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Space solar power experiment, 36 Planet imaging satellites on SpaceX rideshare mission

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Launcher’s Orbiter SN1 transfer vehicle hosts multiple payloads on SpaceX’s Transporter 6 mission. Credit: Launcher / John Kraus The 114 small satellites set for launch Tuesday on SpaceX’s first mission of the year include 36 spacecraft for Planet’s commercial remote sensing fleet, a space-based solar power experiment, and space tugs to piggyback payloads into different …

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NASA’s InSight lander bows out after ground-shaking Mars mission

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NASA’s InSight lander used its robotic arm to capture this final “selfie” of the mission in April 2022. Dust is visible on the lander’s two solar panels. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Dust-laden solar panels and darker Martian skies have finally sealed the fate of NASA’s InSight mission, the agency announced Wednesday, after the intrepid lander delivered its …

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Two Airbus Earth-imaging satellites poised for launch on Vega C rocket

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A Vega C rocket on its launch pad in French Guiana with the Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging satellites inside the payload fairing. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/S. Martin Two Pléiades Neo Earth observation satellites are set to join Airbus’s constellation of high-resolution optical imagers with a launch Tuesday night from French Guiana on the first commercial flight of Europe’s …

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FAA clears Rocket Lab for first launch from U.S. spaceport

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Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher on the pad at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: Rocket Lab / Trevor Mahlmann Rocket Lab said Saturday that the company received final approval from NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration to launch their first mission from the United States on Sunday, clearing final regulatory and technical hurdles with a new autonomous …

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First O3b mPOWER broadband satellites set for liftoff after quick launch campaign

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SES’s first two O3b mPOWER satellites stacked on top of another, ready for encapsulation inside SpaceX’s launcher fairing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Credit: SpaceX The first two spacecraft in an 11-satellite refresh of SES’s Medium Earth Orbit O3b internet constellation are poised to ride a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into space from …

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SpaceX launch from California delayed to review engine data

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands on its launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, awaiting liftoff with the U.S.-French SWOT mission. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX has delayed the launch from California of a Falcon 9 rocket with a U.S.-French environmental monitoring satellite from Thursday to Friday, allowing more time to review the source of moisture …

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Orion moonship closes in for Sunday re-entry and splashdown

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STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION A camera on one of the Orion spacecraft’s four solar array wings captured this view of a crescent Earth on Saturday, Dec. 10, the Artemis 1 mission’s final full day in space. Credit: NASA Closing out a 25-day voyage around the moon, NASA’s Artemis 1 spacecraft closed in …

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Repairs and upgrades await SLS mobile launcher before crewed lunar mission

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NASA’s Artemis Mobile Launcher rolls into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Friday, Dec. 9. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky The mobile launch platform for NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center Friday for inspections and repairs after liftoff of the Artemis 1 moon …

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Chinese crew back on Earth after six months on Tiangong space station

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From left to right: Commander Chen Dong, astronaut Liu Yang, and astronaut Cai Xuzhe after landing on the Shenzhou 14 spacecraft. Credit: China Manned Space Agency Three Chinese astronauts landed Sunday after 182 days on China’s Tiangong space station, completing the busiest mission yet for the country’s human spaceflight program. The astronauts performed three spacewalks …

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Chinese astronauts meet in space for historic crew handover

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On the left: Shenzhou 14 astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Chen Dong, and Liu Yang on the Tiangong space station. On the right: Shenzhou 15 astronauts Deng Qingming, Fei Junlong, and Zhang Lu. The launch of the Shenzhou 15 crew marked the first time six Chinese astronauts have been in orbit at the same time. Credit: China …

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