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Tuesday, April 30, 2024

NASA's Webb Maps Weather on Planet 280 Light-Years Away | Webb - WebbTelescope.org

An international team of researchers has successfully used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map the weather on the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b.

Precise brightness measurements over a broad spectrum of mid-infrared light, combined with 3D climate models and previous observations from other telescopes, suggest the presence of thick, high clouds covering the nightside, clear skies on the dayside, and equatorial winds upwards of 5,000 miles per hour mixing atmospheric gases around the planet.

The investigation is just the latest demonstration of the exoplanet science now possible with Webb’s extraordinary ability to measure temperature variations and detect atmospheric gases trillions of miles away.

Tidally Locked “Hot Jupiter”

WASP-43 b is a “hot Jupiter” type of exoplanet: similar in size to Jupiter, made primarily of hydrogen and helium, and much hotter than any of the giant planets in our own solar system. Although its star is smaller and cooler than the Sun, WASP-43 b orbits at a distance of just 1.3 million miles – less than 1/25th the distance between Mercury and the Sun.

With such a tight orbit, the planet is tidally locked, with one side continuously illuminated and the other in permanent darkness. Although the nightside never receives any direct radiation from the star, strong eastward winds transport heat around from the dayside.

Since its discovery in 2011, WASP-43 b has been observed with numerous telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble and now-retired Spitzer space telescopes.

“With Hubble, we could clearly see that there is water vapor on the dayside. Both Hubble and Spitzer suggested there might be clouds on the nightside,” explained Taylor Bell, researcher from the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute and lead author of a study published today in Nature Astronomy. “But we needed more precise measurements from Webb to really begin mapping the temperature, cloud cover, winds, and more detailed atmospheric composition all the way around the planet.”

Mapping Temperature and Inferring Weather

Although WASP-43 b is too small, dim, and close to its star for a telescope to see directly, its short orbital period of just 19.5 hours makes it ideal for phase curve spectroscopy, a technique that involves measuring tiny changes in brightness of the star-planet system as the planet orbits the star. 

Since the amount of mid-infrared light given off by an object depends largely on how hot it is, the brightness data captured by Webb can then be used to calculate the planet’s temperature.

The team used Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to measure light from the WASP-43 system every 10 seconds for more than 24 hours. “By observing over an entire orbit, we were able to calculate the temperature of different sides of the planet as they rotate into view,” explained Bell. “From that, we could construct a rough map of temperature across the planet.”

The measurements show that the dayside has an average temperature of nearly 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit (1,250 degrees Celsius) – hot enough to forge iron. Meanwhile, the nightside is significantly cooler at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius). The data also helps locate the hottest spot on the planet (the “hotspot”), which is shifted slightly eastward from the point that receives the most stellar radiation, where the star is highest in the planet’s sky. This shift occurs because of supersonic winds, which move heated air eastward.

“The fact that we can map temperature in this way is a real testament to Webb’s sensitivity and stability,” said Michael Roman, a co-author from the University of Leicester in the U.K.  

To interpret the map, the team used complex 3D atmospheric models like those used to understand weather and climate on Earth. The analysis shows that the nightside is probably covered in a thick, high layer of clouds that prevent some of the infrared light from escaping to space. As a result, the nightside – while very hot – looks dimmer and cooler than it would if there were no clouds.

Missing Methane and High Winds 

The broad spectrum of mid-infrared light captured by Webb also made it possible to measure the amount of water vapor (H2O) and methane (CH4) around the planet. “Webb has given us an opportunity to figure out exactly which molecules we’re seeing and put some limits on the abundances,” said Joanna Barstow, a co-author from the Open University in the U.K.

The spectra show clear signs of water vapor on the nightside as well as the dayside of the planet, providing additional information about how thick the clouds are and how high they extend in the atmosphere.  

Surprisingly, the data also shows a distinct lack of methane anywhere in the atmosphere. Although the dayside is too hot for methane to exist (most of the carbon should be in the form of carbon monoxide), methane should be stable and detectable on the cooler nightside.

“The fact that we don't see methane tells us that WASP-43 b must have wind speeds reaching something like 5,000 miles per hour,” explained Barstow. “If winds move gas around from the dayside to the nightside and back again fast enough, there isn’t enough time for the expected chemical reactions to produce detectable amounts of methane on the nightside.”

The team thinks that because of this wind-driven mixing, the atmospheric chemistry is the same all the way around the planet, which wasn’t apparent from past work with Hubble and Spitzer.

The MIRI observation of WASP-43 b was conducted as part of the Webb Early Release Science programs, which are providing researchers with a vast set of robust, open-access data for studying a wide array of cosmic phenomena. 

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

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Pakistan’s ‘historic’ lunar mission to be launched on Friday aboard China lunar probe - DAWN.com

The Institute of Space Technology on Tuesday said Pakistan’s “historic” lunar mission iCube-Q will be launched on May 3 at 12:50pm on board China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe from Hainan, China.

According to the Institute of Space Technology (IST), the satellite ICUBE-Q has been designed and developed by IST in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University SJTU and Pakistan’s national space agency Suparco.

ICUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface.

Following successful qualification and testing, iCube-Q has now been integrated with the Chang’e 6 mission.

Chang’e 6 is the sixth in a series of China’s lunar exploration missions.

The launch activity will be telecast live on the IST website and IST social media platforms.

China’s lunar mission will touch down on the moon’s far side to collect samples from the surface and return to Earth for research.

The mission holds significance for Pakistan as it will also take a CubeSat Satellite iCube-Q, developed by IST.

CubeSats are miniature satellites typically characterised by their small size and standardised design.

They are constructed in a cubic shape, consisting of modular components that adhere to specific size constraints.

These satellites often weigh no more than a few kilogrammes and were deployed in space for various purposes.

The primary purpose of CubeSats was to facilitate scientific research, technology development, and educational initiatives in space exploration.

These satellites were utilised for a wide range of missions, including Earth observations, remote sensing, atmospheric research, communications, astronomy and technology demonstration.

Due to their compact size and relatively low cost compared to traditional satellites, CubeSats offered opportunities for universities, research institutions and commercial entities to participate in space missions and gather valuable data for scientific advancement and innovation.

They serve as platforms for testing new technologies and concepts, enabling access to space for a broader range of users and promoting collaboration within the space community.

Last year in August, India became the first nation to land a craft near the Moon’s south pole, a historic triumph for its ambitious, cut-price space programme.

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Monday, April 29, 2024

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral may be seen from Volusia - Daytona Beach News-Journal

Daytona Beach is known for a lot of things: The Daytona 500, beautiful beaches and not to mention Bike Week. But did you know Volusia County is privy to some amazing views of rocket launches from neighboring Brevard County, home to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station?

You can check it out for yourself.

Day or night, watching a rocket launch on the beach is so Florida.

Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, yes. We have suggestions on where and how to watch a rocket launch from Ormond Beach to Oak Hill below if you keep scrolling.

Here's what we know about the rocket launch missions, mentioned in FLORIDA TODAY's rocket launch calendar for the month, which is updated frequently. (Check that link often for April rocket launch times and dates because they are routinely subject to change for a variety of reasons.)

Is there a rocket launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida? Thursday, May 2: SpaceX Starlink 6-55

A National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warning indicates SpaceX is targeting Thursday night for its next Starlink mission:

  • Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
  • Launch window: 9:17 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 2, to 1:48 a.m. EDT Friday, May 3
  • Location: Launch Complex 40
  • Trajectory: Southeast
  • Local sonic boom: No
  • Booster landing: Drone ship out on the Atlantic Ocean
  • Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.

Where can I watch SpaceX rocket launches online?

If you want to watch live rocket launch coverage, FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team will provide updates at floridatoday.com/space, starting about 90 minutes before launch time. You can download the free app for iPhone or Android or type floridatoday.com/space into your browser.

In Volusia County, immediately north of Brevard County — home to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — you can get a great view of a SpaceX, NASA or United Launch Alliance rocket launch.

The best views to watch a rocket launch from here is along the beach. Look due south. Readers have also mentioned seeing a rocket launch from New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach. Here are some recommended spots:

• South New Smyrna Beach (Canaveral National Seashore), there may be parking costs. New Smyrna Beach features 17 miles of white sandy beaches. An eclectic and quaint beach town, despite its reputation as the "Shark Bite Capital of the World," New Smyrna Beach has always been a haven for surfers who come for the waves.

Dinner and a launch:Perfect for a SpaceX or NASA rocket launch, best waterfront restaurants in Volusia County

• Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park, 6656 S. Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna Beach. Bethune Beach, which is 3.5 miles south of New Smyrna Beach and one mile north of the Apollo Beach entrance to Canaveral National Seashore Park, has restrooms, picnic pavilions, showers and nearly 800 feet of beachfront sidewalk, according to Volusia County's site. The nearby riverside park area is across South Atlantic Avenue with tennis courts, pickle ball courts, basketball and volleyball courts, playground, fishing pier and restrooms. The river by the park can be a great viewing spot for manatees, dolphins and pelicans.

• Apollo Beach at Canaveral National Seashore (south of New Smyrna Beach). Canaveral National Seashore runs along Florida's East Coast in Volusia County and Brevard County. To access Apollo Beach, take Interstate 95 to exit 249, then travel east until it turns into State Road A1A. Follow SR A1A south to the park entrance.

• Oak Hill riverfront is the southernmost city in South Volusia County.

• Sunrise Park, 275 River Road, Oak Hill

• Goodrich's Seafood and Oyster House back deck, 253 River Road, Oak Hill

• Seminole Rest national historic site, 211 River Road, Oak Hill

• Riverbreeze Park, 250 H.H. Burch Road, Oak Hill

• Mary Dewees Park, 178 N. Gaines St., Oak Hill. Facilities include a rental building,playground, baseball field, basketball courts, tennis courts, outdoorrestrooms, pavilions, picnic areas and grills.

• Nancy Cummings Park, 232 Cummings St., Oak Hill. Facilities include a playground, baseball field, basketball courts, outdoor pavilion and restrooms.

• Jimmie Vann Sunrise Park, 275 River Road, Oak Hill. This location has about 350 feet of beautifully restored shoreline, according to the city of Oak Hill online. Facilities include a pavilion, picnic tables and kayak launching facilities.

• A.C. Delbert Dewees Municipal Pier, 243 River Road, Oak Hill. Facilities include a520-foot observation pier with two covered decks and seating, the city of Oak Hill site states.

• Bird Observation Pier on River Road across from A.C. Delbert Municipal Pier (see above). Facilities include a 100-foot observation pier.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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The Details Are Unreal in New Webb Image of Famous Horsehead Nebula - Gizmodo

The Webb Telescope captured this image of the Horsehead Nebula that revealed the small-scale structures of its illuminated edge.
The Webb Telescope captured this image of the Horsehead Nebula that revealed the small-scale structures of its illuminated edge.
Image: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Misselt (University of Arizona) and A. Abergel (IAS/University Paris-Saclay, CNRS)

The Webb Space Telescope has given us another cosmic treat. The young observatory captured a closer look of the ethereal clouds of dust and gas that form a nearby nebula, illuminated by a companion star in the constellation Orion.

Located a mere 1,375 light-years away, the Horsehead Nebula is shaped like a celestial horse galloping across the clouds in a starry dream. In the latest observations of the iconic nebula, Webb captured the sharpest infrared image to date of a zoomed-in portion of the Horsehead Nebula, according to the European Space Agency.

Image for article titled The Details Are Unreal in New Webb Image of Famous Horsehead Nebula
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, K. Misselt (University of Arizona) and A. Abergel (IAS/University Paris-Saclay, CNRS)

The image shows part of the sky in the constellation Orion, in the western side of a dense region known as the Orion B molecular cloud. The Horsehead Nebula is peaking its head through the bottom of the image, glowing in the light provided by a nearby hot star (which is shown at the top of the image).

Webb’s Near-infrared Camera captured the top of the gas and dust clouds in unprecedented detail, revealing the complexity of the nebula’s illuminated edges. For the first time, the Webb telescope detected a network of thin features tracing the movement of dust particles as they are carried with heated gas away from the clouds. The new findings are detailed in a paper published Monday in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The latest observations of the Horsehead Nebula have also allowed astronomers to better understand the multidimensional shape of the nebula and study how the dust blocks and emits light.

The Euclid telescope captured this view of the Horsehead Nebula in 2023.
The Euclid telescope captured this view of the Horsehead Nebula in 2023.
Image: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi

The Horsehead Nebula, otherwise known as Barnard 33, formed from a collapsing cloud of material. The head portion is roughly 3.5 light-years across. Although the gas clouds surrounding it have started to fade, its famous pillar is still rising strong with thick clumps of material that are harder to erode. Astronomers estimate that the Horsehead Nebula is here to stay for at least five million years, so it’s safe to say we’ll be able to enjoy this beauty for a while.

Due to its proximity, the Horsehead Nebula is an ideal target for scientists to study the molecular evolution of gas and dust in relation to their surrounding environment and how radiation interacts with interstellar matter. With the newly captured images, astronomers will also look at the spectroscopic data to gather insights into how the physical and chemical properties of the material observed across the nebula has evolved over time.

The Horsehead Nebula is the cosmic beast that keeps on feeding us with information and pretty sights.

More: The Most Overwhelming Interstellar Image Ever

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Sunday, April 28, 2024

SpaceX launch: Live updates from Starlink Falcon 9 launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida - Florida Today

It's a second straight SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch day from Florida's Space Coast.

Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team live coverage of today's SpaceX Starlink 6-54 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX is now targeting 6:08 p.m. EDT to launch a Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 40. The Falcon 9 will deploy a batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites, which are packed inside the fairing atop the 230-foot rocket.

No Central Florida sonic booms are expected during this mission. After soaring skyward along a southeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea 8½ minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX Falcon 9 booster lands

Update 6:16 p.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster just landed aboard SpaceX's drone ship Just Read the Instructions out on the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 13th mission.

Liftoff!

Update 6:08 p.m.: SpaceX has just launched the Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX launch webcast begins

Update 6:03 p.m.: SpaceX's launch webcast hosted on X (formerly Twitter) is now posted above, right below the countdown clock.

Liftoff is scheduled in five minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch coming up

Update 6 p.m.: Eight minutes before SpaceX's scheduled Falcon 9 launch, the countdown appears to be proceeding as planned. Fueling remains well underway at Launch Complex 40.

Following is a list of key upcoming countdown milestones. T-minus:

  • 7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
  • 1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
  • 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go for launch.”
  • 3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
  • 0 seconds: Falcon 9 liftoff.

SpaceX booster to land on drone ship

Update 5:55 p.m.: Tonight's mission marks the 13th flight for this Falcon 9 first-stage booster, SpaceX reported.

The booster previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, O3b mPOWER, Ovzon 3, EUTELSAT 36D and six Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land aboard the drone ship Just Read the Instructions out on the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 17 seconds after liftoff.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster from the Inmarsat mission arrives at Port Canaveral before dawn last December on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the instructions.

SpaceX: All systems and weather are 'go'

Update 5:45 p.m.: In a tweet, SpaceX officials announced that "all systems and weather are currently go."

SpaceX Falcon 9 fueling now underway

Update 5:35 p.m.: Falcon 9 fueling procedures are now underway at Launch Complex 40, SpaceX just announced.

That means tonight’s Starlink countdown is now locked in to lift off at 6:08 p.m. without any delays, or else the launch must be postponed.

SpaceX Dragon departed ISS this afternoon

Update 5:22 p.m.: This afternoon, SpaceX's Dragon capsule undocked from the International Space Station about 1:10 p.m.

The spacecraft launched to the ISS aboard a Falcon 9 on March 21 on NASA's CRS-30 resupply mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Splashdown is expected about 1 a.m. Tuesday off the Florida coastline.

SpaceX launch prep underway in Brevard

Update 5:10 p.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials have activated the agency's launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch.

SpaceX targets Wednesday for next launch

Update 4:55 p.m.: Though SpaceX has not yet made a public announcement, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warning indicates the company is targeting Wednesday night for its next Starlink mission:

  • Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
  • Launch window: 9:43 p.m. to 2:14 a.m.
  • Location: Launch Complex 40.
  • Trajectory: Southeast.
  • Local sonic boom: No.
  • Booster landing: Drone ship out on the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.

Space Force: 80% 'go for launch' weather

Update 4:38 p.m.: The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicts 80% odds of favorable conditions during this evening's SpaceX launch window.

Thick cloud layers and cumulus clouds pose the mission's primary weather risks.

" ... Considerable high cloudiness is expected to spill into the area from the west later (Saturday) and into Sunday, leading to an additional concern of sufficiently thick upper-level cloud layers; however, these clouds are likely to thin or exit the area for the backup launch opportunity on Monday," the squadron's forecast said.

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale atRneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

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How NASA Fixed Voyager 1 from 15 Billion Miles Away - Syfy

When the crew of SYFY’s The Ark jumped a ship to Proxima centauri (the star next door), they embarked upon the longest journey humanity had ever taken, either personally or through the use of machines. As it stands in the real world, the current deep space record holder is the distant spacecraft Voyager 1. Launched in 1977, it’s presently at a distance of more than 15 billion miles from Earth.

Back in November of 2023, Voyager 1 started sending back nonsense in place of readable data. Now, engineers on Earth have figured out how to get Voyager talking again.

NASA Engineers Got Voyager 1 Talking Again!

Beginning November 14, 2023, the Voyager team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) started receiving a bunch of binary gibberish from deep space. They confirmed that Voyager was still receiving signals from Earth and otherwise operating normally, but when it tried to talk with us, everything came back garbled. In March of 2024 the team finally figured out the source of the problem.

For More on Voyager
Why Did Voyager 1 Just Start Transmitting Gibberish from Deep Space?
The Life and Eventual Death of Voyager 1 and 2
Voyager 1 is Now Rocking Out to Some Sweet Space Tunes Further Away Than Ever

The twin Voyager spacecraft have onboard computers called the flight data system (FDS) which takes information from the spacecraft’s other systems and health data from the craft itself and bundles it together to send to Earth. One of the chips in the FDS got busted, rendering that portion of the system and the code it housed unusable. Unfortunately, the team on Earth couldn’t replace it from 15 billion miles away so they had to find a remote fix.

To make matters worse, there was no one location in Voyager’s brain large enough to store the stuff on that chip. To work around that, engineers broke the contents into bits and stored them in various places, then they rewrote the associated code so Voyager knew how to use the bypass. Pulling that off was a laborious process in no small part because of the light-speed delay in communicating with Voyager. Every time the team wanted to test something, they had to send a signal and wait 22.5 hours for Voyager to receive it. Then they had to wait another 22.5 hours for Voyager’s answer to come back.

The team at JPL started by fixing the systems related to engineering data. That means Voyager can now tell the folks on Earth how it’s doing. Now, the team is working on implementing the same fix for the parts of Voyager responsible for sending back science data. If everything goes according to plan, Voyager 1 will soon resume sending observations from interstellar space, nearly 50 years after it left Earth.

For more things going wrong in deep space, catch The Ark when it returns for Season 2 on Peacock!

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Saturday, April 27, 2024

SpaceX rocket to launch Saturday from Cape Canaveral flying northeast - Florida Today

It’s launch day!

Tonight is the planned launch of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Galileo satellites, which are part of an existing global navigation system. If all is clear, it will be the first in another launch double-header from the Space Coast.

The mission is known as Galileo L12, and will see the Galileo satellites launched to their intended orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The ESA Galileo satellite system began in 2016, and there are currently 28 navigational satellites already in orbit. The constellation provides global positioning services which are under civilian control and compatible with GPS and Glonass (Russia's global navigation system).

SpaceX has confirmed the existence of the mission, and states a launch time of 8:34 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. A FAA warning shows that the launch window runs until 9:11 p.m.. The rocket will lift off from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, following a northeast trajectory.

This means those north of the Space Coast may get a view of this launch.

SpaceX states that it will be the 20th and final flight for the Falcon 9 flying Galileo L12. The booster had flown 13 Starlink missions, as well as memorable ones such as Transporter-6 and Intuitive Machines IM-1.

According to the 45th Weather Squadron, the weather during the launch window will be 75% favorable. If SpaceX is unable to launch during that period, the next opportunity will be 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 28. The weather during that time period is predicted to be 80% favorable.

Don't miss the next Florida launch:Is there a launch today? Upcoming rocket launch schedule for SpaceX, ULA, NASA in Florida

Those in the Cape Canaveral area are in for an extra treat this weekend as Sunday evening will bring another launch. According to SpaceX, the next batch of Starlink satellites will launch during a window which opens at 5:50 p.m. and extends until 9:50 p.m. on Sunday, April 28. Sunday's launch will occur from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and follow a southeast trajectory.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The rocket is carrying 23 Starlink satellites. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch coverage updates to be posted on this page, starting 90 minutes before the launch window opens.

Be sure to follow the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team for the latest information. Downloading the FLORIDA TODAY app and turning on “Breaking News” alerts in the app settings is the best way to get reminders when a rocket is about to lift off from the Space Coast.

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.

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Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will not fly private missions yet, officials say - Space.com

Boeing says it may sign up private astronauts for future Starliner missions, but the focus is on NASA for now.

The spacecraft's program manager, Mark Nappi, told reporters Thursday (April 25) the company is very focused on flying the first Starliner mission for NASA with astronauts on board. That mission, Crew Flight Test (CFT), will see NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams rocket to space aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket no earlier than May 6.

"It [CFT] really is all of our attention at this point," Nappi said during a telephone press conference from the launch area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Orlando. After that, Boeing will make sure it has enough spacecraft manufactured for future NASA astronaut flights, which are expected to run to six or seven.

Private flights are a possibility, but not the concern for now given they are building out NASA flights through the International Space Station's possible retirement in 2030, he added. "We've got plenty of time to think about what's after that," Nappi added.

Related: I flew Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in 4 different simulators. Here's what I learned (video, photos)

Boeing's decision stands in contrast to the other private company that sends astronauts up to the ISS: SpaceX

Three years after the space shuttle's retirement in 2011, both SpaceX and Boeing received contracts from NASA to send commercial crew missions to the ISS. As of 2014, when the contracts were announced, Boeing's commercial crew contract for Starliner is valued at $4.2 billion, compared to SpaceX's $2.6 billion.

SpaceX sent its first test mission to the ISS in 2020 and has provided 11 more astronaut flights to the complex since: Eight half-year missions for NASA, and three approximately two-week missions for private astronaut company Axiom Space

Axiom is in fact just one private entity that uses SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. In 2021, for example, Shift4 billionaire and private pilot Jared Isaacman flew to Earth orbit with three civilians on a mission known as Inspiration4. Isaacman next bought three more Crew Dragon missions for a three-mission private series known as the Polaris Program. The first of the trio, Polaris Dawn, may fly with Isaacman and three other people as soon as this year and feature the first commercial spacecraft.

The Inspiration4 crew posing inside the Dragon Crew cupola against the backdrop of Earth. From left: billionaire Jared Isaacman, Christopher Sembroski, Sian Proctor and Hayley Arceneaux. (Image credit: Inspiration4)

Despite all of these private missions flown with SpaceX, Boeing officials have said they are struggling to find a business case for private astronaut missions as the market is so young and uncertain. Private astronaut missions are "just not at a level of maturity where I can write them into any kind of a business case and say that yeah, this is something that's going to kind of get us over the hump," John Shannon, vice president of Boeing Exploration Systems, told the Washington Post in October.

Aside from that, numerous technical problems with Starliner since 2019 forced Boeing to absorb $1.4 billion in unanticipated costs.

Starliner's issues delayed CFT by four years. The spacecraft's first uncrewed flight to the ISS in 2019 failed to reach its destination. Dozens of fixes later, a second test flight without astronauts safely docked with the ISS in 2022. CFT was delayed further in 2023 after critical issues with the parachutes, along with flammable P213 tape in the spacecraft, was discovered.

Steve Stich, program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, told reporters during the same Thursday teleconference that he was impressed at Boeing's methodical fixes to the issues. 

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"The entire NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance team and all the contractors have done a tremendous job working through a myriad of problems getting the certification done, and getting us to this point today," Stich said.

Wilmore and Williams, both former U.S. Navy test pilots, arrived yesterday at KSC to continue their quarantine and preparation for CFT's launch. They aim to do a thorough shakedown of the spacecraft and all systems, including considerable manual flying and testing emergency procedures such as powering up the solar panels, to help certify Starliner for six-month missions.

If CFT's flight goes to plan, the first operational mission (Starliner-1) will fly in early 2025 at the earliest, for a six-month tenure. That crew includes NASA's Mike Fincke, NASA's Scott Tingle and the Canadian Space Agency's Joshua Kutryk. 

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Inside NASA's monthslong effort to rescue the Voyager 1 mission - NBC News

The problem with Voyager 1 was first detected in November. At the time, NASA said it was still in contact with the spacecraft and could see that it was receiving signals from Earth. But what was being relayed back to mission controllers — including science data and information about the health of the probe and its various systems — was garbled and unreadable.

That kicked off a monthslong push to identify what had gone wrong and try to save the Voyager 1 mission.

Spilker said she and her colleagues stayed hopeful and optimistic, but the team faced enormous challenges. For one, engineers were trying to troubleshoot a spacecraft traveling in interstellar space, more than 15 billion miles away — the ultimate long-distance call.

“With Voyager 1, it takes 22 1/2 hours to get the signal up and 22 1/2 hours to get the signal back, so we’d get the commands ready, send them up, and then like two days later, you’d get the answer if it had worked or not,” Spilker said.

A Titan/Centaur-6 launch vehicle carries NASA's Voyager 1 at the Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 5, 1977.
A Titan/Centaur-6 launch vehicle carries NASA's Voyager 1 at the Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 5, 1977.NASA

The team eventually determined that the issue stemmed from one of the spacecraft’s three onboard computers. Spilker said a hardware failure, perhaps as a result of age or because it was hit by radiation, likely messed up a small section of code in the memory of the computer. The glitch meant Voyager 1 was unable to send coherent updates about its health and science observations.

NASA engineers determined that they would not be able to repair the chip where the mangled software is stored. And the bad code was also too large for Voyager 1's computer to store both it and any newly uploaded instructions. Because the technology aboard Voyager 1 dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, the computer’s memory pales in comparison to any modern smartphone. Spilker said it’s roughly equivalent to the amount of memory in an electronic car key.

The team found a workaround, however: They could divide up the code into smaller parts and store them in different areas of the computer’s memory. Then, they could reprogram the section that needed fixing while ensuring that the entire system still worked cohesively.

That was a feat, because the longevity of the Voyager mission means there are no working test beds or simulators here on Earth to test the new bits of code before they are sent to the spacecraft.

“There were three different people looking through line by line of the patch of the code we were going to send up, looking for anything that they had missed,” Spilker said. “And so it was sort of an eyes-only check of the software that we sent up.”

The hard work paid off.

NASA reported the happy development Monday, writing in a post on X: “Sounding a little more like yourself, #Voyager1.” The spacecraft’s own social media account responded, saying, “Hi, it’s me.”

So far, the team has determined that Voyager 1 is healthy and operating normally. Spilker said the probe’s scientific instruments are on and appear to be working, but it will take some time for Voyager 1 to resume sending back science data.

Voyager 1 and its twin, the Voyager 2 probe, each launched in 1977 on missions to study the outer solar system. As it sped through the cosmos, Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and Saturn, studying the planets’ moons up close and snapping images along the way.

Voyager 2, which is 12.6 billion miles away, had close encounters with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and continues to operate as normal.

In 2012, Voyager 1 ventured beyond the solar system, becoming the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, or the space between stars. Voyager 2 followed suit in 2018.

Spilker, who first began working on the Voyager missions when she graduated college in 1977, said the missions could last into the 2030s. Eventually, though, the probes will run out of power or their components will simply be too old to continue operating.

Spilker said it will be tough to finally close out the missions someday, but Voyager 1 and 2 will live on as “our silent ambassadors.”

Both probes carry time capsules with them — messages on gold-plated copper disks that are collectively known as The Golden Record. The disks contain images and sounds that represent life on Earth and humanity’s culture, including snippets of music, animal sounds, laughter and recorded greetings in different languages. The idea is for the probes to carry the messages until they are possibly found by spacefarers in the distant future.

“Maybe in 40,000 years or so, they will be getting relatively close to another star,” Spilker said, “and they could be found at that point.”

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Friday, April 26, 2024

Mars probe spots "spider" shapes in Martian Inca City - Salon

The European Space Agency reported a surprising finding in a region of Mars known as Inca City, in which dark shapes resembling spiders were discovered by the agency's Mars Express orbiting satellite. The strange arachnid shapes are actually geologic features formed by channels of carbon dioxide gas that originate as the weather warms in Mars' Southern Hemisphere for that planet's spring. This causes them to create black branches measuring from 0.03 to 0.6 miles across (45 meters to 1 kilometer) and dot an area near Mars' South Pole known as either Inca City or Angustus Labyrinthus. Layers upon layers of carbon dioxide ice melt in the process, with the lowest layers turning to gas (or sublimating), picking up dark dust and then exploding out of the overlying layers.

"This new view of Inca City and its hidden arachnid residents was captured by Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera," the ESA reported. Their spacecraft grabbed images of "everything from wind-sculpted ridges and grooves to sinkholes on the flanks of colossal volcanoes to impact craters, tectonic faults, river channels and ancient lava pools."

While fans of aliens and bugs (and David Bowie) are likely disappointed at the lack of literal Martian spiders, the presence of carbon dioxide suggests lifeforms may still indeed exist on the Red Planet. Carbon is regarded as an essential element in creating life because it is abundant in nature and polymerizes (forms large, complex molecules) easily with other ubiquitous elements like hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Last year a Mars rover discovered organic compounds, or substances that have been polymerized with carbon.

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Inside NASA's monthslong effort to rescue the Voyager 1 mission - NBC News

The problem with Voyager 1 was first detected in November. At the time, NASA said it was still in contact with the spacecraft and could see that it was receiving signals from Earth. But what was being relayed back to mission controllers — including science data and information about the health of the probe and its various systems — was garbled and unreadable.

That kicked off a monthslong push to identify what had gone wrong and try to save the Voyager 1 mission.

Spilker said she and her colleagues stayed hopeful and optimistic, but the team faced enormous challenges. For one, engineers were trying to troubleshoot a spacecraft traveling in interstellar space, more than 15 billion miles away — the ultimate long-distance call.

“With Voyager 1, it takes 22 1/2 hours to get the signal up and 22 1/2 hours to get the signal back, so we’d get the commands ready, send them up, and then like two days later, you’d get the answer if it had worked or not,” Spilker said.

A Titan/Centaur-6 launch vehicle carries NASA's Voyager 1 at the Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 5, 1977.
A Titan/Centaur-6 launch vehicle carries NASA's Voyager 1 at the Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 5, 1977.NASA

The team eventually determined that the issue stemmed from one of the spacecraft’s three onboard computers. Spilker said a hardware failure, perhaps as a result of age or because it was hit by radiation, likely messed up a small section of code in the memory of the computer. The glitch meant Voyager 1 was unable to send coherent updates about its health and science observations.

NASA engineers determined that they would not be able to repair the chip where the mangled software is stored. And the bad code was also too large for Voyager 1's computer to store both it and any newly uploaded instructions. Because the technology aboard Voyager 1 dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, the computer’s memory pales in comparison to any modern smartphone. Spilker said it’s roughly equivalent to the amount of memory in an electronic car key.

The team found a workaround, however: They could divide up the code into smaller parts and store them in different areas of the computer’s memory. Then, they could reprogram the section that needed fixing while ensuring that the entire system still worked cohesively.

That was a feat, because the longevity of the Voyager mission means there are no working test beds or simulators here on Earth to test the new bits of code before they are sent to the spacecraft.

“There were three different people looking through line by line of the patch of the code we were going to send up, looking for anything that they had missed,” Spilker said. “And so it was sort of an eyes-only check of the software that we sent up.”

The hard work paid off.

NASA reported the happy development Monday, writing in a post on X: “Sounding a little more like yourself, #Voyager1.” The spacecraft’s own social media account responded, saying, “Hi, it’s me.”

So far, the team has determined that Voyager 1 is healthy and operating normally. Spilker said the probe’s scientific instruments are on and appear to be working, but it will take some time for Voyager 1 to resume sending back science data.

Voyager 1 and its twin, the Voyager 2 probe, each launched in 1977 on missions to study the outer solar system. As it sped through the cosmos, Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and Saturn, studying the planets’ moons up close and snapping images along the way.

Voyager 2, which is 12.6 billion miles away, had close encounters with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and continues to operate as normal.

In 2012, Voyager 1 ventured beyond the solar system, becoming the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, or the space between stars. Voyager 2 followed suit in 2018.

Spilker, who first began working on the Voyager missions when she graduated college in 1977, said the missions could last into the 2030s. Eventually, though, the probes will run out of power or their components will simply be too old to continue operating.

Spilker said it will be tough to finally close out the missions someday, but Voyager 1 and 2 will live on as “our silent ambassadors.”

Both probes carry time capsules with them — messages on gold-plated copper disks that are collectively known as The Golden Record. The disks contain images and sounds that represent life on Earth and humanity’s culture, including snippets of music, animal sounds, laughter and recorded greetings in different languages. The idea is for the probes to carry the messages until they are possibly found by spacefarers in the distant future.

“Maybe in 40,000 years or so, they will be getting relatively close to another star,” Spilker said, “and they could be found at that point.”

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Thursday, April 25, 2024

Hubble Space Telescope marks 34 years with new portrait of a ‘cosmic dumbbell’ - CNN

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CNN  — 

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning new image of the glowing gas ejected from a dying star, which in this case happens to resemble a “cosmic dumbbell.”

The portrait may also include evidence that the star gobbled up another star, in a form of stellar cannibalism, before it collapsed.

NASA released the image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76 or M76, to celebrate the 34th anniversary of the April 24, 1990, launch of the space observatory.

The nebula, 3,400 light-years away in the Perseus constellation, is an expanding shell of gases kicked out by a dying red giant star. The cosmic object is known as a planetary nebula, but it has nothing to do with planets.

Planetary nebulae usually have a rounded structure and were so named because they initially resembled the disks from which planets form when French astronomer Charles Messier discovered one for the first time in 1764. Pierre Méchain discovered the Little Dumbbell Nebula in 1780, and astronomers first took a detailed view of it in 1891. The photogenic nebula has been a favorite of professional and amateur astronomers ever since due to its unique shape.

If researchers confirm the nebula holds evidence of a case of cosmic cannibalism, it could provide proof of the red giant’s long-theorized companion.

Stellar violence on display

The Little Dumbbell Nebula includes a ring, which, from our perspective, looks more like a central bar that connects two lobes on either side of the ring. Before the aging red giant star collapsed, it released a ring of gas and dust. Then, the ring was likely shaped by a companion star, astronomers believe, and the gas and dust ring eventually formed a thick disk.

The companion star, once in orbit around the red giant, is nowhere to be seen in Hubble’s image. Astronomers think the red giant star swallowed its companion, and by studying the ring, they could tease out “forensic evidence” of this cosmic, cannibalistic act, according to a NASA release.

Since collapsing, the red giant star has transformed into a dead stellar remnant known as an ultra-dense white dwarf star. The white dwarf has a blazing temperature of 250,000 degrees Fahrenheit (138,871 degrees Celsius), making it 24 times hotter than our sun’s surface and one of the hottest known white dwarf stars.

The white dwarf is the bright white light at the center of the nebula in Hubble’s image.

Meanwhile, the two lobes seen in the portrait represent hot gas escaping and being carried by a hurricane-like force as material releases from the dying star, propelling it across space at 2 million miles per hour. The stellar wind coming off the star collides with cooler and slower-moving gas initially expelled by the star much earlier in its lifetime, which can be seen in the lobes.

Ultraviolet radiation from the scorching hot star causes gases to glow in different colors representing different elements, such as red to indicate nitrogen and blue for oxygen.

Astronomers estimate that within 15,000 years, the nebula will vanish from the night sky as it continues to expand and grow more dim.

Hubble’s continuing legacy

The Little Dumbbell Nebula is just one of 53,000 astronomical objects that Hubble has observed over 34 years, and to date, the telescope has made 1.6 million observations. Astronomers around the world rely on the telescope, and its growing database, to make new discoveries.

“The space telescope is the most scientifically productive space astrophysics mission in NASA history,” according to a NASA release.

Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope operate as complements to one another, gathering observations across different wavelengths of light for a sharper, deeper look at the universe as astronomers seek to unravel the mysteries around supernovas, distant galaxies, exoplanets and other celestial oddities.

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Twisted Edison: Filaments curling at the nanoscale produce light waves that twirl as they travel - Phys.org

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