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SPACECRAFT OPERATIONS
In 1993, Russia reflected sunlight from space. Now, a California startup wants to turn the night sky into a marketplace for on-demand sunlight from orbitA California startup is developing satellites that could redirect sunlight to Earth after sunset, creating what it calls “sunlight on deman...
In 1961, a woman described a terrifying UFO encounter in New Hampshire: Her drawing from the incident was later linked to real star system by an astronomerA mysterious drawing made years after a reported UFO encounter became one of the strangest parts of Betty and Barney Hill's story. The sket...
A sheep rancher from New Mexico found strange debris scattered across the desert near Roswell in 1947. Newspapers declared a ‘flying saucer’ had been captured, and 47 years later, investigators linked it to a secret Cold War program1947 Roswell UFO incident: In 1947, a rancher stumbled upon strange debris, initially hailed as a flying saucer. However, the military late...
In 1985, Soviet engineers sent two balloons floating through Venus for 46.5 hours. Their motherships then used the planet’s gravity to chase Halley’s CometSoviet spacecraft Vega 1 and Vega 2 undertook a dual mission to Venus and Halley's Comet. These probes deployed landers and balloons onto V...
In 1975, NASA sent a pocket calculator on Apollo-Soyuz as a backup if its main computer failed; 37 years later, it ended up at the SmithsonianNASA utilized an HP-65 calculator as a crucial backup system during the Apollo-Soyuz mission. This programmable device carried essential gu...
In 2020, NASA put seeds from 11 crops aboard an experimental spaceplane; after months in orbit, scientists brought them back to test whether they could still growIn 2020, NASA put seeds from 11 crops aboard an experimental spaceplane; after months in orbit, scientists brought them back to test whethe...
Three robots worked together like an independent science team in NASA’s latest test — it could change space exploration forever by making decisions without waiting for EarthNASA tested three robots capable of independent scientific decision-making. These autonomous systems can assess risks and adjust plans with...
In 1962, the US detonated a 1.4-megaton nuclear bomb in space that knocked out streetlights and triggered burglar alarms in Hawaii. 64 years later, it says weapons are already in orbitThe United States has acknowledged its possession of orbital space-control weapons, a declaration echoing a 1962 nuclear test that generate...
America brings space warfare into the open. Where does India stand?The United States has publicly acknowledged possessing on-orbit space control weapons. This disclosure marks a significant shift in how spa...
In 2024, ESA flew bouncing hexapods to 256 km on a Swedish sounding rocket; six minutes of microgravity showed how complex grains collide and transfer energyA Swedish rocket successfully launched miniature brass crosses designed for microgravity research. Scientists are investigating how these i...
Boeing spent $67,000,000 of its own money on the YF-118G Bird of Prey stealth aircraft with borrowed landing gear and ejection seat. It flew just 38 timesThe YF-118G Bird of Prey, an aircraft secretly designed by Boeing, was pivotal in testing stealth technology. This innovative project delve...
AI is going to help find the Moon’s most valuable resource: How NASA and IBM are using AI to search for water iceNew artificial intelligence models are helping scientists find vital lunar water. This technology analyzes vast lunar data for future explo...
In 1970, Lunokhod 1 drove 10 km across the Moon before contact ended in 1971; in 2010, LRO found it, and its reflector gave a signal four times Lunokhod 2’sAfter decades of disappearance, the Soviet rover Lunokhod 1 was found anew by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. In 2010, physicists util...
In 1981, two satellites were launched by NASA to study the interactions between Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphereIn 1981, two satellites were launched by NASA to study the interactions between Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. The Dynamics Explorer...
Forget tanks, fighter jets: US, Russia & China are preparing for battles beyond Earth, where destroying one satellite could disrupt an entire military networkSpace is now a contested military domain as nations develop capabilities to disrupt satellites. The United States, Russia, and China are en...
In 1966, Gemini 9 and Gemini 12 exposed fungal spores and viruses directly to space; a 0.4 mm aluminum shield kept fungal spores alive and boosted virus survival 3,000-foldEarly space missions tested microbial survival outside spacecraft without protection. Fungal spores and viruses showed very low survival ra...
The farthest human-made object is now so distant that even light takes nearly 24 hours to reach it; exactly 49 years after NASA launched Voyager 1 to explore Jupiter and Saturn, the spacecraft is still in interstellar space and sending data back to EarthThe Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977, is now over 15.9 billion miles away. This spacecraft has ventured into interstellar space, sending v...
In 1961, Liberty Bell 7 sank after Gus Grissom's flight; 38 years later, crews recovered the capsule from more than 15,000 feet beneath the Atlantic OceanFor thirty-eight years, astronaut Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft lay lost beneath the waves. A skilled salvage expert ventured int...
8 years, 10 billion km, one shot: The spacecraft racing toward Mercury faces its trickiest hour yetA spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes will complete an eight-year journey to arrive at Mercury on Thursday, while still facing...
US, China arm for space warfare: Hunter satellites and orbital weaponsChina and the United States are developing advanced military space capabilities. Both nations are preparing for potential conflict extendin...