NASA Holds Out Hope of Recovering Voyager 1 Probe
A dose of a Moderna covid-19 vaccine being prepared.Photo: Sholten Singer (AP) Here’s one weird trick for making the most out of your next two-dose vaccine: get a shot in…
Next-Generation Spaceplanes Are the Cutting-Edge Evolution of the Space Shuttle Dream
NASA’s Space Shuttle operated in low-Earth orbit for 30 years before its retirement in 2011. However, the US space agency’s replacement for this vehicle, Orion, returned to the conical capsule…
It’ll Be a ‘Miracle’ to Recover Glitching Voyager 1 Probe, Says NASA’s JPL
Humanity’s most distant spacecraft is glitching out—again—and engineers are having quite a difficult time solving the problem. Voyager 1, what are we going to do with you? Trump Went Through…
SpaceX’s Giant Starship Tapped to Launch Starlab’s Giant Steel Space Station
Starlab Space’s forthcoming space station is so big and heavy that only the formidable SpaceX Starship megarocket can launch it into orbit, but the one-time delivery option comes with distinct…
The Best—and Most Upsetting—Space Images From January
Image: Safran This striking scanning electron microscope image offers an intimate view of a test glass surface, part of a project to enhance the lifespan of atomic clocks in navigation…
NASA’s Space Shuttle Looks Launch Ready for the First Time in Years
NASA’s Endeavour orbiter made its way to the top of a 20-story-tall vertical display of the retired Space Shuttle, completing a legendary ready-for-launch stack that makes it look as though…
Satellites Are Getting a Constellation of Traffic Cops
Earth’s orbit will be monitored by a watchful set of robotic eyes, the first commercial constellation of satellites with the ability to keep track of objects in space to avoid…
The Most Precious Human Relics Left in Space
Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster and Starman manikin shortly after launch on February 6, 2018. Photo: SpaceX Being the space nerd that I am, I often imagine a museum filled with…
Sierra Space Built an Inflatable Space Module the Size of a House, Then Blew It Up
You can’t fly an inflatable module to space without bursting a few on Earth. Sierra Space watched its giant, 20-foot tall space station module explode in dramatic fashion, but the…
Astrobotic Feared ‘Catastrophic Situation’ If It Didn’t Destroy Peregrine Lunar Lander
Astrobotic bid farewell to its Peregrine lunar lander on Thursday as the spacecraft plunged through Earth’s atmosphere, thereby preventing the failed mission from colliding into other spacecraft. China’s Plan to…