technical updates

This rocket wasn't supposed to die so dramatically. On Wednesday (Aug. 5) at about 2:35 a.m. EDT (0635 GMT), the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will slam into the moon , blasting out a crater about 89 feet (27 meters) wide. The rocket body has been loitering lazily high above Earth for more than 18 months. What jolted it out of its unremarkable senescence and put it on a kamikaze course for the moon ? It didn't take much, as the rocket regularly crossed into the moon's neck of the woods. The Falcon 9 launched in January 2025 , carrying aloft two private robotic lunar landers — Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and Resilience, which was built by the Tokyo-based company ispace. (Blue Ghost landed successfully and carried out its historic mission, but Resilience crashed during its touchdown attempt.) Falcon 9 first stages are famously reusable , but the vehicle's upper ...

Cyberpunk is back in a big way, baby! This summer, we've gotten two big doses of dystopian sci-fi: first with the recent San Diego Comic-Con trailer launch for Prime Video's upcoming " Blade Runner 2099 " and now Apple TV's prestige series based on sci-fi guru William Gibson 's 1984 cult novel, " Neuromancer ." The futuristic plotline centers around a burned-out computer hacker living in the overcrowded dystopian underworld of Japan's Chiba City who takes on a dangerous cyberspace gig that just might leave him dead. Its 10-episode debut season will be delivered beginning with a double chapter premiere, with subsequent installments airing each Friday through March 19, 2027. Cyberpunk fans can plug into Apple TV's "Neuromancer" starting Jan. 22, 2027. (Image credit: Apple TV+) Created by executive producer and showrunner Graham Roland, the mast...

NASA's Europa Clipper is currently on a 1.8-billion-mile journey to Jupiter, tasked with assessing whether the icy moon of its namesake, Europa, could support life. Based on data from the historic Voyager and Galileo missions, scientists know Europa hides a global ocean beneath its frozen crust, containing more than double the water of all Earth 's oceans combined. During the Europa Clipper 's planned 49 close flybys of the icy moon, planetary scientists hope the spacecraft detects giant water plumes or warm surface pockets supplied by this subterranean ocean , offering a convenient way to analyze the hidden ocean's chemistry from orbit. A new study, however, suggests any shallow water the Europa Clipper detects may not necessarily be a direct window into Europa 's ocean after all. Research led by planetary scientist Lujendra Ojha of Rutgers University indicates that Europa...

Mention that a total solar eclipse is coming, and almost nobody will say, "Wow, we get to see the solar corona!" That's despite the sun's tenuous outer atmosphere being the number one sight during totality — a genuine jaw-dropper. Instead, the focus on social media is always on the darkness during the day, arguably the least interesting — but easiest to grasp — aspect of a total solar eclipse . It's no wonder that many people misunderstand and underestimate them, and think of eclipse chasers as a little odd. But that's not the half of it. There are dozens of things to see and experience during a total solar eclipse, so many that we've put together a checklist of things to see as you're swallowed by the moon's shadow. Here's what you may experience during the solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026 , roughly in the order they occur from first contact — when the moo...

Spotting scopes are typically used by birders and for hunting, but under a dark sky, the Nocs Provisions Lite View reveals a different personality. With a 56mm objective lens and a versatile 9x-27x zoom range, this compact spotting scope is surprisingly capable when turned toward not just the moon, but bright star clusters, too. Key to its attraction is its small size, carry case and shoulder strap, which makes it possible to sling over a shoulder. Its rugged, wave-textured housing and bright color options? Not so much. However, with just enough optical performance to satisfy casual astronomers — particularly those focused on lunar observing — it makes a good option for astro-travel. Is it a replacement for one of the best telescopes ? Absolutely not — but for close-up views of the lunar disk (particularly lunar eclipses), Jupiter and its moons, and bright open star clusters such as the Pleiades...

Martin Halliwell is a Partner at NewSpace Capital, one of the world's first private equity firms devoted exclusively to growth-stage companies working in the space technology sector. He formerly served as Chief Technology Officer of SES, where he led global technology and R&D from 2011 to 2019. Halliwell contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices section. There are now some 16,000 active satellites in orbit. Market intelligence firms like Novaspace say that up to 43,000 satellites will be built and launched over the coming decade. Others, such as Goldman Sachs, think as many as 70,000 new low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites could be launched in the next five years alone. The exact number is less important than what these predictions reveal: that satellite constellations are getting bigger. This is a good thing. Space is a crucial enabling force in the modern world, touching ...

Scientists have identified LHAASO J1912+1014u as a cosmic accelerator that can push protons beyond one quadrillion electron volts. The finding may help reveal where the Milky Way’s most energetic cosmic rays come from and how they influence the galaxy. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/N6i3JeA

While Hardspace: Shipbreaker does an excellent job of capturing the dystopian perils of unchecked hypercapitalism, the real fun in this space game comes from carving up massive capital ships with space lasers and explosives. Floating in zero gravity, players slice derelict spacecraft into salvageable chunks, while also contending with unruly physics, pressure, and profit margins. It's a compelling fantasy: orbital blue-collar labor, where yesterday's spacecraft become tomorrow's raw materials. As satisfying as the simulation is, the real-world challenge of space debris removal is both more constrained and more urgent. (Image credit: Blackbird Interactive) Christian Steimle is the Project Manager of the European Space Agency 's (ESA) ClearSpace-1 mission, the first ever aimed at removing a piece of debris (in this case, a satellite called PROBA-1) from low-Earth orbit. We spoke ...

German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) just put the brakes on its first launch. While testing its RFA One rocket on the launch pad at the U.K.'s SaxaVord Spaceport on the Shetland Islands in Scotland, the company found "an issue with the vehicle that requires further investigation," RFA wrote on X on Wednesday (July 28). Previously, the launch had been expected to happen in August or September , but RFA did not disclose a new launch date. RFA did not disclose the nature of the issue, but said it would de-stack the staged rocket and that it would provide more details as the investigation continues. The situation means that the U.K. will need to wait at least a few more weeks to attempt its first-ever vertical launch from the region, amid global constraints in launch capacity and calls for increased European spaceflight autonomy . RFA One , a smaller rocket designed to launch ...

The excitement of the new moon mission has potentially helped create a new generation of stargazers, just like the Apollo program did 60 years ago. These new observers will be looking for a beginner’s telescope that is easy to use and which can show them the craters on the moon in particular. The Celestron Moon Mission 100mm Tabletop Dobsonian could be the perfect entry point for them. It has a superb price-point for its aperture, and is capable of bringing not only the moon, but double stars, the brighter galaxies and nebulas and the moons of Jupiter to your backyard. The Celestron Moon Mission 100mm Tabletop Dobsonian comes equipped with 8mm and 20mm eyepieces, one of which is intended specifically for the moon, as well as a red-dot finderscope, a moon filter, a moon-map poster and free access to download the Starry Night planetarium software and Celestron’s SkyPortal app, which is powered by S...