ScientistPankaj: Tumbling NASA solar sail snaps its 1st selfie (photo)

Friday, September 6, 2024

Tumbling NASA solar sail snaps its 1st selfie (photo)

Watch Boeing's Starliner return to Earth without astronauts | Boeing Starliner 1st astronaut flight: Live updates | Space Quiz: When is Boeing's next Starliner astronaut launch?

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September 6, 2024

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The Launchpad

Watch Boeing's Starliner return to Earth without astronauts

(ESA)

It's landing time for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, but it's coming home alone. Boeing's first crewed Starliner capsule will leave its two astronauts behind on the International Space Station tonight when it undocks and lands (they'll return later on a SpaceX Dragon) at New Mexico's White Sands Space Harbor. And yes, Space Fans, you can watch live. Here's how.

Full Story: Space (9/5)

Boeing Starliner 1st astronaut flight: Live updates
Space (4/25)

Space Quiz: When is Boeing's next Starliner astronaut launch?

Tumbling NASA probe snaps 1st selfie of giant solar sail

(NASA)

NASA has released the first image of the open solar sail, formally called the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, and stated that the spacecraft from which the sail was released will continue to send back more footage and data as time goes on. The image itself may seem a little confusing to make heads or tails of, and that's due in part to the fact that the spacecraft has been slowly tumbling in space.

Full Story: Space (9/5)

Skywatching

NASA's new solar sail is visible in the night sky

(NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart)

An experimental NASA solar sail can be seen in the night sky as it orbits the Earth. As the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System orbits Earth, it's large surface area means it reflects enough sunlight to be seen from the ground. Under some conditions, the solar sail demonstrator could even appear as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. If you want to see it for yourself, you're in luck: NASA has an app for that.

Full Story: Space (9/5)

A Harvest Moon Supermoon lunar eclipse is coming

(Yasser Al-zayyat/Getty Images)

All full moons are impressive sights on their own, but this month's Full Harvest Moon will be especially noteworthy. In addition to being a slightly larger-than-average "supermoon," September's full moon will also experience a partial lunar eclipse when it rises on the evening of Sept. 17.

Full Story: Space (9/5)

Spaceflight

NASA astronauts can't wear Boeing Starliner suits on Dragon

(NASA/Robert Markowitz)

In the unlikely event a space emergency arises on the space station in the near future, two astronauts will have to ride home without spacesuits. That's because the Boeing spacesuits they wore on Starliner aren't compatible with SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which they're now riding home. Here's why.

Full Story: Space (9/5)

China's mysterious space plane returns to Earth

(Erik Simonsen via Getty Images)

China's mysterious space plane has returned to Earth after spending over 8 months in orbit. The reusable spacecraft landed at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in a remote section of northwest China on Friday (Sept. 6). It launched from the same site atop a Long March 2F rocket on Dec. 14, 2023, on its third mission, and spent 268 days in orbit, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.

Full Story: Space (9/5)

Science & Astronomy

Stunning new Mercury images from BepiColombo flyby

(JAXA/ESA)

The BepiColombo Mercury probe made a flyby of its ultimate destination on Wednesday, capturing superb images of the planet's crater-covered crust. The gravity assist maneuver is part of what will be the probe's eight-year voyage to enter orbit around Mercury, helping to reduce the spacecraft's speed to keep the trip on track. But beyond that, the maneuver also delivered some of the mission's best images so far, using BepiColombo's three monitoring cameras, or M-CAMs.

Full Story: Space (9/5)

SpaceX

SpaceX launches 7,001st Starlink satellite (and 20 others)

(SpaceX)

The Starlink 8-11 mission carried aloft SpaceX's 7,001st Starlink satellite, according to launch statistics kept by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, as the 21 satellites joined 6,980 others launched by SpaceX since 2018 (though many have since been retired).

Full Story: Space (9/5)

Entertainment

Watch eerie 1st teaser for Hulu's 'Alien: Earth' TV series

(Hulu)

"Alien: Earth" is a new ongoing series produced by FX that will be available exclusively on Hulu in 2025 and a 15-second teaser just dropped at some screenings of "Alien: Romulus."

Full Story: Space (9/5)