Saturday, March 16, 2024

Discussing "The Strong State of NASA" | This Week @NASA

Discussing "The Strong State of NASA" | This Week @NASA

Week of March 15, 2024: Discussing "the strong state of NASA," a safe return from the International Space Station, and testing critical hardware for a future mission . . . a few of the stories to tell you about–This Week at NASA!


Video Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Video Producer & Editor: Andre Valentine

Narrator: Emanuel Cooper

Duration: 2 minutes, 44 seconds

Release Date: March 16, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #Jupiter #EuropaClipper #Europa #ISS #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew7 #Astronauts #JasminMoghbeli #UnitedStates #Europe #ESA #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonaut #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Expedition70 #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #HD #Video

Friday, March 15, 2024

IM-1 Moon Mission Recap & Farewell | Intuitive Machines Odysseus Lunar Lander

IM-1 Moon Mission Recap & Farewell Intuitive Machines Odysseus Lunar Lander


On March 15, 2024, Intuitive Machines provided an update on the status of the Odysseus Lunar Lander located near the Malapert A crater in the Moon’s South Pole region:

"The IM-1 Mission successfully landed the first spacecraft on the Moon's south pole region, marking the United States' first return since Apollo 17 and the first commercial lunar lander to transmit valuable science data of each NASA payload from the lunar surface."

On February 22, 2024, the IM-1 Mission Nova-C Moon Lander, named "Odysseus," became the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon’s surface since the NASA Apollo 17 moon landing in 1972.

Follow IM-1 Mission Updates: 

https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative allows NASA to send science investigations and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. Under Artemis, NASA will study more of the Moon than ever before, and CLPS will demonstrate how NASA is working with commercial companies to achieve robotic lunar exploration.

Learn more about CLPS:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/commercial-lunar-payload-services


Video Credit: Intuitive Machines

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: March 15, 2024


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #LRO #SouthPole #ArtemisProgram #IntuitiveMachines #IM1Mission #IM1Spacecraft #NovaCLander #CommercialSpace #CLPS #SpaceTechnology #MSFC #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Arrival of Crew-8, Departure of Crew-7 | International Space Station

Arrival of Crew-8, Departure of Crew-7 | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps
Expedition 70 crew members pose for a portrait ahead of Crew-7's departure from the International Space Station. From left are Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Loral O'Hara and Jeanette Epps of NASA, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA), plus Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA
NASA Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara
NASA Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli, Matthew Dominick, and Loral O'Hara
Expedition 70 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli prepares to open a science freezer for research operations inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.
NASA astronauts Michael Barratt and Jasmin Moghbeli pose for a portrait
Expedition 70 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick tests out pressure cuffs on his thighs. These will be used to examine whether wearing the cuffs in microgravity changes the way fluid moves around inside the body
NASA astronauts Loral O'Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli hug ahead of Crew-7's departure from the International Space Station

The International Space Station’s population is back down to seven as Monday saw the departure of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7. Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Andreas Mogensen of European Space Agency (ESA), Satoshi Furukawa of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos of Russia undocked from the forward-facing port of the Harmony module at 11:20 a.m. EDT Monday, March 11, 2024, before splashing down off the coast of Florida at 5:47am Tuesday, March 12. The quartet’s return to Earth marks the end of its six-month microgravity research mission.

Follow Expedition 70 Updates: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 70 Crew
Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Loral O'Hara, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Dates: March 6-11, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Astronauts #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew7 #JasminMoghbeli #UnitedStates #AndreasMogensen #Europe #ESA #SatoshiFurukawa #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonaut #KonstantinBorisov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition70 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education

Scorpion Reef in The Gulf of Mexico | International Space Station

Scorpion Reef in The Gulf of Mexico | International Space Station


Off the northern coast of Yucatan, Mexico, Scorpion Reef was pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above. The largest in the southern Gulf of Mexico, five main vegetated islands stand among it.

Scorpion Reef (Spanish: Arrecife Alacranes) is an atoll containing a small group of islets in the Gulf of Mexico, about 125 km (78 miles) off the northern coast of the state of Yucatán, Mexico. Designated a national park, the reef is part of the Campeche Bank archipelago and is the largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico. It contains five major islands: Isla Pérez, Isla Desertora, Isla Pájaros, Isla Chica, and Isla Desterrada.

[Wikipedia]


Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Feb. 24, 2024


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Astronauts #Earth #GulfOfMexico #ScorpionReef #Atoll #Islands #ArrecifeAlacranes #Mexico #Yucatán #UnitedStates #Europe #ESA #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education

Galaxy LEDA 42160: An Unlikely Spiral | Hubble Space Telescope

Galaxy LEDA 42160: An Unlikely Spiral | Hubble Space Telescope

This image shows LEDA 42160, a galaxy about 52 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The dwarf galaxy is one of many forcing its way through the comparatively dense gas in the Virgo cluster, a massive cluster of galaxies. The pressure exerted by this intergalactic gas, known as ram pressure, has dramatic effects on star formation in LEDA 42160, which are presently being studied using the Hubble Space Telescope.

LEDA 42160 falls into the category of ‘Magellanic spiral galaxy’, or type Sm for short, under the de Vaucouleurs galaxy classification system. Magellanic spiral galaxies can be further sub-categorized as barred (SBm), unbarred (SAm) and weakly barred (SABm), where a ‘bar’ is an elongated bar-shape at a galaxy’s core. Generally speaking, Magellanic spiral galaxies are dwarf galaxies with only one single spiral arm. They are named after their prototype, the Large Magellanic Cloud—an SBm galaxy. Magellanic spiral galaxies are an interesting example of how galaxy categorization is actually more nuanced than simply ‘spiral’, ‘elliptical’ or ‘irregular’. 

Image Description: A distorted dwarf galaxy, obscured by dust and by bright outbursts caused by star formation, floats roughly in the center. A few distant galaxies are visible in the background around it, many as little spirals, and also including a prominent elliptical galaxy. A bright star hangs above the galaxy in the foreground, marked by cross-shaped diffraction spikes.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun

Release Date: March 11, 2024


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #DwarfGalaxy #LEDA42160 #SmSpiralGalaxy #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA's Space to Ground: Departure of Crew-7 | Week of March 15, 2024

NASA's Space to Ground: Departure of Crew-7 | Week of March 15, 2024

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. The International Space Station’s population is back down to seven as Monday saw the departure of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7. Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Andreas Mogensen of European Space Agency (ESA), Satoshi Furukawa of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos of Russia undocked from the forward-facing port of the Harmony module at 11:20 a.m. EDT Monday, March 11, 2024, before splashing down off the coast of Florida at 5:47am Tuesday, March 12. The quartet’s return to Earth marks the end of its six-month microgravity research mission.

Follow Expedition 70 Updates: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/


Expedition 70 Crew
Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Loral O'Hara, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation


Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 4 minutes

Release Date: March 15, 2024


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Astronauts #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew7 #JasminMoghbeli #UnitedStates #AndreasMogensen #Europe #ESA #SatoshiFurukawa #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonaut #KonstantinBorisov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition70 #HumanSpaceflight #HD #Video

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Liftoff of SpaceX Starship: Third Test Flight | SpaceX Starbase in Texas

Liftoff of SpaceX Starship: Third Test Flight | SpaceX Starbase in Texas





Happy 22nd Birthday, SpaceX (2002-2024)! 
For the third flight test of a fully integrated Starship, SpaceX used a Super Heavy rocket booster to launch a Starship upper stage, from Starbase in Texas, on March 14, 2024 at 8:25 Central Time. Starship is designed to be a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 121m/397ft

Diameter: 9m/29.5ft

Payload to LEO: 100 – 150t (fully reusable)

Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."

Super Heavy is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system. Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.

Starship's Engines: Raptors

"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."

Raptor Engine Parameters:

Diameter: 1.3m/4ft

Height: 3.1m/10.2ft

Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf


Image Credit: SpaceX

Release Date: March 14, 2024


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #FlightTest #Spacecraft #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather | NASA Goddard

Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather | NASA Goddard

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, takes the spotlight in these new images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope that capture both sides of the planet.

Big enough to swallow Earth, the classic Great Red Spot storm stands out prominently in Jupiter’s atmosphere. To its lower right, at a more southerly latitude, is a feature sometimes dubbed Red Spot Jr. This giant storm, called an anticyclone, was the result of other storms merging in 1998 and 2000, and it first appeared red in 2006.

Studying the planets in our solar system helps us understand our own weather patterns closer to home, and allows us to theorize what potential exoplanet weather is like in other star systems in our universe.

For more information, visit: 

https://nasa.gov/hubble 


Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Paul Morris: Lead Producer 

Image: Hubble Captures Volcanic Eruption Plume From Io

Image Credit: John Spencer, Lowell Observatory, and NASA/ESA

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: March 14, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #GreatRedSpot #Storms #AntiCyclone #SolarSystem #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education  #HD #Video

Planet Jupiter: Two New Views (January 2024) | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Jupiter: Two New Views (January 2024) | Hubble Space Telescope

Jupiter on January 5, 2024
Jupiter on January 6, 2024

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope in these latest images, taken on January 5–6, 2024, that capture both sides of the planet. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer Solar System planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL). This is because these large worlds are shrouded in clouds and hazes stirred up by violent winds, leading to a kaleidoscope of ever-changing weather patterns.

Jan. 5 Image (first/top): Big enough to swallow Earth, the classic Great Red Spot stands out prominently in Jupiter's atmosphere. To its lower right, at a more southerly latitude, is a feature sometimes dubbed Red Spot Jr. This anticyclone was the result of storms merging in 1998 and 2000, and it first appeared red in 2006 before returning to a pale beige in subsequent years. This year it is somewhat redder again. The source of the red coloration is unknown but may involve a range of chemical compounds: sulphur, phosphorus or organic material. Staying in their lanes, but moving in opposite directions, Red Spot Jr. passes the Great Red Spot about every two years. Another small red anticyclone appears in the far north.

Jan. 6 Image (second/bottom): Storm activity also appears in the opposite hemisphere. A pair of storms: a deep red cyclone and a reddish anticyclone, appear to be next to each other at right of center. They look so red that at first glance, it looks like Jupiter skinned a knee. These storms are rotating in opposite directions, indicating an alternating pattern of high- and low-pressure systems. For the cyclone, there’s an upwelling on the edges with clouds descending in the middle causing a clearing in the atmospheric haze.

The storms are expected to bounce past each other because their opposing clockwise and counterclockwise rotations make them repel each other. 

Toward the left edge of the image is the innermost Galilean moon, Io—the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, despite its small size (only slightly larger than Earth's moon). Hubble resolves volcanic outflow deposits on the surface. Hubble's sensitivity to blue and violet wavelengths clearly reveals interesting surface features.

Image Descriptions: Showing both faces of Jupiter on the black background of space. The first/left image is labelled January 5, 2024. Jupiter is banded with stripes of brownish orange, light grey, soft yellow, and shades of cream, punctuated with many large storms and small white clouds. The Great Red Spot is the most prominent feature in the left bottom third of this view. 

The second/right image is labelled January 6, 2024. This opposite side of Jupiter is also banded with stripes of brownish orange, light grey, soft yellow, and shades of cream. At upper right of center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of this view is Jupiter’s tiny orange-colored moon Io.


Credit: NASA, ESA, J. DePasquale (STScI), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC)

Release Date: March 14, 2024


#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #SolarSystem #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education 

SpaceX Starship Re-enters Earth's Atmosphere: Hot Plasma Field

SpaceX Starship Re-enters Earth's Atmosphere: Hot Plasma Field

Elon Musk: "Watch the super hot plasma field grow as Starship re-enters the atmosphere!"

The Starship upper stage experienced an unknown problem during re-entry, approximately 50 minutes after being launched by a Super Heavy rocket booster from Starbase in Texas, on March 14, 2024, at 8:25am Central Time, for its third flight test. 

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 121m/397ft

Diameter: 9m/29.5ft

Payload to LEO: 100 – 150t (fully reusable)

Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."

Super Heavy is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system. Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.

Starship's Engines: Raptors

"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."

Raptor Engine Parameters:

Diameter: 1.3m/4ft

Height: 3.1m/10.2ft

Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf


Credit: SpaceX

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 2 minutes, 56 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2024


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #FlightTest #Spacecraft #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Planet Jupiter's Rotation: January 2024 | Hubble Space Telescope

Planet Jupiter's Rotation: January 2024 | Hubble Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope images used in this animated science visualization present a full rotation of the giant planet Jupiter. This is not a real-time movie. Instead, Hubble snapshots of the colorful planet, taken on January 5–6, 2024, have been photo-mapped onto a sphere, and the model is then rotated in animation. The planet's real rotation rate is nearly 10 hours. This is easily plotted by watching the Great Red Spot come and go with each completed rotation. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer Solar System planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL).


Credit: NASA, ESA, J. DePasquale (STScI), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC)

Duration: 31 seconds

Release Date: March 8, 2024


#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #SolarSystem #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #Animation #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship’s Successful Third Launch | SpaceX Starbase in Texas

SpaceX Starship’s Successful Third Launch | SpaceX Starbase in Texas

For the third flight test of a fully integrated Starship, SpaceX used a Super Heavy rocket booster to launch a Starship upper stage, from Starbase in Texas, on March 14, 2024 at 8:25 Central Time. Starship is designed to be a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 121m/397ft

Diameter: 9m/29.5ft

Payload to LEO: 100 – 150t (fully reusable)

Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."

Super Heavy is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system. Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.

Starship's Engines: Raptors

"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."

Raptor Engine Parameters:

Diameter: 1.3m/4ft

Height: 3.1m/10.2ft

Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf


Video Credit: SpaceX

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 3 minutes, 12 seconds

Release Date: March 14, 2024


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #FlightTest #Spacecraft #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship Flyby | Polaris Program

SpaceX Starship Flyby | Polaris Program



SpaceX: "The world's most powerful launch vehicle is ready for flight. The third flight test aims to build on what we’ve learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond."

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 121m/397ft

Diameter: 9m/29.5ft

Payload to LEO: 100 – 150t (fully reusable)

Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."

Super Heavy is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system. Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.

Starship's Engines: Raptors

"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."

Raptor Engine Parameters:

Diameter: 1.3m/4ft

Height: 3.1m/10.2ft

Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

The Polaris Program is a planned human spaceflight program organized by businessman and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman. Isaacman, who commanded the first all-civilian spaceflight— Inspiration4 —in September 2021, purchased flights from SpaceX in order to create the Polaris Program.


Image Credit: Polaris Program/John Kraus

Image Date: March 13, 2024


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #FlightTest #Spacecraft #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Science #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship: Ready for Third Flight Test

SpaceX Starship: Ready for Third Flight Test



SpaceX: "The world's most powerful launch vehicle is ready for flight. The third flight test aims to build on what we’ve learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond."

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 121m/397ft

Diameter: 9m/29.5ft

Payload to LEO: 100 – 150t (fully reusable)

Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."

Super Heavy is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system. Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.

Starship's Engines: Raptors

"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."

Raptor Engine Parameters:

Diameter: 1.3m/4ft

Height: 3.1m/10.2ft

Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf


Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Release Date: March 12, 2024


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #FlightTest #Spacecraft #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Science #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship: Preparing for Third Flight Test

SpaceX Starship: Preparing for Third Flight Test

SpaceX: "The world's most powerful launch vehicle is ready for flight. The third flight test aims to build on what we’ve learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives. Recursive improvement is essential as we work to build a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and ultimately travel to Mars and beyond."

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 121m/397ft

Diameter: 9m/29.5ft

Payload to LEO: 100 – 150t (fully reusable)

Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."

Super Heavy is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system. Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX), Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.

Starship's Engines: Raptors

"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."

Raptor Engine Parameters:

Diameter: 1.3m/4ft

Height: 3.1m/10.2ft

Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf


Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 1 minute, 21 seconds

Release Date: March 13, 2024


#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #FlightTest #Spacecraft #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Science #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Supernova Remnant Puppis A in Vela | Víctor Blanco Telescope

Supernova Remnant Puppis A in Vela | Víctor Blanco Telescope


Puppis A (Pup A) is a supernova remnant about 100 light-years in diameter and roughly 6,500–7,000 light-years away. This object is one of the many cosmic treasures found within the new 1.3 gigapixel Vela Supernova Remnant image, captured with the Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, mounted on the 4-meter US National Science Foundation's Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab. Although Pup A overlaps the Vela Supernova Remnant, it is four times more distant.


Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy

Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Release Date: March 12, 2024


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #SupernovaRemnant #PupA #VelaSupernovaRemnant #Nebula #Vela #Constellation #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #DECam #CerroTololoObservatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #UnitedStates #STEM #Education