NASA announced on Tuesday that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain on the ISS until at least late March due to an unexpected delay in their return mission. Originally arriving in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner for an eight-day stay, issues with the Starliner’s propulsion system led NASA to alter plans, deciding to return […]
Unexpected Delay Prevents Astronauts from Leaving the ISS as Scheduled Read More »
NASA ‘s X-59 aircraft has been progressing toward its first flight since development began in 2016, with the goal of resurrecting commercial supersonic travel. Next, the agency plans to test jet-mounted shock-sensing cones to measure its “sonic thuds.” NASA has worked on the X-59 for nearly nine years, despite a 50-year ban on civilian supersonic
NASA Plans to Pilot F-15 Jets Through the Supersonic Shockwaves Generated by the X-59 Read More »
Picture an aurora, and you likely imagine green swirls dancing across a frozen sky. While green is common, auroras can display a variety of colors depending on altitude, location, and the atmospheric gases involved. During a powerful geomagnetic storm in May 2024, an unusual blue aurora appeared at low latitudes, reaching extraordinary heights. Using images
Enigmatic Blue Aurora Suggests Unexplored Atmospheric Phenomena Read More »
The dream of commercial supersonic flight is inching closer to reality. On November 12, 2024, Dawn Aerospace’s 16-ft (4.8-m) autonomous Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered plane reached Mach 1.1, officially breaking the sound barrier. Since the Concorde’s retirement in 2003, civil supersonic travel has largely faded into history. However, a new wave of startups has emerged, aiming
Rocket Plane Achieves First Civilian Supersonic Flight Since Concorde Read More »
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Sierra Space Corporation have created an advanced heat shield, inspired by 1980s Space Shuttle technology, to protect reusable spacecraft during reentry. Challenges of Atmospheric Reentry and Advances in Heat Shield Technology Earth’s atmosphere poses a significant challenge for returning spacecraft, burning up objects without protective measures. While most current heat
New Heat Shield Developed to Protect Next-Gen Reusable Spacecraft During Reentry Read More »
If you’ve ever dreamed of designing a spacecraft to carry humans to another star system over centuries, now’s your chance. The Project Hyperion Design Contest encourages teams to develop Generation Ship concepts—self-sustaining vessels built for long-term interstellar travel. Colonizing other planets has often been proposed as a safeguard against extinction-level events like asteroid impacts. However,
Spaceship Designers Tasked with Creating Star-Hopping Generation Ships Read More »
The world watched in awe as SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster made a historic achievement with the first-ever tower capture landing following the Starship 5 mission launch. However, few realized just how close the event came to disaster—within just one second. This capture of Super Heavy, the massive first stage of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, was a
Starship Booster’s Historic Capture Came Just Seconds from Fiery Disaster Read More »
Austrian aerospace company CycloTech has announced its plans to develop a demonstrator eVTOL to showcase its advanced propulsion system designed for electric flight. The company aims to unveil its “BlackBird” flying car by the end of this year, with test flights anticipated in early 2025. CycloTech has spent years perfecting its CycloRotors—unique 360-degree thrust-vectoring propulsion
CycloTech 750-lb CycloRotor-Powered eVTOL Targets a 2025 Launch Read More »
A man stumbled across probable space debris while snorkeling on Cayos Cochinos, a remote island cluster off the coast of Honduras in Central America. Mike Irmen and his family were visiting the islands when they spotted the debris conspicuously lying on the beach. The debris was labeled with the word “Ariane,” prompting Irmen to turn
Space Debris Found While Snorkeling Read More »
NASA scientists have confirmed the existence of a third global energy field encircling Earth, known as the ambipolar electric field. This newly discovered field plays a crucial role in propelling charged particles into space from the poles. Historical Context and Existing Fields Traditionally, Earth’s global energy fields have been understood to consist of the gravity
NASA Finds New Global Energy Field Around Earth Read More »