (Sept. 11) at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT; 9:23 p.m. local Baikonur time).

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Skywatching

Particularly active 'aurora season' could be just weeks away

(Westend61 via Getty Images)

September could be a prime time to see vibrant auroras, thanks to a quirk of Earth's tilt that leads to more intense geomagnetic activity around the equinox.

Full Story: Space (9/9)

Spaceflight

China plans to build lunar south pole moon base by 2035

(China National Space Administration)

China has revealed that its moon-base plans will be rolled out in two distinct phases, eventually creating a series of nodes on the lunar surface and in orbit. The initial roadmap for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), jointly led by China and Russia, was unveiled in June 2021. The pair stated plans to build a basic, robotic moon base through five super heavy-lift rocket launches from 2030 to 2035.

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Science & Astronomy

Monster black holes may be the closest pair ever discovered

(NASA, ESA, Anna Trindade Falcão (CfA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI))

It's the ultimate telescope vs. supermassive black hole tag-team match as the NASA team of Chandra and Hubble pin down a supermassive black hole pairing! Not only was this black hole tag team surprisingly close to Earth, but they were also in tight proximity to each other!

Full Story: Space (9/10)

SpaceX

Musk's dog inspires girl's design of Polaris zero-g indicator

(SpaceX)

A privately-funded crew now on a mission to set several records in Earth orbit may not include the first child in space, but they have her hopes, wishes and, most tangibly, original furry spacesuit-clad creation on board. "Asteroid," a plush Shiba, is the "zero-g indicator" on the Polaris Dawn mission.

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Star Wars

Voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones dies at 93

(Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

James Earl Jones, that mellifluous master actor and iconic voice of "Star Wars"' Darth Vader and "The Lion King's" Mufasa has passed away at the age of 93 in Dutchess County, New York, on Monday, Sept. 9. Per Deadline, this was confirmed by his agent at Independent Artists Group.

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Star Trek

Watch 1st look clip from 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5

(Paramount+)

Come autumn, crimson and gold leaves won't be the only thing we'll be saying goodbye to as Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Lower Decks" takes one final flight when it rolls out its fifth and last 10-chapter season on Oct. 24 with a double-episode debut.

Full Story: Space (9/10)