Space exploration uses fantastic astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. See space news, exciting discoveries of space missions, objects seen by telescopes, robotic space probes and humans in space.
What SpaceX just did with Falcon 9 is totally shocking to the entire world!
With the ability to take humans to new frontiers of the universe, SpaceX's Starship is considered one of the hottest spots attracting global attention. This is not surprising as SpaceX has previously achieved a historic milestone with the Falcon 9 rocket, which Elon Musk dubbed as SpaceX's "workhorse." The success of Falcon 9 has captured the world's attention and brought awareness to the breakthroughs in space technology that the company is achieving.
So what did SpaceX do with Falcon 9 to shock the whole world?
FAA faces lawsuit over SpaceX's Starship launch license to the local environment...
It's been two weeks since the historic launch of SpaceX Starship, Elon Musk recently revealed that SpaceX should be ready to relaunch Starship in 6 to 8 weeks.
Yeah, that is the plan but the reality may take longer than that to get the necessary approvals.
In fact, Starship was grounded indefinitely by FAA. On the other hand, FAA is facing a lawsuit over SpaceX’s damage to the local environment.
How SpaceX is trying to do to bring Starship back to orbit?
All this and more in this episode of Great SpaceX.
If you're tired of waiting for Starship's first orbital flight only to have it end up blowing up, SpaceX won't make you wait too much longer for Starship's next flight.
Elon Musk even promised that SpaceX can get four flights out this year, or maybe five.
While this timeline may seem overly ambitious, it's difficult to gauge the limits of the SpaceX team.
So, when will SpaceX launch the second Starship orbital flight?
And how will SpaceX's next flight differ from the first?
All this and more in this episode of Great SpaceX.
Elon Musk just revealed NEW Starship's timeline...
Unusual: Unlike previous Falcon Heavy launches, SpaceX did not bring any of its three first-stage boosters back for a vertical landing
While SpaceX is clearly good at delivering satellites to orbit quickly and efficiently, they almost always put on a beautiful show for the locals and thousands of viewers watching online, and the latest launch of Falcon Heavy was no exception.
For one, the reusable rocket had no landing legs installed, and all three boosters were expended during the mission, a deviation from their typical recovery protocol. Besides, the upper stage featured a gray band at the top crucial to the success of the launch.
Especially, the fairing's fiery re-entry is also the 'hottest' yet for SpaceX!
Why is there such a difference? How Elon Musk just pushes harder on Falcon Heavy?
All this and more in this episode of Great SpaceX.
SpaceX is fixing the launch site, New Megabay construction, OLM, Lox tanks, concrete...
Well, what do you know? It's been confirmed that the next Starship launch will only be 6 weeks away, which means less than two months before SpaceX can test their Starship rocket once more. With such a tight deadline, the team is working at a remarkable pace to resolve the necessary issues at Starbase.
And indeed, it's quite difficult to count how many cranes, excavators, and bulldozers are working here. But let’s give a rough estimate.
There are at least six cranes dedicated to fixing the orbital launch mount (OLM).
As you know, the OLM had endured the most amount of damage caused by the massive thrust of the Super Heavy rocket booster engines.
ULA is over? Two years ago, Elon Musk predicted that United Launch Alliance (ULA) would be "dead as a doornail."
Two years ago, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk boldly predicted that United Launch Alliance (ULA) would be "dead as a doornail". Now, it appears his prophecy is coming to fruition.
According to three sources who spoke to Ars Technica, ULA is likely to be sold before the end of the year. Investment firm Morgan Stanley and consulting firm Bain & Company are reportedly managing the transaction, though the details of the potential sale have yet to be disclosed publicly.
If the sale goes through, it would mark a major shift in the global aerospace industry, as ULA is one of the world's most important rocket companies. It remains to be seen what the future holds for ULA, but Elon Musk's prediction may soon become a reality.
This is the end of an era for the global rocket industry! So, what does the future hold for ULA? How did CEO Tory Bruno respond to this news? And who can step in to save the company?
All these questions and more are answered in this episode of Great SpaceX!
James Webb Telescope just thrilled Scientists mind "The Big Bang theory is WRONG"
The field of astronomy is buzzing with excitement due to new images captured by the Webb Telescope.
Yeah, after several delays, the James Webb Space Telescope is an outstanding scientific tool that is helping scientists understand more about the universe than was ever possible before with other observatories. But now, it seems like it is also putting astronomers in an unsettling predicament - they will have to question the very fundamentals of what they know about cosmology.
Indeed, astronomers were left reeling after recent images revealed a mind-boggling discovery:
A colossal galaxy, dwarfing even our Milky Way, and a pint-sized galaxy, deemed too tiny to exist, were found to coexist in the early universe!
This is how James Webb Telescope just proved that "The Big Bang theory is WRONG".
The Real Reason SpaceX Developed The Falcon Heavy Rocket!
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, while not necessarily the most historically significant, largest, or most powerful rocket ever made, is undeniably still the epitome of cool.
From launch to landing, the Falcon Heavy is a sight to behold and a true spectacle of science and engineering in action.
However, in recent years, Musk's vision focused more on Starship, the rocket SpaceX plans to use to transport up to 100 people or deliver 100 tons of cargo to Mars.
Starship's development is part of the reason why SpaceX decided not to pursue a "human rating" for Falcon Heavy.
Eventually, SpaceX's fully-reusable next-gen heavy lift vehicle is going to replace both the Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9. But even as SpaceX's development accelerates on the Starship project, there are multiple applications for Falcon Heavy in the years ahead.
If you've already had a vehicle developed, the question is how many additional features would it take to keep that as a part of their product offering, if you will. That could contribute to their bottom line, even if it's not a part of their long-term strategy.
So, this is everything you need to know about this particular monster. More importantly, the real reason behind its development will definitely astonish you.
So see the great episode of Great SpaceX:
Elon Musk's mastermind in developing SpaceX's Monster rocket "Falcon Heavy"
Russian space agency boss says that there is 'no proof' USA ever landed on the Moon.
On July 20, 1969, millions of people gathered around their televisions to watch two USA astronauts do something no one had ever done before. Wearing bulky space suits and backpacks of oxygen to breathe, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first human beings to walk on the moon.
After the two stepped onto the lunar surface, Armstrong proclaimed these famous words: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
Yeah, the first crewed lunar landing in 1969 was a historic triumph for the USA and humankind.
Ironically, Russia's Roscosmos space agency's former boss Dmitry Rogozin, recently revealed that he believes the US Apollo 11 mission was faked and American astronauts never landed on the Moon. He further questions why, all of a sudden, did the USA stop sending manned missions to the Moon.
Is this a new Rogozin joke?
And why hasn't NASA sent humans back to the moon yet?
Former Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin thinks NASA did not land on the Moon...
So-called "Mars" is the 4th planet from the Sun and the third largest and massive terrestrial object in the Solar System. Mars has a thin atmosphere and a crust primarily composed of elements similar to Earth's crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel. Mars has surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes, and polar ice caps. Mars has two small, irregularly shaped moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Some of the most notable surface features on Mars include Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest-known mountain in the Solar System, and Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The Borealis basin in the Northern Hemisphere covers approximately 40% of the planet and may be a large impact feature. Days and seasons on Mars are comparable to those of Earth, as the planets have a similar rotation period and tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane. Liquid water on the surface of Mars cannot exist due to low atmospheric pressure, which is less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure on Earth. Both of Mars's polar ice caps appear to be made largely of water. In the distant past, Mars was likely wetter, and thus possibly more suited for life. It is not known whether life has ever existed on Mars.
Although we usually think of water being liquid between zero and 100 degrees Celsius, this is only true for pure water at Earth's sea level atmospheric pressure (about 14.7 pounds per square inch or 1014 millibar).
The single combination of pressure and temperature at which liquid water, solid ice, and water vapor can coexist in a stable equilibrium occurs at exactly 273.1600 K (0.0100 °C; 32.0180 °F) and a partial vapor pressure of 611.657 pascals (6.11657 mbar; 0.00603659 atm).
At sufficiently low pressures there is no liquid phase, but the substance can exist as either gas or solid. For water, there is no liquid phase at pressures below 0.00600 atm. The phase change from solid to gas is called sublimation.
Can liquid water exist above 100 C? Yes. Temperature of water can not exceed 100 deg celsius only when pressure is 1 atm, as it starts boiling and vaporise. If pressure is increased, then the boiling point can also be increased and water can attain more than 100 degree celsius. This is why indeed pressure cookers cook faster.
In two years, NASA really plans to land humans on the Moon! NASA’s Artemis Program, which will establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, is currently underway. It has 4 main components: The space launch system, or SLS, which will launch astronauts into orbit. The Orion spacecraft, which will transport them to and from the Moon. The human landing system, which will transport them to and from the lunar surface. And Gateway, a space station that will support ground operations.
Already, Artemis 1, which launched in November 2022, has successfully demonstrated the SLS and Orion, by sending an un-crewed Orion around the Moon and back to Earth. The next mission, in 2024, will launch astronauts around the Moon and finally, in 2025, they will land on the surface. After this, many more missions will establish a permanent human lunar presence, serving as a stepping stone to Mars and other destinations even further into the solar system!
What is NASA?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the USA federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), to give the USA space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968-1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. NASA supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for uncrewed NASA launches.
FAA finally declared SpaceX Starship OFT is READY...
GREAT SPACEX is the Channel on Youtube that has the story.
FAA finally declared SpaceX Starship OFT happen next week
Following months (if not years) of anticipation, Starship’s inaugural orbital test flight could finally happen next week, according to a planning notice posted Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The FAA notice said the launch's primary expected date is April 10, but listed backup dates as April 11 and 12. Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket and satellite company must still get a launch license for what is expected to be its first orbital flight test from Boca Chica, Texas.
"The FAA has not made a license determination for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy operation, and the FAA's Command Center planning notice should not be interpreted as an indicator that a determination to issue a license has been made or is forthcoming," the FAA said in a statement.
What is FAA?
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the USA government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic control, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Scientists have really discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples returned from a Chinese mission
Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples from a Chinese mission.
Water was embedded in tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt where meteorite impacts occur. These shiny, multicolored glass beads were in samples returned from the moon by China in 2020.
The beads range in size from the width of one hair to several hairs; the water content was just a miniscule fraction of that, said Hejiu Hui of Nanjing University, who took part in the study.
Since there are billions if not trillions of these impact beads, that could amount to substantial amounts of water, but mining it would be tough, according to the team.
March 24, 2023 - NASA on Youtube has the story. The Artemis II Moon Rocket is Coming Together, a high honor for some space explorers, and an intriguing find for the Webb Space Telescope - a few of the stories to tell you about - This Week at NASA!
NASA certainly reached a big milestone in moon rocket assembly.
The agency's crewed Artemis 2 mission, which will launch to the moon as soon as 2024, will use a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage that is nearly ready, an update from NASA officials(opens in new tab) indicated on Tuesday (March 21). The core stage is now indeed fully assembled, (aside from its four RS-25 engines, which will be popped on shortly).
On April 3, NASA will name the 3 Americans and 1 Canadian that will fly around the moon for the first crewed mission to Earth's nearest neighbor since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Artemis 2 follows on from the successful Artemis 1, which really sent an uncrewed Orion capsule to lunar orbit and back late last year.
Rolls-Royce has received funding from the UK Space Agency to develop a nuclear reactor for a Moon base.
The project will look into how nuclear power could be used to support a future base on the Moon for astronauts.
Scientists and engineers at the British company are working on the micro-reactor programme to develop technology that will provide power needed for humans to live and work on Earth’s natural satellite.
All space missions depend on a power source, to support systems for communications, life-support and science experiments.
Experts suggest nuclear power could potentially dramatically increase the length of lunar missions.
The UK Space Agency has announced £2.9m of new funding for the project, which will deliver an initial demonstration of a lunar modular nuclear reactor.
This comes after a £249,000 study funded by the UK Space Agency in 2022.
Science minister George Freeman said: "Space exploration is the ultimate laboratory for so many of the transformational technologies we need on Earth: from materials to robotics, nutrition, cleantech and much more."
"As we prepare to see humans return to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, we are backing exciting research like this lunar modular reactor with Rolls-Royce to pioneer new power sources for a lunar base."
"Partnerships like this, between British industry, the UK Space Agency and Government are helping to create jobs across our £16 billion Space Tech sector and help ensure the UK continues to be a major force in frontier science."
Rolls-Royce plans to have a reactor ready to send to the Moon by 2029.
Artemis II is the first crewed flight test on the agency’s path to establishing a long-term scientific and human presence on the lunar surface.
NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will announce during an event at 11 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. CDT) on Monday, April 3, from NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston, the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon. Traveling aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft during Artemis II, the mission is the first crewed flight test on the agency’s path to establishing a long-term scientific and human presence on the lunar surface.
The event will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Media are invited to attend the event and speak with the astronauts about their assignments. Other experts working on Artemis missions also will be available. Additional opportunities to interview crew remotely will be available on Tuesday, April 4.
International media wishing to attend must contact NASA no later than 5 p.m. CDT Friday, March 17. U.S. media must contact NASA no later than 5 p.m. Monday, March 27. Media can RSVP to the Johnson newsroom by calling 281-483-5111 or emailing: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission aboard NASA’s foundational human deep space capabilities: the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, and the ground systems needed to launch them. The approximately 10-day mission will test and stress the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems to prove the capabilities and techniques required to live and work in deep space in ways only humans can do.
The crew will include three NASA astronauts and one CSA astronaut, demonstrating the agency’s commitment to international partnerships through the Artemis program. Artemis II builds on the successful Artemis I flight test, which launched an uncrewed Orion, atop the SLS rocket, on a 1.4 million-mile journey beyond the Moon to test systems before astronauts fly aboard the systems on a mission to the Moon.
Learn more about Artemis at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis/
Below are some definitions of the space mission:
Artemis 2 (officially Artemis II) is the second scheduled mission of NASA's Artemis program, and the first scheduled crewed mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft, currently planned to be launched by the Space Launch System (SLS) in November 2024. The crewed Orion spacecraft will perform a lunar flyby test and return to Earth. Artemis 2 is planned to be the first crewed spacecraft to travel to the Moon, or beyond low Earth orbit, since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Originally designated so-called Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2), the mission was intended to collect samples from a captured asteroid in lunar orbit by the now canceled robotic Asteroid Redirect Mission; it was renamed after the introduction of the Artemis program. The mission is also planned to be the first crewed launch from LC-39B since STS-116.
The Artemis 2 mission plan objective is to send four astronauts in the first crewed Orion MPCV Spacecraft into a lunar flyby for a maximum of 21 days using the Block 1 variant of the Space Launch System. The mission profile is a multi-trans lunar injection (MTLI), or multiple departure burns, and includes a free return trajectory from the Moon. The Orion spacecraft will be sent to a high Earth orbit with a period of roughly 42 hours. During this time the crew will perform various checkouts of the spacecraft's life support systems as well as an in-space rendezvous and proximity operations demonstration using the spent Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) as a target. When Orion reaches perigee once again, it will fire its main engine to complete the TLI maneuver which will send it to a lunar free return trajectory, before returning to planet Earth.
Take a look at how NASA Plans To Build The First Moon Base. The Youtube video is interesting.
A moonbase is a facility on the surface of the Moon, enabling human activity on the Moon. Moonbases can be for robotic or human use, in both cases not necessarily including lunar habitation facilities. A base might be a step towards so-called colonization of planets.
Missions to the Moon have so far realized only temporary single-mission bases, (Tranquility Base being the first), as well as some really small permanent installations. Plans for establishing facilities on the Moon that could enable sustained human activity at the Moon have been proposed and are actively pursued nationally and increasingly internationally by various space agencies.
United States concepts:
USA has NASA lunar outpost concepts. The USA has run several attempts to design and in some cases develop lunar outposts and the needed missions, the first being from 1959, with the upcoming Artemis missions being the most advanced.
The current Artemis Program is interessting. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of United States (NASA) requested an increase in the 2020 budget of $1.6 billion in order to make another crewed mission around the Moon in 2024, followed by a sustained presence on the Moon by 2028. NASA is ready to announce plans to bring together Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Missions on the Moon. This specific program, "The Artemis Program," encompasses NASA's overview for lunar exploration plans. This announcement will go over the first in a series of many more to come complex missions. Artemis I started the program as an uncrewed flight test to demonstrate the capabilities of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft on November 16, 2022. The first flight with a crew will be Artemis II, closely followed by Artemis III that will land crew on the moon in 2025 using a new commercially procured Human Landing System (HLS), chosen to be Starship HLS. They hope to develop a sustainable intereting lunar exploration program starting from 2028.
Chinese concepts:
The so-called International Lunar Research Station is an interesting idea. In 2020, China proposed the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a somewhat similar proposal to the Moon Village, with Roscosmos and ESA showing interest. The first steps toward establishing the ILRS will be taken through Phase IV of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, consisting of Chang'e 6, 7, and 8, as well as the Russian missions, Luna 25, 26, and 27. Long-term robotic and short-term crew missions at the ILRS are expected to begin in the early 2030s. Roscosmos signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the creation of the ILRS with CNSA on March 9, 2021. There is really a projected timeline stretching from the 2030s to 2045.
Russian concepts:
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) has planned a fully robotic exciting lunar base called Lunny Poligon. The project was planned for 2020, with an expected completion date of 2037. On March 9, 2021, Russia turned to cooperate with China and signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).
