Herbig-Haro Objects within Nebula IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

Herbig-Haro Objects within Nebula IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

This image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope shows stars and protostars in the vicinity of the star cluster IC 348. The long, narrow object that is oriented horizontally on the left side of this image is HH 797. Upon close inspection, this source is revealed to be two protostars with nearly parallel outflows. To the right and oriented diagonally is the propeller-shaped source HH 211. It features both narrow jets and broader outflows.

The glowing orange area directly above HH 797, named LLRL 54361 is thought to host two further protostars. A number of other more- and less-embedded protostars lurk in this nebula, contributing to the edges and wave-like patterns in the clouds, as well as further spectacular glowing outflows.

The wispy curtains in the bottom left of the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars—what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. 

Image Description: A star-forming nebula that contains young stars called protostars. Two of these protostars are shooting out long jets that are colliding with the nebula, creating glowing, colorful outflows. A few other protostars create orange and red areas in the nebula. Most of the image is covered by blue gas with brighter areas, denser clouds and dark gaps; the bottom-left corner contains greenish-yellow gas.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Release Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #ReflectionNebulae #StellarNurseries #IC348 #BrownDwarfs #Protostars #HerbigHaroObjects #PerseusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education

Central Star Cluster of Nebula IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

Central Star Cluster of Nebula IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

This image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar gas and dust reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars—what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The bright star closest to the center of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.

Image Description: Wispy, criss-crossing filaments fill the scene, creating dense and highly textured layers of gas in colors from green to yellow to orange and pink. Above the center, the filaments join into a large loop, while below they bend and create wave-like curves. Dozens of bright stars are layered atop the gas, a pair in the center being particularly bright; all sport six long and two short spikes of light, created by the telescope’s optics.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Release Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #ReflectionNebulae #StellarNurseries #IC348 #BrownDwarfs #Protostars #HerbigHaroObjects #PerseusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education

Stars Embedded within Nebula IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

Stars Embedded within Nebula IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

This image showcases a portion of the larger IC 348 field to highlight two stars embedded within a cloud of gas and dust. The central star, despite being brighter and appearing larger than its companion to the lower-right, is in fact more deeply wrapped in the clouds of gas and dust. These clouds block more of the shorter-wavelength infrared light that the star emits, leaving it brightest in the longer wavelengths that in this image are colored orange. The smaller star is less shrouded, so the shorter and longer infrared wavelengths combine to make it appear whitish-blue. The galaxies seen in the background are thousands of times further away from Earth than these two stars.

The bright lines appearing to radiate out from these stars are a type of distortion that arises from the optical design of the telescope. Called diffraction spikes, they are created because the intense light from the unresolved target is bent (“diffracted”) very slightly at the edges of Webb’s hexagonal mirror panels and around one of the struts that hold up its secondary mirror. This distinctive six-plus-two-pointed pattern is the same for any image taken by Webb. For diffraction spikes to appear, the light source has to be very bright and very concentrated, so they are most often seen on stars.

Image Description: A star embedded within a cloud of gas and dust. The star is a very bright point in the center of the image. It radiates six long and two short orange spikes of light, caused by the telescope's optics. Most of the gas behind it is blue and wispy, but below the star is a patch of bold yellow and red gas in a butterfly-shape. A few glowing shockwaves made by fast-moving gas surround the star. Small, whitish galaxies appear in the distance.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #StellarNurseries #IC348 #BrownDwarfs #Protostars #HerbigHaroObjects #PerseusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education

Highlights of Star-forming Region IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

Highlights of Star-forming Region IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

This video showcases features from the massive star-forming region IC 348. The cutout images shown here highlight bright stars throughout the nebula, protostars shooting jets of gas, a distant spiral galaxy, and a gravitational lens.

IC 348 is located in the constellation Perseus about a 1,000 light years from the Sun. This is one of the largest images from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope released to the public so far. Using Webb, astronomers searched IC 348 for brown dwarfs that are less massive than the smallest stars. The researchers discovered brown dwarfs just twice the mass of Jupiter, bringing the study of these curious objects into a new mass range.

In regions like IC 348, cold clouds of molecular hydrogen gas collapse to form new stars, creating glowing, sculpted scenes like this one. The star-formation process can create impressively varied objects, from massive stars that expire after only a few million years in core-collapse supernova explosions to the smallest and most common stars that are long lived and produce powerful stellar storms.

The smallest stars weigh in at around 8% of the Sun’s mass. Below this mass lies a strange and intriguing class of objects called brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs form in the same way that stars do, through the collapse of molecular clouds, but unlike stars, the cores of brown dwarfs never become hot enough to fuse hydrogen into helium (though many briefly fuse deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, early in their lives).

What is still not clear—and what researchers hoped to learn by using Webb’s sensitive instruments to probe IC 348—is how small are the smallest objects created by the star-formation progress. 

In other words, how small is the smallest brown dwarf?

Researchers seeking to answer this question first used Webb to study IC 348 in 2022, when they discovered brown dwarfs with masses as low as three to four times the mass of Jupiter. Now, the same research team has used Webb to probe even deeper into this region in search of even smaller brown dwarfs. 

The team used Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) in 2024 to capture the warm glow of young brown dwarfs and newborn stars that we see in this new image of IC 348. After selecting candidate brown dwarfs based on their colors and brightness, they followed up with Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in 2025 to conduct spectroscopic observations to study the masses of the brown dwarfs.

These deep Webb observations revealed something remarkable—brown dwarfs with masses as low as just twice the mass of Jupiter—just 0.19% of the Sun’s mass. These are the least massive brown dwarfs known, and their existence poses a challenge to models of how stars form.

In addition to the discovery of these unexpectedly lightweight brown dwarfs, the Webb observations contained even more surprises. One of the lightest newfound brown dwarfs showed signs of a disc, suggesting that planets could be forming around it despite the brown dwarf being the mass of a planet itself.

While inspecting the spectra of IC 348’s brown dwarfs, the research team also found a feature that they attributed to hydrocarbons, molecules made only of hydrogen and carbon atoms. This feature has only been seen in the atmospheres of the lowest-mass brown dwarfs, suggesting that these extreme objects might exist in a spectral class of their own.

The stars and brown dwarfs of IC 348 are not the only attractions in this photo. A brilliantly detailed collection of protostars occupies the upper-right corner of the image. Several of these protostars are accompanied by Herbig-Haro objects. These are luminous regions that form when jets from growing newborn stars crash into the gas and dust around the star.

The long, narrow object that is oriented horizontally in this corner is HH 797. Upon close inspection, this source is revealed to be two protostars with nearly parallel outflows. Just to the right of HH 797 is the propeller-shaped source HH 211. It features both narrow jets and broader outflows.

The data used to create this image come from the Webb observing program #4866 (PIs: K. Luhman, C. Alves de Oliveira). The aims of this program are to study the lowest-mass objects created through the star-formation process, as described here; to understand how the populations of planetary-mass objects like brown dwarfs vary between star-forming regions; and to probe the origins of the hydrocarbon feature in the lowest-mass brown dwarfs.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Video Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #StellarNurseries #IC348 #BrownDwarfs #Protostars #HerbigHaroObjects #PerseusConstellation #Universe #JWST #NIRCam  #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #NASAJPL #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: Star-forming Region IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

Close-up: Star-forming Region IC 348 in Perseus | James Webb Space Telescope

Image Description: A star-forming region. It is blanketed in thick clouds of gas and dust, millions of kilometers across, that form swirling patterns. Bright stars are scattered throughout the clouds with the densest cluster situated in the center of the scene. Each is crowned with six long points created by the optics of the telescope’s mirrors. In the upper right, a couple of hidden stars blast out long, glowing jets of material.

IC 348 is a star-forming region in the constellation Perseus located about 1,000 light years from the Sun. This is one of the largest images from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope released to the public so far. Using Webb, astronomers searched IC 348 for brown dwarfs that are less massive than the smallest stars. The researchers discovered brown dwarfs just twice the mass of Jupiter, bringing the study of these curious objects into a new mass range.

In regions like IC 348, cold clouds of molecular hydrogen gas collapse to form new stars, creating glowing, sculpted scenes like this one. The star-formation process can create impressively varied objects, from massive stars that expire after only a few million years in core-collapse supernova explosions to the smallest and most common stars that are long lived and produce powerful stellar storms.

The smallest stars weigh in at around 8% of the Sun’s mass. Below this mass lies a strange and intriguing class of objects called brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs form in the same way that stars do, through the collapse of molecular clouds, but unlike stars, the cores of brown dwarfs never become hot enough to fuse hydrogen into helium (though many briefly fuse deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, early in their lives).

What is still not clear—and what researchers hoped to learn by using Webb’s sensitive instruments to probe IC 348—is how small are the smallest objects created by the star-formation progress. 

In other words, how small is the smallest brown dwarf?

Researchers seeking to answer this question first used Webb to study IC 348 in 2022, when they discovered brown dwarfs with masses as low as three to four times the mass of Jupiter. Now, the same research team has used Webb to probe even deeper into this region in search of even smaller brown dwarfs. 

The team used Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) in 2024 to capture the warm glow of young brown dwarfs and newborn stars that we see in this new image of IC 348. After selecting candidate brown dwarfs based on their colors and brightness, they followed up with Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in 2025 to conduct spectroscopic observations to study the masses of the brown dwarfs.

These deep Webb observations revealed something remarkable—brown dwarfs with masses as low as just twice the mass of Jupiter—just 0.19% of the Sun’s mass. These are the least massive brown dwarfs known, and their existence poses a challenge to models of how stars form.

In addition to the discovery of these unexpectedly lightweight brown dwarfs, the Webb observations contained even more surprises. One of the lightest newfound brown dwarfs showed signs of a disc, suggesting that planets could be forming around it despite the brown dwarf being the mass of a planet itself.

While inspecting the spectra of IC 348’s brown dwarfs, the research team also found a feature that they attributed to hydrocarbons, molecules made only of hydrogen and carbon atoms. This feature has only been seen in the atmospheres of the lowest-mass brown dwarfs, suggesting that these extreme objects might exist in a spectral class of their own.

The stars and brown dwarfs of IC 348 are not the only attractions in this photo. A brilliantly detailed collection of protostars occupies the upper-right corner of the image. Several of these protostars are accompanied by Herbig-Haro objects. These are luminous regions that form when jets from growing newborn stars crash into the gas and dust around the star.

The long, narrow object that is oriented horizontally in this corner is HH 797. Upon close inspection, this source is revealed to be two protostars with nearly parallel outflows. Just to the right of HH 797 is the propeller-shaped source HH 211. It features both narrow jets and broader outflows.

The data used to create this image come from the Webb observing program #4866 (PIs: K. Luhman, C. Alves de Oliveira). The aims of this program are to study the lowest-mass objects created through the star-formation process, as described here; to understand how the populations of planetary-mass objects like brown dwarfs vary between star-forming regions; and to probe the origins of the hydrocarbon feature in the lowest-mass brown dwarfs.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Video Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #StellarNurseries #IC348 #BrownDwarfs #Protostars #HerbigHaroObjects #PerseusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Star-forming Region IC 348 in Perseus: Brown Dwarf Stars | Webb Telescope

Star-forming Region IC 348 in Perseus: Brown Dwarf Stars | Webb Telescope

Image Description: A star-forming region. It is blanketed in thick clouds of gas and dust, millions of kilometers across, that form swirling patterns. Bright stars are scattered throughout the clouds with the densest cluster situated in the center of the scene. Each is crowned with six long points created by the optics of the telescope’s mirrors. In the upper right, a couple of hidden stars blast out long, glowing jets of material.

IC 348 is a star-forming region in the constellation Perseus located about 1,000 light years from the Sun. This is one of the largest images from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope released to the public so far. Using Webb, astronomers searched IC 348 for brown dwarfs that are less massive than the smallest stars. The researchers discovered brown dwarfs just twice the mass of Jupiter, bringing the study of these curious objects into a new mass range.

In regions like IC 348, cold clouds of molecular hydrogen gas collapse to form new stars, creating glowing, sculpted scenes like this one. The star-formation process can create impressively varied objects, from massive stars that expire after only a few million years in core-collapse supernova explosions to the smallest and most common stars that are long lived and produce powerful stellar storms.

The smallest stars weigh in at around 8% of the Sun’s mass. Below this mass lies a strange and intriguing class of objects called brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs form in the same way that stars do, through the collapse of molecular clouds, but unlike stars, the cores of brown dwarfs never become hot enough to fuse hydrogen into helium (though many briefly fuse deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, early in their lives).

What is still not clear—and what researchers hoped to learn by using Webb’s sensitive instruments to probe IC 348—is how small are the smallest objects created by the star-formation progress. 

In other words, how small is the smallest brown dwarf?

Researchers seeking to answer this question first used Webb to study IC 348 in 2022, when they discovered brown dwarfs with masses as low as three to four times the mass of Jupiter. Now, the same research team has used Webb to probe even deeper into this region in search of even smaller brown dwarfs. 

The team used Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) in 2024 to capture the warm glow of young brown dwarfs and newborn stars that we see in this new image of IC 348. After selecting candidate brown dwarfs based on their colors and brightness, they followed up with Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in 2025 to conduct spectroscopic observations to study the masses of the brown dwarfs.

These deep Webb observations revealed something remarkable—brown dwarfs with masses as low as just twice the mass of Jupiter—just 0.19% of the Sun’s mass. These are the least massive brown dwarfs known, and their existence poses a challenge to models of how stars form.

In addition to the discovery of these unexpectedly lightweight brown dwarfs, the Webb observations contained even more surprises. One of the lightest newfound brown dwarfs showed signs of a disc, suggesting that planets could be forming around it despite the brown dwarf being the mass of a planet itself.

While inspecting the spectra of IC 348’s brown dwarfs, the research team also found a feature that they attributed to hydrocarbons, molecules made only of hydrogen and carbon atoms. This feature has only been seen in the atmospheres of the lowest-mass brown dwarfs, suggesting that these extreme objects might exist in a spectral class of their own.

The stars and brown dwarfs of IC 348 are not the only attractions in this photo. A brilliantly detailed collection of protostars occupies the upper-right corner of the image. Several of these protostars are accompanied by Herbig-Haro objects. These are luminous regions that form when jets from growing newborn stars crash into the gas and dust around the star.

The long, narrow object that is oriented horizontally in this corner is HH 797. Upon close inspection, this source is revealed to be two protostars with nearly parallel outflows. Just to the right of HH 797 is the propeller-shaped source HH 211. It features both narrow jets and broader outflows.

The data used to create this image come from the Webb observing program #4866 (PIs: K. Luhman, C. Alves de Oliveira). The aims of this program are to study the lowest-mass objects created through the star-formation process, as described here; to understand how the populations of planetary-mass objects like brown dwarfs vary between star-forming regions; and to probe the origins of the hydrocarbon feature in the lowest-mass brown dwarfs.

Webb is an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #StellarNurseries #IC348 #BrownDwarfs #Protostars #HerbigHaroObjects #PerseusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #Europe #NASAGoddard #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship Flight 14: First Orbital Flight Planned | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Flight 14: First Orbital Flight Planned | Starbase Texas

"Starship is preparing to go to orbit. Flight 14 is targeting to launch as early as Tuesday, September 22, pending regulatory approval. The 75-minute launch window will open at 7:15 a.m. CT."

Follow updates and watch the event here → https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-14

The upcoming flight is planned to be the first to send Starship into orbit around Earth. Flight tests until this point have intentionally flown passively safe suborbital trajectories to maximize public safety while allowing for maximum learning. By going to orbit, the next phase of developing Starship to be fully and rapidly reusable can begin.

This will also mark the first time we plan to deploy Starlink V3 satellites into the constellation, delivering a payload that will dramatically expand connectivity speeds and reliability around the world.

Starship’s initial orbital mission is expected to fly at an altitude approximately 275 km above Earth and complete approximately six orbits around the planet over the course of a nearly 10-hour flight, with splashdown targeted in the Pacific Ocean to the west of Chile.

A live webcast of the flight will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff. Coverage is planned to continue through splashdown with the potential for hours of live views from Starship as it orbits Earth. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned for updates.

The booster’s primary test objective on Flight 14 will be executing a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn at an offshore landing point in the Gulf of Mexico. There have been several modifications to hardware and software to address issues seen on the previous flight.

After stage separation and flip on Flight 13, the Super Heavy booster was able to use all 33 engines on its boostback burn for the first time. In the terminal phase of the burn, the three center engines showed signs of ice clogging that triggered an early end to the maneuver. The booster went on to attempt a landing burn, with 8 of the 13 planned engines reigniting before the booster made a hard splashdown in the Gulf. The Super Heavy on this upcoming flight has hardware modifications to improve filtering to the engines and software changes to enhance relight reliability.

The Starship upper stage’s primary objectives include the first orbital insertion maneuver, the deployment of 26 Starlink V3 satellites, a deorbit burn using a single Raptor engine while in space, and a controlled reentry, descent, and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Starship will only execute a burn to enter orbit after the flight control team has ensured there is sufficient redundancy on hardware critical to doing the subsequent deorbit burn at the end of the mission.

Starship will deliver 26 Starlink V3 satellites to orbit for the first time. They aim to greatly expand the network's capacity and user speeds. Each Starlink V3 satellite will add 1 Tbps of capacity to the constellation, for a total of 26 Tbps of capacity added on this mission alone. That’s ~10x the capacity compared to a single launch of V2 mini Starlink satellites on Falcon 9.

After deploying from Starship, the Starlink V3 satellites will unfold their antennas and deploy their solar arrays and make initial contact with the ground and the rest of the Starlink constellation via radio frequency and laser links. The satellites will then begin raising their orbits with their onboard thrusters. Following their on-orbit checkouts, the satellites should begin serving customers as soon as a few weeks after launch.

Three of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heatshield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heatshield readiness for return to launch site on future missions.

Several upgrades and experiments related to Starship’s heatshield will also be tested, with some improvements derived directly from data gathered from the Flight 13 Starship as it floated in the Indian Ocean. They include additional retention mechanisms added to tiles in areas deemed to be at highest risk of falling off during ascent, addressing recently discovered areas that offer flow paths behind tiles for plasma, and flying multiple areas with a curved tile design that has shown the ability to reduce heating in the gaps between tiles. And finally, two tiles recovered from Ship 40 are planned to be reflown on Ship 41, marking the first tile reuse for Starship.

NASA plans to use a lunar lander version of Starship to deliver astronauts and cargo to the Moon during the Artemis IV mission and beyond through the Human Landing System (HLS) Program.

Learn more about Starship:
https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):
https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Video Credit: SpaceX
Duration: 51 seconds
Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #ArtemisIV #Starship #StarshipV3 #FlightTest13 #ReusableSpacecraft #SuperHeavy #SuperHeavyV3 #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Landspace ZhuQue-2E Commercial Rocket Qianfan Constellation Launch

China Landspace ZhuQue-2E Commercial Rocket Qianfan Constellation Launch

China on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, completed its first large-scale launch of networking satellites for the Qianfan (Spacesail) mega constellation using a commercial rocket as the launch vehicle.

The Zhuque-2E Y7 carrier rocket, developed by Chinese commercial launch company LandSpace, blasted off from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China at 14:26 Beijing Time, sending ten networking satellites for a mega-constellation into their preset polar orbits. The satellites were produced by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, bring Qianfan's total count deployed to 248.

The Qianfan mega-constellation is operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co. Ltd. that aims to provide space-based Internet connectivity services in China and abroad in places including Brazil, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and via airlines, around the fourth quarter of this year.

Compared to typical single-satellite launches, the difficulty of large-scale satellite constellation deployment lies not only in the increased number of satellites.

The simultaneous launch of multiple satellites requires addressing a series of challenges, including multi-satellite coordination, satellite-launcher coordination, batch deployment, orbital control, and the passivation and deorbiting of the rocket's end stage, placing higher demands on coordination throughout the entire mission.

"For this mission, we have conducted system-level preparations in areas such as satellite interfaces, flight procedures, multi-satellite deployment sequencing, ground testing and launch procedures, and have carried out extensive work of collaboration with the client. We aim to standardize, formalize and visualize such constellation deployment missions," said Ma Haijing, general manager of LandSpace's marketing department.

China's low-Earth orbit satellite Internet sector is entering a phase of large-scale network deployment, and the continued construction of large satellite constellations is placing higher demands on the reliability, launch frequency, and the sustained supply of launch capacity of carrier rockets.

"The Zhuque-2 series has completed nine flights. Today's mission successfully deployed 10 networking satellites at an altitude of 900 kilometers with high precision, demonstrating that the Zhuque-2E's payload capacity, propulsion system, stage separation technology and orbital insertion precision control have all reached industry-leading levels," said Ma after Tuesday's launch.

While advancing routine commercial launches with the Zhuque-2E, LandSpace is also continuing its efforts to advance reuse of the Zhuque-3 reusable rocket. The two rocket models are being developed in tandem to meet distinct payload capacities and mission requirements, further enhancing the company's capability for sustained and stable access to space.

Costing under 10 million Yuan (1.47 million United States Dollars) apiece, each Qianfan satellite weighs 300 kilograms and has a ‘flat pack’ design with a single solar array to fit as many satellites as possible inside the rocket fairing in two parallel stacks. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton to generate 20 millinewtons of thrust with a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.

By deploying ten Qianfan satellites, LandSpace has become the first of three enterprises contracted in August 2025 to fulfill its demonstration launch, beating CAS Space by about a month and far ahead of Space Pioneer. In the future, the company plans to deploy further satellite groups to assist with the constellation's growth towards having thousands in orbit.

Today’s mission was the 6th flight of Zhuque-2E, the 8th flight of LandSpace’s Zhuque-2 series, and LandSpace’s 11th orbital launch attempt. This was also the 63rd launch from China in 2026.

Image Credit: Landspace

Text Credit: CCTV, Jack C.
Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #CommunicationsSatellites #SpaceSailConstellation #ShanghaiSpacesailTechnologies #CAS #Earth #LEO #China #中国 #LandSpace #蓝箭 #Zhuque2Rocket #Zhuque2EY7 #RocketLaunches #InnerMongolia #CommercialSpace #STEM #Education

China Landspace ZhuQue-2E Commercial Rocket Qianfan Constellation Launch

China Landspace ZhuQue-2E Commercial Rocket Qianfan Constellation Launch

China on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, completed its first large-scale launch of networking satellites for the Qianfan (Spacesail) mega constellation using a commercial rocket as the launch vehicle.

The Zhuque-2E Y7 carrier rocket, developed by Chinese commercial launch company LandSpace, blasted off from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China at 14:26 Beijing Time, sending ten networking satellites for a mega-constellation into their preset polar orbits. The satellites were produced by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, bring Qianfan's total count deployed to 248.

The Qianfan mega-constellation is operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co. Ltd. that aims to provide space-based Internet connectivity services in China and abroad in places including Brazil, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and via airlines, around the fourth quarter of this year.

Compared to typical single-satellite launches, the difficulty of large-scale satellite constellation deployment lies not only in the increased number of satellites.

The simultaneous launch of multiple satellites requires addressing a series of challenges, including multi-satellite coordination, satellite-launcher coordination, batch deployment, orbital control, and the passivation and deorbiting of the rocket's end stage, placing higher demands on coordination throughout the entire mission.

"For this mission, we have conducted system-level preparations in areas such as satellite interfaces, flight procedures, multi-satellite deployment sequencing, ground testing and launch procedures, and have carried out extensive work of collaboration with the client. We aim to standardize, formalize and visualize such constellation deployment missions," said Ma Haijing, general manager of LandSpace's marketing department.

China's low-Earth orbit satellite Internet sector is entering a phase of large-scale network deployment, and the continued construction of large satellite constellations is placing higher demands on the reliability, launch frequency, and the sustained supply of launch capacity of carrier rockets.

"The Zhuque-2 series has completed nine flights. Today's mission successfully deployed 10 networking satellites at an altitude of 900 kilometers with high precision, demonstrating that the Zhuque-2E's payload capacity, propulsion system, stage separation technology and orbital insertion precision control have all reached industry-leading levels," said Ma after Tuesday's launch.

While advancing routine commercial launches with the Zhuque-2E, LandSpace is also continuing its efforts to advance reuse of the Zhuque-3 reusable rocket. The two rocket models are being developed in tandem to meet distinct payload capacities and mission requirements, further enhancing the company's capability for sustained and stable access to space.

Costing under 10 million Yuan (1.47 million United States Dollars) apiece, each Qianfan satellite weighs 300 kilograms and has a ‘flat pack’ design with a single solar array to fit as many satellites as possible inside the rocket fairing in two parallel stacks. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton to generate 20 millinewtons of thrust with a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.

By deploying ten Qianfan satellites, LandSpace has become the first of three enterprises contracted in August 2025 to fulfill its demonstration launch, beating CAS Space by about a month and far ahead of Space Pioneer. In the future, the company plans to deploy further satellite groups to assist with the constellation's growth towards having thousands in orbit.

Today’s mission was the 6th flight of Zhuque-2E, the 8th flight of LandSpace’s Zhuque-2 series, and LandSpace’s 11th orbital launch attempt. This was also the 63rd launch from China in 2026.

Video Credit: CCTV

Text Credit: CCTV, Jack C.
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Sept. 15, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #CommunicationsSatellites #SpaceSailConstellation #ShanghaiSpacesailTechnologies #CAS #Earth #LEO #China #中国 #LandSpace #蓝箭 #Zhuque2Rocket #Zhuque2EY7 #RocketLaunches #InnerMongolia #CommercialSpace #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Launch of Europe's FLEX and Sentinel-3C Earth Satellites on Vega-C Rocket

Launch of Europe's FLEX and Sentinel-3C Earth Satellites on Vega-C Rocket

The European Space Agency's FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite lift off aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The European Space Agency's FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite lift off aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The European Space Agency's FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite lift off aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The Vega-C gantry is rolled back for the launch of the European Space Agency's FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

European Space Agency's FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite within the rocket fairing after being rolled out to the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

European Space Agency's FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite rolled out within the rocket fairing to the launch tower at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana

European Space Agency's FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite rolled out within the rocket fairing to the launch tower at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana

European Space Agency's FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite rolled out within the rocket fairing to the launch tower at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana

The European Space Agency's FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite have been launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on the northern coast of South America, as part of Europe’s Earth Observation Programs. Flight VV30 lifted off on September 15, 2026 at 03:21 (September 14 at 22:21 local time).

FLEX is designed to reveal a phenomenon invisible to the human eye—the faint fluorescence emitted by plants as they photosynthesize. Equipped with a Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer, FLEX will detect and measure this incredibly weak signal from orbit. Because the fluorescence varies with plant health and environmental conditions, the measurements will provide scientists with new information about photosynthetic activity and vegetation stress on a global scale.

Sentinel-3C is the third in the Sentinel-3 series. Copernicus Sentinel-3C will continue the mission’s task of measuring systematically Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. The mission also provides essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting.

Europe’s Vega-C rocket can launch 2,300 kg into space, such as small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft. At 35 meters tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tons on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of satellites into their desired orbit around Earth.

This flight is a first dual launch for Vega-C, using a secondary payload adapter called Vespa. Sentinel-3C is placed on top of Vespa inside the main fairing and once deployed the Vespa adapter opens to reveal FLEX for its injection into orbit.

The European Space Agency's Copernicus Earth Observation Program: 
https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/copernicus/

Credits: ESA/CNES/Avio
Release Date: Sept. 14, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #CopernicusProgramme #Sentinel3 #Planets #Earth #Atmospheres #Oceans #Ice #Vegetation #Agriculture #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Environment #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #VegaCRocket #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #Avio #ArianeGroup #STEM #Education

Launch of Europe's FLEX and Sentinel-3C Earth Satellites on Vega-C Rocket

Launch of Europe's FLEX and Sentinel-3C Earth Satellites on Vega-C Rocket

The European Space Agency's FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite have been launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on the northern coast of South America, as part of Europe’s Earth Observation Programs. Flight VV30 lifted off on September 15, 2026 at 03:21 (September 14 at 22:21 local time).

FLEX is designed to reveal a phenomenon invisible to the human eye—the faint fluorescence emitted by plants as they photosynthesize. Equipped with a Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer, FLEX will detect and measure this incredibly weak signal from orbit. Because the fluorescence varies with plant health and environmental conditions, the measurements will provide scientists with new information about photosynthetic activity and vegetation stress on a global scale.

Sentinel-3C is the third in the Sentinel-3 series. Copernicus Sentinel-3C will continue the mission’s task of measuring systematically Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. The mission also provides essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting.

Europe’s Vega-C rocket can launch 2,300 kg into space, such as small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft. At 35 meters tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tons on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of satellites into their desired orbit around Earth.

This flight is a first dual launch for Vega-C, using a secondary payload adapter called Vespa. Sentinel-3C is placed on top of Vespa inside the main fairing and once deployed the Vespa adapter opens to reveal FLEX for its injection into orbit.

The European Space Agency's Copernicus Earth Observation Program: 
https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/copernicus/

Credits: ESA/CNES/Avio
Duration: 2 minutes, 18 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 14, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #CopernicusProgramme #Sentinel3 #Planets #Earth #Atmospheres #Oceans #Ice #Vegetation #Agriculture #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Environment #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #VegaCRocket #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #FrenchGuiana #Avio #ArianeGroup #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Venus emerges from behind The Moon: A Lunar Occultation

Planet Venus emerges from behind The Moon: A Lunar Occultation

Astrophotographer Maximilian-Vlad Teodorescu: ". . .  the emergence of Venus from behind the Moon. A daytime event, requiring a lot of luck with the massive clouds rolling in."

The Moon just occulted Venus. The event was visible from India to Europe.

Occultation refers to the process where a celestial body, such as a star or planet, temporarily obscures another body, allowing astronomers to study its properties.

Image Credit: Maximilian-Vlad Teodorescu
Location: Magurele, Romania 
Image Details: 115 mm APO refractor, ASI 183MM, IR-pass 685 nm filter
Date: Sept. 14, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SolarSystem #Planets #Venus #Earth #Moon #LunarOccultations #Astrophotography #MaximilianVladTeodorescu #Astrophotographers #Magurele #Romania #România #STEM #Education

Full Dome View: Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 in Cetus | VLT Survey Telescope

Full Dome View: Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 in Cetus | VLT Survey Telescope

This image, captured with the OmegaCAM camera on the European Southern Observatory’s VLT Survey Telescope in Chile, shows an unusually clean small galaxy. IC 1613 contains very little cosmic dust, allowing astronomers to explore its contents with great clarity.

Note: The full dome video display format is designed for projection systems in planetariums.

The irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 contains around 100 million stars and is a member of our Local Group of galaxies. This also includes our Milky Way, the Andromeda spiral galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds. It is at a distance of 2.4 million light-years and contains several examples of Cepheid variable stars—key calibrators of the cosmic distance ladder. The bulk of its stars were formed about 7 billion years ago and it does not appear to be undergoing star formation at the present day, unlike other very active dwarf irregulars, such as the Large and Small Magellanic clouds.

Learn about the European Southern Observatory's VLT Survey Telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Acknowledgement: VST/OmegaCAM Local Group Survey

Duration: 20 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 27, 2016

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #CepheidVariableStars #CepheidVariables #Galaxies #IrregularGalaxies #DwarfGalaxies #IC1613 #CetusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VSTOmegaCAM #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #FullDomeView #HD #Video

Wide-field view: Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 in Cetus | Digitized Sky Survey 2

Wide-field view: Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 in Cetus | Digitized Sky Survey 2

This wide-field view shows the sky around the dwarf galaxy IC 1613 in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). This picture was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The galaxy appears at the center of the picture as an irregularly shaped clump of faint stars.

The Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) is a ground-based imaging survey of the entire sky in several colors of light produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) through its Guide Star Survey group.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin
Release Date: Jan. 27, 2016

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #CepheidVariableStars #CepheidVariables #Galaxies #IrregularGalaxies #DwarfGalaxies #IC1613 #CetusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VSTOmegaCAM #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Journey to Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 in Cetus | VLT Survey Telescope

Journey to Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 in Cetus | VLT Survey Telescope

This sequence starts with a broad view of the rather faint constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). As we zoom, we close in on a faint, but nearby galaxy, IC 1613. The final detailed image, captured with the OmegaCAM camera on the European Southern Observatory’s VLT Survey Telescope in Chile, shows an unusually clean small galaxy. IC 1613 contains very little cosmic dust, allowing astronomers to explore its contents with great clarity.

The irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 contains around 100 million stars and is a member of our Local Group of galaxies. This also includes our Milky Way, the Andromeda spiral galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds. It is at a distance of 2.4 million light-years and contains several examples of Cepheid variable stars—key calibrators of the cosmic distance ladder. The bulk of its stars were formed about 7 billion years ago and it does not appear to be undergoing star formation at the present day, unlike other very active dwarf irregulars, such as the Large and Small Magellanic clouds.

Learn about the European Southern Observatory's VLT Survey Telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Acknowledgement: VST/OmegaCAM Local Group Survey

Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 27, 2016

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #CepheidVariableStars #CepheidVariables #Galaxies #IrregularGalaxies #DwarfGalaxies #IC1613 #CetusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VSTOmegaCAM #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: The Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 | VLT Survey Telescope

Close-up: The Irregular Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613 in Cetus | VLT Survey Telescope

This image, captured with the OmegaCAM camera on the European Southern Observatory’s VLT Survey Telescope in Chile, shows an unusually clean small galaxy. IC 1613 contains very little cosmic dust, allowing astronomers to explore its contents with great clarity.

The irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 contains around 100 million stars and is a member of our Local Group of galaxies. This also includes our Milky Way, the Andromeda spiral galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds. It is at a distance of 2.4 million light-years and contains several examples of Cepheid variable stars—key calibrators of the cosmic distance ladder. The bulk of its stars were formed about 7 billion years ago and it does not appear to be undergoing star formation at the present day, unlike other very active dwarf irregulars, such as the Large and Small Magellanic clouds.

Learn about the European Southern Observatory's VLT Survey Telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Acknowledgement: VST/OmegaCAM Local Group Survey

Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 27, 2016

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #CepheidVariableStars #CepheidVariables #Galaxies #IrregularGalaxies #DwarfGalaxies #IC1613 #CetusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #VSTOmegaCAM #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video