Latest news with #low-Earth
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX launch overnight: Everything to know about Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida
Another post-midnight SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch is on tap, with liftoff targeted for early Saturday morning from Florida's Space Coast. SpaceX crews aim to launch the Falcon 9 at 12:26 a.m. Saturday from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Backup opportunities are available until 4:26 a.m., if needed. The rocket will deploy another batch of 27 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit. No Brevard County sonic booms are expected. Rather, after soaring skyward along a northeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea. Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch coverage updates on this page, starting about 90 minutes before Saturday's early morning launch target time. When SpaceX's Starlink 10-34 live webcast begins about five minutes before liftoff, look for it posted below next to our countdown clock. Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, Axiom, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral Countdown Timer For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ 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. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX rocket launch overnight: What to know before liftoff from Florida
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Stargazers in Europe spot a strange cloud from SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket treated stargazers in Europe to a surprise display on the night of June 23, when a plume of rocket propellant briefly became visible to the naked eye. SpaceX's Transporter 14 mission lifted off from California's Vanderberg Space Force Base earlier this week carrying 70 commercial payloads bound for low-Earth orbit aboard one of the company's workhorse Falcon 9 rockets. The June 23 launch saw the first stage of the reusable rocket make a controlled landing on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean, while the payload-bearing upper stage powered on to its target orbit. Transporter 14's upper stage proceeded to deploy its payloads and release a plume of rocket propellant prior to re-entering Earth's atmosphere, which quickly froze and reflected sunlight, becoming visible to eagle-eyed stargazers in Europe. Luckily, the Virtual Telescope Project's all sky camera captured the diffuse cloud of particles in the night sky above Manciano, Italy at 8:13 p.m. EDT on June 23 (0013 GMT June 24) alongside the softly glowing, dust choked band of the Milky Way. Oxfordshire-based astrophotographer and science communicator Mary McIntyre also recorded a number of time-lapse videos around the same time as the plume passed swiftly over the U.K., using meteor and aurora-hunting cameras. Similar plumes have been spotted in the wake of previous rideshare missions where a Falcon 9 upper stage has been ordered to perform a fuel purge. The orientation and movement of rocket upper stages have been known to create unique patterns and majestic swirls in the night sky, though on this occasion the propellant lacked any such defined structure. Some scientists believe that rocket propellant may play a part in the formation of high altitude 'night shining' noctilucent clouds - a phenomenon that is more common at northerly altitudes, but has been spotted manifesting closer to the equator in recent decades.
Broadcast Pro
04-06-2025
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
Sierra Space wins NASA contract for lunar habitat study
The NextSTEP-2 Appendix R contract positions Sierra Space as a leader in lunar logistics, including transport, storage, tracking, and waste management. Sierra Space has won a significant contract from NASA to study the use of the companys expandable space station technology on the moon. Sierra Space has been awarded a major contract by NASA to study the potential use of its expandable space station technology on the lunar surface. The agreement, part of NASAs NextSTEP-2 Appendix R initiative for Lunar Logistics and Mobility Studies, places the company at the forefront of efforts to develop advanced systems that will support future moon-to-Mars missions. The contract focuses on exploring how Sierra Spaces inflatable LIFE habitat and related technologies can be adapted to meet a range of logistical and habitation needs on the moon. This includes applications such as tunnel systems around lunar bases, storage and tracking of equipment and supplies, waste management, and the integration of comprehensive frameworks for sustained human presence on the lunar surface. Sierra Space brings considerable expertise to the project, with prior experience in design and analysis of lunar landers, rovers, and habitats. The company has also worked closely with teams supporting human landing systems and lunar terrain vehiclescritical components for building a long-term lunar infrastructure. Earlier this year, in April, Sierra Space completed hypervelocity impact tests at NASAs White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. These trials, which used a .50 caliber two-stage light gas gun to simulate micrometeoroid and orbital debris strikes, were aimed at reinforcing the structural integrity of the LIFE habitat. The successful results marked a key milestone in adapting the habitat for potential lunar and orbital deployment. Dr Tom Marshburn, Chief Astronaut and Vice President of Human Factors Engineering at Sierra Space, said: 'We believe our expandable softgoods space station technology can thrive in low-Earth orbit for commercial uses and for deep space exploration with NASA. Sierra Space is able to leverage existing technologies to deliver robust and scalable solutions that support both near-term and long-term mission objectives on the moon. Weve developed a versatile technology with our expandable habitation products that we feel supports NASAs moon to Mars goals.'
Irish Independent
03-06-2025
- Science
- Irish Independent
Eruptions from sun taking out SpaceX Starlink satellites, Nasa says
Anthony Cuthbertson ©UK Independent Yesterday at 21:30 Eruptions from the sun are causing SpaceX's Starlink satellites to fall to Earth 'faster than expected', according to Nasa scientists. A team from the US space agency's Goddard Space Flight Centre made the discovery after investigating the impact of solar activity on the lifespan of satellites in low-Earth orbit.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California rocket launch: Firefly to investigate 'mishap' during test for Lockheed Martin
A rocket launch from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base did not go to plan after the spacecraft experienced a midair "mishap." Firefly Aerospace, the Texas-based spaceflight company that manufactured the rocket in question, said the issue prevented a prototype satellite owned by Lockheed Martin from reaching orbit following an early-morning takeoff April 29. Instead, the satellite crashed into the Pacific Ocean with part of the rocket. The failed mission was Firefly's sixth flight of its Alpha rocket, which it is developing for commercial launches to compete in a market long dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The company also achieved a major victory earlier in 2025 when it landed a spacecraft on the moon in March as part of a mission funded by NASA. Firefly provided a live stream of the Tuesday, April 29, launch as its Alpha rocket ascended into low-Earth orbit following a takeoff at 6:37 a.m. PT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California. But during the webcast, several particles could be seen flying off the rocket during stage separation as the second stage propelled Lockheed's satellite further into space, Reuters reported. While the Lockheed satellite remained intact, a camera on the second stage showed its engine firing without its nozzle. The mission, known as "message in a booster," was the first of a planned 25 launches in the next five years under an agreement between Firefly and Lockheed Martin. The Alpha rocket's payload was a Lockheed demonstration satellite called LM 400 Technology Demonstrator, which is meant to advance space technologies for both commercial and military customers, like the Pentagon. 'Our customers have told us they need rapid advancement of new mission capabilities,' Bob Behnken, a director at Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement at the time. 'This agreement with Firefly further diversifies our access to space, allowing us to continue quickly flight demonstrating the cutting-edge technology we are developing for them." The Alpha rocket itself is classified as a small-lift launch vehicle capable of carrying more than 2,200 pounds of cargo to orbit. Firefly said in a mission update that it will investigate the cause of the "mishap" with Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial launches. Engineers believe the problem occurred during separation of Alpha's core stage booster with its second stage less than three minutes into the flight. The faulty separation "impacted the Stage 2 Lightning engine nozzle, putting the vehicle in a lower than planned orbit," Firefly wrote in an update on social media site X. In an afternoon update, Firefly said the loss of the nozzle reduced the engine's thrust, preventing the the upper stage from reaching orbit and causing it to crash into the Pacific Ocean north of Antarctica with the Lockheed satellite. Firefly made a name for itself earlier this year when its Blue Ghost lunar lander became the second-ever commercial spacecraft to make it to the surface of the moon. After launching Jan. 15, 2025, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the spacecraft managed to touch down about six weeks later on March 3 on the moon's Earth-facing side on a mission to deploy 10 NASA science instruments. The ensuing 14 days of surface operations were meant to help the U.S. space agency pave the way for humans to return in the years ahead under its Artemis program. This article has been updated to add new information. Contributing: Reuters Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Vandenberg launch: Firefly to investigate 'mishap' during rocket test
