#Spacewalking astronauts closing in on final battery swaps

“#Spacewalking astronauts closing in on final battery swaps” Credit: CC0 Public Domain A pair of spacewalking astronauts tackled the final set of battery swaps outside the International Space Station on Thursday. NASA’s Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy ventured out on their third spacewalk over the past few weeks. They needed to remove six more old…

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#Giant Hawaii telescope builders say no construction in 2020

“#Giant Hawaii telescope builders say no construction in 2020” Scientists planning to build one of the world’s largest telescopes on a Hawaii mountain said Wednesday construction won’t begin until at least next year. TMT International Observatory Vice President Gordon Squires told Hawaii News Now that the coronavirus pandemic presents a complicated and unsafe situation for…

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#Planetary scientist collaborates on first-ever Mars mission launched by Arab world

“#Planetary scientist collaborates on first-ever Mars mission launched by Arab world” An artist’s impression of the United Arab Emirates’ Hope spacecraft in orbit around Mars, where it will arrive in February 2021 after launching from Japan. Credit: MBRSC A veteran of multiple NASA missions to Mars, Northern Arizona University planetary scientist Christopher Edwards will closely…

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#Image: Place for space testing

“#Image: Place for space testing” Credit: ESA-G. Porter ESA’s Compact Antenna Test Range at its ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This anechoic chamber is used to test space antennas of 1 m across or less, or else entire small satellites. The CATR is screened against external electromagnetic radiation, while their inside walls is…

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#10 cool things we learned about Pluto from New Horizons

“#10 cool things we learned about Pluto from New Horizons” Enhanced color global view of Pluto, taken when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft was 280,000 miles (450,000 kilometers) away. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI Five years ago today, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made history. After a voyage of nearly 10 years and more than 3 billion miles, the intrepid…

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#UAE again delays Mars probe launch over weather

“#UAE again delays Mars probe launch over weather” The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday it would delay the launch of its “Hope” Mars probe for a second time, again due to bad weather. The probe was originally due to be launched from Japan on Wednesday but had been postponed until Friday for the same…

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#Pocket-sized German satellite maker shoots for stars

“#Pocket-sized German satellite maker shoots for stars” An employee works on a satellite at OHB Space Systems, a German firm that is holding its own against bigger European comptetitors Holding its own against aerospace giants like pan-European Airbus Space or French-Italian Thales Alenia, German minnow OHB has carved out a space as a national champion…

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#Designing better asteroid explorers

“#Designing better asteroid explorers” Credit: CC0 Public Domain Recent NASA missions to asteroids have gathered important data about the early evolution of our Solar System, planet formation, and how life may have originated on Earth. These missions also provide crucial information to deflect asteroids that could hit Earth. Missions like the OSIRIS-REx mission to Asteroid…

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#Will we see a Starship test this week?

“#Will we see a Starship test this week?” Credit: SpaceX As we speak, engineers at SpaceX’s Boca Chica test facility are busy getting the fifth Starship prototype (SN5) ready. Having recently passed the crucial cryogenic load test, and with the installation of its SN27 Raptor engine, the ground crews are now gearing up for a…

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