Space News Pod

A lawsuit targeting Elon Musk’s SpaceX, initiated by environmental activists and cultural heritage nonprofits, is set to have a new ally on the defense: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The lawsuit was sparked by the fiery outcome of Starship’s maiden flight last month — a stark reminder of the explosive risks tied to pioneering cosmic frontiers. On Friday, SpaceX filed a motion, asking federal judge Carl Nichols to permit it to rally beside the FAA in defense against the plaintiffs, which include environmental groups and heritage advocates. Surprisingly, according to court documents, the plaintiffs do not object to SpaceX’s intervention. This response isn't entirely unexpected; Jared Margolis, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and the plaintiffs' lead counsel, commented that intervention by the applicant in cases concerning their permits is fairly standard. The plaintiffs have accused the FAA of being lax in their duty to conduct comprehensive environmental studies on S

The upcoming Artemis II mission promises a lunar spectacle unlike any we've seen before, and it's all thanks to some groundbreaking laser technology. Launching aboard the Orion spacecraft from NASA's Space Launch System rocket in November 2024, the mission is set to ferry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen on a ten-day round trip that'll venture beyond the moon. The landmark mission will feature the revolutionary Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O), marking the first time a crewed lunar flight will make use of advanced laser communications technology. The O2O system is designed to transmit high-definition images and video of the lunar surface back to Earth at an unprecedented downlink rate of up to 260 megabits per second. This significant leap from the grainy footage captured during the Apollo missions half a century ago could provide us with real-time, high-definition views of the moon.

A recent study featuring new modeling and re-analysis of data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998 and NASA's Voyager spacecraft has brought forth exciting revelations about the ice giant Uranus. The study, conducted by a team of scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, led by Julie Castillo-Rogez, suggests that four of Uranus' large moons - Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon - are likely to harbor internal oceans that could be dozens of miles deep. Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, is an enigmatic world that has long captivated scientists and researchers. With a diameter of approximately 31,763 miles (51,118 kilometers), it is surrounded by a plethora of celestial bodies, including 27 known moons and four major rings. The four largest moons, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, have diameters ranging from 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) for Ariel to 980 miles (1,580 kilometers) for Titania. The National Academies' 2023 Planetary Science and Astr

In an extraordinary event that has rocked the astronomical community, scientists using the Gemini South telescope in Chile, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, have captured the first-ever evidence of a dying Sun-like star in the act of engulfing an exoplanet. This monumental finding, referred to as the "smoking gun," reveals a long, low-energy outburst from the star, a clear indication of a planet skimming the star's surface. This sighting is of particular interest to our home planet as it could provide insights into the Earth's ultimate destiny, predicted to occur when our Sun reaches its own end-of-life stage, estimated to be in about five billion years. Astronomers have long studied countless stars at various stages of their evolution to understand the lifecycle of stars and their interactions with neighboring planetary systems as they age. This research has shown that when a Sun-like star approaches the end of its life, it swells anywhere from 100 to 1000 times its original size, potentially swa

On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) put a temporary halt to SpaceX's Starship rocket operations after a test flight concluded with an explosive twist just minutes into liftoff, ultimately crashing into the Gulf of Mexico. Launching from Boca Chica, Texas, the colossal rocket - propelled by 33 Raptor engines - dramatically disintegrated mid-flight, around four minutes after takeoff. Notably, the Starship carried no passengers or satellites during this initial trial. As part of standard safety measures, the FAA will keep the rockets grounded while conducting a thorough investigation. The agency seeks to verify that "any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety," according to their official statement.

SpaceX is targeting as soon as Thursday, April 20 for the first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas. The 62 minute launch window opens at 8:28 a.m. CT and closes at 9:30 a.m. CT. Starship is a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond. With a test such as this, success is measured by how much we can learn, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship. To date, the SpaceX team has completed multiple sub-orbital flight tests of Starship’s upper stage from Starbase, successfully demonstrating an unprecedented approach to controlled flight. These flight tests helped validate the vehicle’s design, proving Starship can fly through the subsonic phase of entry before re-lighting its engines and flipping itself to a vertical configuration for landing. In addition to the testing o

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https://starshipshirts.com The SpaceX Starship Super Heavy rocket is a cutting-edge, fully reusable space vehicle designed by Elon Musk's private aerospace company, SpaceX. Combining two stages, the Starship as the upper stage and the Super Heavy as the booster, this colossal rocket is engineered to transport cargo and humans to destinations such as the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The Starship Super Heavy employs a multitude of advanced technologies, including stainless steel construction for enhanced durability and heat resistance, as well as the innovative Raptor engines which utilize methane and liquid oxygen as propellants. This groundbreaking rocket not only aims to revolutionize space travel with its reusability and cost-effectiveness, but also serves as a testament to human ingenuity and ambition in our quest to explore and inhabit the cosmos.

Discover the starship system from SpaceX, the fully reusable two-stage-to-orbit super heavy-lift launch vehicle. Powered by the world's most powerful rocket engines, the Raptor 2 engines, which are getting ready for a 33-engine static fire test soon. This system is composed of the Super Heavy booster stage and the advanced starship second stage. Stay on the cutting edge of space technology with this exciting development from SpaceX. #spacex #nasa #elonmusk ►► https://starshipshirts.com ►► https://discord.gg/dMXghpX ►► https://twitch.tv/spacenewspod ►► https://facebook.com/spacenewspod ►► https://patreon.com/spacenewspod ►► https://twitter.com/spacenewspod ►► https://instagram.com/thespacenewspod ►► https://gofund.me/0c6956f4

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Astrolab, a pioneering lunar rover developer, has joined forces with SpaceX, the trailblazing aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company. The partnership aims to transport Astrolab's first rover to the moon on a future SpaceX Starship flight. This ambitious collaboration signals a new chapter in lunar exploration, with both companies committed to pushing the boundaries of space travel. Astrolab's Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover is at the center of this groundbreaking venture. Scheduled to be carried as a payload on a SpaceX Starship lunar lander mission as early as mid-2026, the FLEX rover represents the first commercial contract SpaceX has signed for lunar cargo delivery. This partnership will likely pave the way for similar collaborations, fueling further advancements in space exploration.

In today's episode, we're diving into the world of commercial space travel, as Boeing faces yet another delay for their Starliner capsule's first mission carrying astronauts to space. The stakes are high as the company hopes to join SpaceX's Crew Dragon in providing NASA-approved rides to orbit. This delay comes amidst a series of setbacks and technical debates, and in this episode, we'll explore the details and implications of this development for Boeing, NASA, and the commercial space industry. Boeing's Starliner capsule, initially planned for an April launch, has now been postponed until at least the summer. This decision follows last-minute tests and technical debates, pushing the mission behind a private astronaut mission scheduled for May. The Starliner crewed mission represents a crucial moment for Boeing's space unit, as it aims to join SpaceX's Crew Dragon as the second NASA-approved vehicle for orbital missions. With the certification process taking longer than expect

All the socials > https://linktr.ee/stagezerostudios Blue Origin recently experienced an anomaly during its NS-23 uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight mission of the New Shepard rocket, which launched on September 12, 2022. The flight was carrying the capsule RSS H.G. Wells and the propulsion module Tail 3, and involved thirty-six payloads, including eighteen funded by NASA's Flight Opportunities program. During the flight, the booster failed during max q, triggering the Crew Capsule escape system. This system functioned as designed and brought the capsule and its payloads to a safe landing at Launch Site One with no damage. The Propulsion Module, on the other hand, commanded a shutdown of the BE-3PM engine and followed an unpowered trajectory to impact within the defined flight safety analysis prediction, resulting in no danger to human life or property.

In this episode, we'll be discussing a recent report suggesting that a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are planning to participate in a multibillion-dollar funding round for SpaceX, Elon Musk's private space company. With SpaceX's valuation potentially reaching $140 billion, this would make it one of the largest privately-owned companies in the world by valuation. Join us as we unpack the implications of this investment and what it means for the future of SpaceX and the private space industry as a whole. We'll take a closer look at the company's recent achievements, from the impressive milestones of the Falcon 9 rocket to the ambitious plans for the Starship and Mars colonization. We'll also discuss the growing interest in the private space industry from the Middle East and the potential ethical considerations of accepting investments from these sources.

Researchers observing with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have pinpointed silicate cloud features in a distant planet’s atmosphere. The atmosphere is constantly rising, mixing, and moving during its 22-hour day, bringing hotter material up and pushing colder material down. The resulting brightness changes are so dramatic that it is the most variable planetary-mass object known to date. The team, led by Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona, also made extraordinarily clear detections of water, methane and carbon monoxide with Webb’s data, and found evidence of carbon dioxide. This is the largest number of molecules ever identified all at once on a planet outside our solar system. Cataloged as VHS 1256 b, the planet is about 40 light-years away and orbits not one, but two stars over a 10,000-year period. “VHS 1256 b is about four times farther from its stars than Pluto is from our Sun, which makes it a great target for Webb,” Miles said. “That means the planet’s light is not mixed with light from its

In this episode, we delve into the ambitious Polaris Dawn mission, set to launch in July 2023 on a Falcon 9 rocket. Led by Jared Isaacman, the mission features four commercial astronauts who will call a Crew Dragon capsule home for five days. With groundbreaking objectives like achieving the highest Earth orbit, hosting the first commercial spacewalk, testing in-space communications using Starlink, and conducting crucial scientific research, Polaris Dawn aims to advance space exploration while raising funds for St. Jude Children's Hospital. This mission marks the first of three in the Polaris Program, paving the way for further exploration and technological advancements in space travel.

NASA is set to invest nearly $1 billion in a tug to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of the decade. The initiative is part of the agency's fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, aimed at providing redundancy and ensuring the safe disposal of the station. The budget outlines a 7.1% increase from 2023, totaling $27.2 billion. The ISS deorbit tug is one of the major new initiatives in NASA's 2024 budget proposal. It will be utilized for the final lowering of the station's orbit, ensuring reentry over the South Pacific. The agency first indicated its plans for the tug in August last year but offered few specifics about the vehicle. The project has been allocated $180 million in the budget, which NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations, Kathy Lueders, describes as a "healthy start." While exact costs will depend on industry proposals, the agency estimates a total cost just under $1 billion.

China's first Mars rover, Zhurong, has not moved since September, according to NASA imagery released last month. Zhurong went into hibernation on May 18, 2022, to survive Mars' harsh winter and was expected to wake up around December. The rover remains stationary due to sand and dust covering its solar panels, which reduces its ability to transform sunlight into electricity. Chinese scientists are waiting for a signal from the rover, and sandstorms have hampered its ability to generate power. Zhurong's mission objectives include searching for evidence of water on Mars and investigating the planet's surface composition, regolith characteristics, and water-ice distribution. The rover is considered to have fulfilled its mission with an expected lifespan of 90 days. This is not the first time Zhurong has gone quiet; it lost contact with Earth for a month during a solar conjunction in October 2021. The China National Space Administration has not released any information on the current status of the

In this episode of The Space News Pod, we cover the safe return of NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission, which completed the agency's fifth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station. The international crew of four spent 157 days in orbit, conducting critical science experiments and technology demonstrations that will help pave the way for our return to the Moon and future deep space missions. We discuss the crew's accomplishments during their mission, including the installation of new solar arrays and testing of hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil. We also touch on the importance of innovation and the development of new technologies to support long-term human space exploration, as well as the role of the Commercial Crew Program in advancing spaceflight. Tune in to learn more about the successful return of the Crew-5 mission and its significance for the future of space exploration.