#space
- The Space Stories That Defined 2021
Looking back at the year's biggest space milestones, from JWST's launch to a record pace of Falcon 9 flights.
- Webb's Nail-Biting 29-Day Drive to L2 Has Begun
The day after launch, JWST is now on its month-long trip to L2, facing roughly 50 deployment steps that all have to work with no chance of a repair mission.
- Merry Christmas, We Have a Telescope in Orbit
The James Webb Space Telescope launched this morning from French Guiana, beginning its month-long journey to L2.
- SpaceX Sends Christmas Dinner (and a Lot More) to the ISS
SpaceX's CRS-24 Cargo Dragon launched today from Pad 39A with over 6,500 pounds of supplies for the ISS crew.
- How a Satellite Parks Itself 22,000 Miles Above One Spot on Earth
A plain-language look at geostationary orbit and why launches like Turksat-5B matter for broadcast and telecom coverage.
- SpaceX Closes Out a Record Year with Turksat-5B
SpaceX is targeting December 18-19 for the Turksat-5B launch from Cape Canaveral, another step toward a record 31 Falcon 9 flights in 2021.
- Comet Leonard Just Made Its Closest Pass by Earth
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) swung within about 21 million miles of Earth today, giving skywatchers a shot at 2021's brightest comet before it heads for the Sun.
- How Webb's Origami Mirror Is Supposed to Work
A look at the 18-segment folding mirror that has to unfurl perfectly in space for the James Webb Space Telescope to see anything at all.
- Another Day, Another Starlink Launch — SpaceX Keeps the Cadence Up
SpaceX's Starlink Group 4-3 mission sent 48 satellites and two BlackSky rideshares to orbit as the company chases its own launch record.
- The James Webb Space Telescope Is Ready. Now Comes the Scary Part.
As November ends, JWST sits encapsulated in French Guiana ahead of its December 22 launch — and an even harder month of deployment after that.
- Lucy's Wobbly Wing: A Stuck Solar Array Six Weeks Into a 12-Year Journey
NASA's Lucy spacecraft is flying healthy despite an unlatched solar array, as engineers spend November puzzling over the fix.
- NASA's DART Just Launched, and It's Going to Punch an Asteroid
NASA's DART spacecraft launched today on a Falcon 9 to test whether slamming into an asteroid moonlet can actually change its orbit.
- TESS Finds a Gas Giant With a 16-Hour Year, and It's Doomed
NASA's TESS mission has spotted TOI-2109b, an ultra-hot Jupiter with the shortest orbital period ever seen for a gas giant.
- Russia Just Blew Up a Satellite, and Now the ISS Crew Is Dodging Debris
Russia's anti-satellite missile test destroyed Kosmos 1408 and scattered over 1,500 trackable fragments, forcing the ISS crew to shelter in place.
- SpaceX Ties Its Own Booster Reuse Record in the Fog
A Falcon 9 first stage flew for a ninth time and stuck the droneship landing, delivering 53 more Starlink satellites to orbit.
- Crew-3 Lifts Off: SpaceX Sends Four More Astronauts to the ISS
SpaceX launched NASA's Crew-3 mission to the ISS, carrying three NASA astronauts and one ESA astronaut for a six-month stay.
- DART Is About to Try Something No One's Ever Done: Punch an Asteroid on Purpose
NASA's DART spacecraft is gearing up for a late-November Falcon 9 launch to test whether we can nudge an asteroid's orbit by ramming into it.
- James Webb's Launch Slips Again, and This Time It's a Clamp Band's Fault
NASA, ESA, and Arianespace push the James Webb Space Telescope's launch to no earlier than December 22 after an unplanned clamp band release rattled the observatory.
- Mars Check-In: Ingenuity's 14th Flight and Perseverance Wakes Back Up
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter logs its 14th Mars flight while Perseverance resumes science after October's solar-conjunction blackout.
- Halley's Comet Sends Its Fireworks: The Orionids Peak Tonight
The annual Orionid meteor shower, made of debris from Halley's Comet, peaks around October 21-22 with up to 20 meteors an hour under dark skies.
- Lucy Launches: NASA's 12-Year Trip to the Trojan Asteroids
NASA's Lucy spacecraft launched today on a 12-year mission to study eight asteroids, including six Jupiter Trojans.
- Captain Kirk Actually Went to Space Today
William Shatner became the oldest person in space on Blue Origin's NS-18 flight, and his reaction afterward was the real story.
- What to Watch in Space and Tech This October
A preview of October's biggest space and science moments: Nobel week, NASA's Lucy launch, and a possible William Shatner spaceflight.
- September's Space Firsts: Inspiration4, Perseverance, and a Month That Kept Delivering
A look back at a September packed with commercial spaceflight, Mars sample collection, and prep for the next big launches.
- Lucy in the Sky With Trojans: NASA's Next Big Asteroid Mission
NASA is readying the Lucy spacecraft for an October launch on a 12-year journey to study Jupiter's mysterious Trojan asteroids.
- Inspiration4 Splashes Down: What a Private Crew in Orbit Actually Proved
Crew Dragon Resilience returned four private citizens to Earth after roughly three days in orbit, a milestone for non-government human spaceflight.
- Four Civilians, Zero Astronauts, One Orbit: Inspiration4 Launches Tonight
SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission launches the first all-civilian crew to orbit, flying higher than the ISS with no professional astronauts aboard.
- Counting Down to the James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is on track to launch by year's end, and its risky journey to L2 makes it one of the most nerve-wracking missions NASA has ever attempted.
- Perseverance Finally Has a Rock in the Tube
NASA's Perseverance rover successfully cored and sealed its first Mars rock sample, a second-attempt success after an August failure.
- Meet the Crew Training for SpaceX's First All-Civilian Trip to Orbit
Four private citizens with no professional astronaut training are prepping for Inspiration4, a Crew Dragon mission launching mid-September.