Virgin Galactic Aborts SpaceShipTwo Suborbital Spaceflight
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo aborted an attempted suborbital spaceflight Dec. 12 from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, carrying the SpaceShipTwo vehicle named VSS Unity by the company, took off from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico at 10:24 a.m. Eastern. Piloting SpaceShipTwo were Dave Mackay, the company’s chief test pilot, and […]
SpaceX Starship prototype makes first high-altitude flight but explodes during landing
SpaceX performed the first high-altitude test flight of a prototype of its Starship launch vehicle Dec. 9, with the vehicle successfully lifting off the pad but exploding when attempting a landing several minutes later. The Starship SN8 vehicle lifted off from SpaceX’s test site at Boca Chica, Texas, at approximately 5:45 p.m. Eastern. The flight […]
Chinese Chang’e-5 spacecraft smashes into moon after completing mission
The Chang’e-5 ascent vehicle which carried precious samples into lunar orbit was commanded to crash into the moon Dec. 7 after completing its role in the mission. Mission control sent commands to the spacecraft at 5:59 p.m. Eastern Dec. 7, resulting in the ascent vehicle impacting the moon around 6:30 p.m., the China Lunar Exploration […]
Join an Astronaut Webinar 🚀 20 Years of Living in Space
What Can We Learn from 20 Years of Living in Space? Sign up now for a free live webinar with former NASA astronaut Gregory “Box” Johnson to celebrate 20 years of continuous living on the International Space Station and hear what life lessons you can learn from it. See available webinar times to below. Kalle Vaha-Jaakkola, Captain […]
World Space Forum 2020
World Space Forum ‘Space for our Future’ ONLINE VIRTUAL MEETING Organized jointly by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency 9-10 December 2020 UPDATES 27.11.2020: Draft Programme (Subject to change) uploaded 17.11.2020: Side events and special session announcement – updated Agenda-at-a-glance (Subject to change) available 06.11.2020: Agenda-at-a-glance (Subject to change) uploaded – […]
Virgin Galactic prepares for its first spaceflight from New Mexico
Virgin Galactic announced Dec. 1 that is had rescheduled a powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane for a window that opens Dec. 11 from Spaceport America in New Mexico. Pilots CJ Sturckow and David Mackay will fly the vehicle on a trajectory that will go above the 80-kilometer altitude that the company defines […]
Chang’e-5 spacecraft Lands on the Moon
The lander-ascender combination of China’s Chang’e-5 lunar probe has successfully landed on the Mons Rumker area of the huge volcanic plain Oceanus Procellarum, known as the “Ocean of Storms,” on the near side of the moon on Tuesday evening, China’s National Space Administration said. The CNSA informed the Global Times that the lunar probe has […]
New Milestone for Starlink Launches by SpaceX
SpaceX set a new milestone in Falcon 9 reuse with the latest Starlink satellite launch Nov. 24 as the company seeks permission to deploy Starlink satellites into a new orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9:13 p.m. Eastern. The rocket’s […]
The Astronomy of Many Cultures: A Resource Guide
The teaching of astronomy in our colleges and high schools often sidesteps the contributions of cultures outside of Europe and the U.S. white mainstream. Few educators (formal or informal) receive much training in this area, and they therefore tend to stick to people and histories they know from their own training — even when an […]
IAU Symposium 367 to Stream for Free Online
The IAUS367: Education and Heritage in the Era of Big Data Astronomy will be streaming much of their program for free on Youtube. The symposium focuses on the future of astronomical education in this new age of astronomical research. The symposium will be held between 8-12 December 2020. The primary goal of this Symposium is […]