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Happy Friday, space fans!
You made it! We have managed to make it to the end of another week, congratulations to us all. And we couldn't close out the week without some more major space news. In a historic first, China has landed a rocket during an orbital launch. A Chinese Long march 10B rocket lifted off this morning, sending a satellite into orbit before coming back down and landing at sea. It looks like SpaceX isn't the only one in the game that can reuse a rocket.
In much sadder news, we learned yesterday that Wally Funk, the trailblazing aviator and astronaut, passed away at the age of 87. Funk was an absolute powerhouse throughout her life, flying as early as her teenage years before joining the Mercury 13 at just 21. Fun fact, while John Glenn lasted only 3 hours in the sensory deprivation tank as part of his NASA astronaut training, Wally Funk lasted over 10 hours. And after a lifetime of flying and trying to find her way to space, at 82 she finally did aboard a Blue Origin suborbital mission. An absolute legend. We have lots more science, politics, satellites, and all things space to share.
Check out what's big in space below:
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Wally Funk, who flew to space at 82 after a lifetime of flying and fighting for women in aviation and aerospace, has passed away at age 87.
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SpaceX has applied for approval to operate a 100,000-member megaconstellation of next-gen Starlink satellites in Earth orbit. And each of the new spacecraft will weigh about 4,400 pounds.
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A new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court protecting voter rights could extend to astronauts living and working in space and training internationally.
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A slender crescent moon, Mars and Aldebaran and two sparkling star clusters will create a beautiful predawn scene for early risers on July 11.
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Twice a year, the setting sun perfectly aligns with Manhattan's street grid, creating one of New York City's most spectacular skywatching events.
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"Allowing a million orbiting data centers with no environmental review isn’t just irresponsible — it’s reckless."
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The universe is haunted by "cosmic ghosts" called neutrinos, which seem to be the "whispers" of stars that died in supernova explosions over the course of billions of years.
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I promise it's not an alien.
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Check out our ranked list of Star Wars TV shows, both the live-action and animated adventures.
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That's it for our space update today!
I hope that you had a great week and have a fun weekend ahead of you. We have some exciting news coming up as well. We will be deep diving into Japan's close encounter with a far-off asteroid, exploring the reality of moon bases and what might actually be possible and we investigate new science on habitable zones, or the "goldilocks zone" around a star where it's not too hot, and not too cold, and liquid water could sustain.
There's also a lot to look forward to in the night sky. We have the Perseids meteor shower which is an annual delight we can always look forward to, Venus is putting on a show, and two big skywatching events: Manhattanhenge and a total solar eclipse. For those in the NYC area, Manhattanhenge is what happens when the sun perfectly aligns with Manhattan's grid, resulting in a one-of-a-kind sunset show. And in August, we will be able to follow along (and live vicariously) as Space.com tracks an upcoming total solar eclipse around the world. And to stay as in the loop as possible, you can now get Space.com right in the palm of your hand with our new app available now on iOS and Android.
Ad astra, per aspera
Chelsea Gohd
Content Manager, Space.com
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