ScientistPankaj: Watch Europe's Vega-C rocket launch today on 1st flight since 2022 (video)

Europe's Vega-C rocket launching today - 1st since 2022 | Space Quiz! Which of these types of black holes are theorized to have been created during the Big Bang? | Will the ISS's 2031 death dive cause pollution problems?

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December 4, 2024

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The Launchpad

Europe's Vega-C rocket launching today - 1st since 2022

(European Space Agency)

For the first time since the launch vehicle's catastrophic mission failure in 2022, Europe's Vega-C rocket is poised to return to flight today. The European Space Agency (ESA) is scheduled to launch the Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite today, lifting off from Kourou, French Guiana, during an instantaneous launch window Dec. 4, at 4:20 p.m. EST (2120 GMT, 22:20 CET - local time). This will be the third mission for ESA's medium-lift rocket, and its first launch since a failure in the vehicle's second stage led to the complete loss of its last payload in October 2022. You can watch the launch live here courtesy of ESA.

Full Story: Space (12/4)

Space Quiz! Which of these types of black holes are theorized to have been created during the Big Bang?

Learn the answer here!

Supermassive Black Holes

Stellar Black Holes

Intermediate-mass Black Holes

Primordial Black Holes

Will the ISS's 2031 death dive cause pollution problems?

(NASA Johnson)

Sustaining International Space Station (ISS) operations through 2030 may be somewhat touch-and-go, prior to its planned 2031 "safe, controlled deorbit" into remote ocean territory. And some people are starting to question just how safe that suicide dive will be, as it could end up polluting Earth's air and water.

Full Story: Space (12/4)

Put Interest On Ice Until Nearly 2026

Did you know some credit cards can actually help you get out of debt faster? Yes, it sounds crazy. But it's true. The secret: Find a card with a "0% intro APR" period for balance transfers. Then, transfer your debt balance and pay it down as much as possible during the intro period. No interest means you could pay off the debt faster. Find out more

Spaceflight

How China plans to make bricks on the moon

(China National Space Administration)

Chinese scientists are developing the capability to build a moon base made of bricks formed from lunar soil. A recent video from China Central Television (CCTV) shows an animation of a robot working to construct a lunar habitat known as a "moon pot vessel." Alongside the videos, scientists are conducting concrete experiments to make the moon habitat a potential reality.

Full Story: Space (12/3)

Science & Astronomy

Are planet-killing black holes hiding inside your cat?

(Robert Lea (created with Canva))

Scientists have suggested that tiny primordial black holes with the power to hollow out planets could be passing through everyday materials here on earth - rocks, glass, metal, and maybe even you or your cat. These minuscule black holes created during the Big Bang have thus far remained hypothetical by evading detection. Now, two University at Buffalo scientists are urging researchers to expand their horizons in this hunt.

Full Story: Space (12/3)

SpaceX

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches on record-breaking 24th flight

(SpaceX)

SpaceX has just set a new rocket-reuse record. One of the company's Falcon 9 rockets lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday (Dec. 4) at 5:13 a.m. EST (1013 GMT). The mission delivered 24 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO). It was the 24th launch for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. That will top the old mark of 23 flights, which is held by three different boosters.

Full Story: Space (12/3)

Technology

Scientists reveal image of a single photon for 1st time ever

(Ben Yuen and Angela Demetriadou)

Researchers in Birmingham have created the first image of a photon, a lemon-shaped particle of light emitted from the surface of a nanoparticle. The theory that made this image possible, reported Nov. 14 in the journal Physical Review Letters, enables scientists to calculate and understand various properties of these quantum particles - which could open up a range of new possibilities across fields such as quantum computing, photovoltaic devices and artificial photosynthesis.

Full Story: Space (12/3)

Entertainment

'Galaxy Quest' 25th anniversary Blu-ray release

(Paramount)

Every so often, cosmic tumblers align and the cinematic gods bless us with a movie that encapsulates everything we love about the science fiction genre, liberally injected with generous doses of heart, humor, heroics, and high adventure. Let's rewind the clock back to Christmas Day in 1999 when that jewel was the Dean Parisot-directed sci-fi spoof, "Galaxy Quest," which celebrates its milestone 25th anniversary this yuletide season with a sparkling new 4K UHD Blu-ray and Limited-Edition Steelbook home video release on Dec. 3 from Paramount.

Full Story: Space (12/3)