Tag: space

Tiny meteorite may have caused leak from Soyuz capsule

by Lucie Aubourg and Chris Lefkow in Washington with Ola Cichowlas in Moscow Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Russian and NASA engineers were assessing a coolant leak on Thursday from a Soyuz crew capsule docked with the International Space Station (ISS) that may have been caused by a micrometeorite strike. Dramatic NASA TV images showed white particles resembling snowflakes streaming out of the rear of the vessel for hours. The coolant leak forced […]

Japanese startup launches historic Moon mission

  Washington, United States (AFP) A Japanese startup’s spacecraft was launched to the Moon on Sunday in the country’s first-ever lunar mission and the first of its kind by a private company. The launch was carried out by Elon Musk’s SpaceX at Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida after two postponements for additional pre-flight checks. The spacecraft, produced by Tokyo-based startup ispace and carrying a UAE-built rover, blasted off aboard a Falcon 9 […]

NASA capsule Orion splashes down after record-setting lunar voyage

  by Lucie AUBOURG Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA’s Orion space capsule splashed down safely in the Pacific on Sunday, completing the Artemis 1 mission — a more than 25-day journey around the Moon with an eye to returning humans there in just a few years. After racing through the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers) per hour, the uncrewed capsule floated down to the sea with the […]

Japanese billionaire Maezawa announces crew of artists for lunar voyage

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced Thursday eight crew members who will join him for a journey around the Moon planned for 2023 on a SpaceX rocket that is still under development. The mission, known as dearMoon, was first announced in 2018. Maezawa initially said he would invite a crew of six-to-eight artists, but later changed the entry requirements to a competition which applicants could apply for online. The eight people […]

NASA’s Orion spaceship slingshots around Moon, heads for home

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA’s Orion spaceship made a close pass of the Moon and used a gravity assist to whip itself back towards Earth on Monday, marking the start of the return journey for the Artemis-1 mission. At its nearest point, the uncrewed capsule flew less than 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the surface, testing maneuvers that will be used during later Artemis missions that return humans to the rocky celestial body. Communication […]

Liftoff! NASA launches mega Moon rocket, ushering new era of exploration

United States | AFP | by Lucie AUBOURG NASA launched the most powerful rocket ever built on a journey to the Moon on Wednesday, in a spectacular blaze of light and sound that marked the start of the space agency’s new flagship program, Artemis. The 32-story tall Space Launch System (SLS) blasted off from the storied Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 01:47 am (0647 GMT), producing a record 8.8 million pounds (39 meganewtons) of […]

NASA Moon rocket launch delayed again, this time by storm

  A dangerous storm surge is expected along much of the east coast of FL and portions of coastal GA where a Storm Surge Warning is in effect. The surge will be accompanied by large, damaging waves. Residents should listen to advice given by local officials. https://t.co/meemB5d6ch pic.twitter.com/yL7O0HN82j — National Weather Service (@NWS) November 9, 2022 d”> Miami, United States | AFP | NASA again rescheduled its long-delayed uncrewed mission to the Moon on Tuesday […]

New potentially hazardous asteroid discovered

  Washington, United States | AFP | An international team of astronomers on Monday announced the discovery of a large asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Earth, creating a small chance far in the future of a catastrophic collision. The 1.5 kilometer- (0.9 mile-) wide asteroid, named 2022 AP7, was discovered in area notoriously difficult to spot objects due to the glare from the Sun. It was found along with two other near-Earth asteroids using […]

China launches third and final module for Tiangong space station: state TV

  Beijing, China | AFP | China launched the final module of its Tiangong space station on Monday, state media said, the latest step in Beijing’s ambitious space programme. The module named Mengtian, or “dreaming of heavens,” was “launched on a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang launch centre” on China’s tropical island Hainan, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Amateur photographers and space enthusiasts watched the launch — which took place at 3:27 pm (0727 […]

Iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’ captured in new Webb image

Washington, United States | AFP | The James Webb Space Telescope captured the iconic “Pillars of Creation,” huge structures of gas and dust teeming with stars, NASA said Wednesday, and the image is as majestic as one could hope. The twinkling of thousands of stars illuminates the telescope’s first shot of the gigantic gold, copper and brown columns standing in the midst of the cosmos. At the ends of several pillars are bright red, lava-like […]

Japan space rocket ordered to self-destruct after failed launch

by Kyoko HASEGAWA Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s space agency said it sent a self-destruct order to its Epsilon rocket after a failed launch on Wednesday because of a problem that meant the craft could not safely fly. The unmanned rocket, on its sixth mission, was taking satellites into orbit to demonstrate “innovative” technologies. “The rocket can’t continue a safe flight, because of the danger it would create if it falls on the […]

NASA kicked asteroid off course in test to save Earth

Washington, United States | AFP | by Issam AHMED NASA on Tuesday celebrated exceeding expectations during a mission to deflect a distant asteroid, in a sci-fi like test of humanity’s ability to stop an incoming cosmic object from devastating life on Earth. The fridge-sized Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impactor deliberately smashed into the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, pushing it into a smaller, faster orbit around its big brother Didymos, NASA chief Bill […]