Space and astronomy news
Splashdown! The SpaceX Dragon has returned home safely, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 16:36 UTC (12:36 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. “Recovery ship has secured Dragon,” Tweeted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. “Powering down all secondary systems. Cargo looks A-OK.” A team of SpaceX engineers, technicians and divers will recover the vehicle …
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The SpaceX Dragon commercially developed cargo craft loaded with thousands of pounds of precious science samples has departed from the International Space Station at 6:56 a.m EDT this morning (March 26) and is heading back to Earth today for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at around 12:34 p.m EDT. The ISS crew commanded the …
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Video: Launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 on CRS-2 mission on March 1, 2013 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: Jeff Seibert/Mike Barrett/Wired4Space.com Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be standing at the base of a launch pad when a powerful rocket ignites for the heavens? It’s a question I get from many …
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Sunday was a big day in space, and astronaut Chris Hadfield captured the excitement in photos, and shared them via Twitter. “What a day!” Hadfield tweeted. “Reached & grabbed a Dragon, berthed her to Station & opened the hatch to find fresh fruit, notes from friends, and peanut butter.” SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft overcame a problem …
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Kennedy Space Center – After overcoming a frightening thruster failure that could have spelled rapid doom on the heels of a breathtakingly beautiful launch, the privately developed Dragon spacecraft successfully berthed at the International Space Station (ISS) a short while ago, at 8:56 a.m. EST Sunday morning, March 3, 2013 – thereby establishing an indispensable …
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has arrived at the International Space Station! After overcoming a problem with its thrusters after reaching orbit on on Friday, today, Dragon successfully approached the Station, where it was captured by Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and crewmate Tom Marshburn using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Dragon was grappled at 5:31 a.m. …
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Kennedy Space Center – All systems are GO and the weather outlook looks spectacular for the March 1 blast off of the privately developed SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). The Falcon 9 is slated to lift off at 10:10 AM EST with a Dragon capsule loaded with fresh supplies and …
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Planetary Defense is a concept very few people heard of or took seriously – that is until last week’s humongous and totally unexpected meteor explosion over Russia sent millions of frightened residents ducking for cover, followed just hours later by Earth’s uncomfortably close shave with the 45 meter (150 ft) wide asteroid named 2012 DA14. …
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Newly received images from the surface of Mars confirm that NASA’s Curiosity rover successfully extracted the 1st ever samples collected by drilling down inside a rock on another planet and transferred the pulverized alien powder to the robots processing scoop, thrilled mission scientists announced just hours after seeing visual corroboration. Collecting the 1st particles bored …
The official name is “extra-vehicular activity,” (EVA) but most of us like to call it a spacewalk. However, when you think about it, you don’t really walk in space. You float. Or more properly speaking, clutch on to handlebars as you make your way from spot to spot on your spacecraft as you race against …
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