In May this year the potentially disruptive company, SpinLaunch broke ground on its new facility in New Mexico at Spaceport America. They aim to compete in the launch market by getting satellites into Low Earth […]
A Kiwi perspective on astronomy and space science news and how to get the most out the night sky
Category: Space News
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was set up in 1959 to govern the exploration and the use of space for the benefit of all humanity.
Highlights from the last few days about space and what’s coming up
Beresheet spacecraft entered lunar orbit and further speculation of the future of the SLS and commercial involvement in the Moon programme. The announcement that the Event Horizon Telescope may give us the first ever picture of the event horizon around the Super Massive Black Hole at the centre of our galaxy
NASA’s Exploration Mission 1 (EM1) and Who Might Launch it.
The Vice President of the US announced that the administration wants the US to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024. For this to happen there needs to be a way of getting them there and the SLS will probably not be ready.
What’s Happening in Space (and on Earth)
There’s a Rocket Lab Electron due to lift off on Wednesday, Beresheet is going to land on the Moon on the 11 April and SpaceX’s Starhopper might make it’s first tentative lift off with its one Raptor engine.
The 21 March 2019 Supermoon, or the more common name, Perigee Syzygy of the Sun, Earth and Moon system.
Tonight is the last Supermoon for 2019 so if you get a chance, go outside and have a look. But if you miss it, don’t worry, it’ll be back next year.
NASA Astronauts to the Moon – powered by SpaceX
NASA acknowledged that a commercial rocket might be an option to get Exploration Mission 1 off the ground. Could the first flight of the Orion Spacecraft be on a Falcon Heavy?
News from the Solar System – Fly me to the Moon
News from space in January and February 2019
OSIRIS-REx Arrived at Bennu Late Last Year – What’s Next?
OSIRIS-REx has been at Bennu for about a month on its mission to examine the asteroid and get a sample to bring back to Earth in 2023.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS)
Hopefully in June next year NASA will launch Exploration Mission 1 on the SLS, which will be the first step in getting humans back to the Moon.
New Zealand and Australia won’t see the Lunar Eclipse
Unfortunately we will miss the Lunar Eclipse this Monday night/Tuesday morning and the programme for the next couple of years for eclipses is very light for this part of the world.
Starship and Super Heavy, the next phase of BFR from Elon Musk’s SpaceX
The Starship/Super Heavy combination that is the new name for SpaceX’s BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) is taking shape in Texas with construction of a test vehicle known as Starhopper.
The Kuiper Belt’s Ultima Thule and the New Horizons Flypast on New Years Day
Hot on the heals of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 trip to the Moon we have the real time fly past of Ultima Thule on New Years Day, only this time the distance […]
The chronicles of the Head Cheese: Who owns the Moon?
The question of who owns the Moon has always been an interesting topic. Fortunately we have a treaty system to say that no one can own the Moon – but before this there were some very interesting and somewhat crazy claimants.
The First Humans to the Moon, Apollo 8
This Christmas it is 50 years since the first humans got an up close and personal look at the Moon. Apollo 8 was launched on 21 December 1968 and entered lunar orbit on 24 December, just in time for the crew to celebrate Christmas further from the Earth than anyone had ever celebrated Christmas, or anything else, ever.
Supernovae and Extinction Events
Recent research suggests there may be a link between a supernova about 2.6 million years ago and the extinction of a large number of marine megafauna on the Earth at the time.
News from the Solar System
In New Zealand, Space Starts with Sheep; a new season is about to open for exoplanets as scientists discover an efficient method to predict microlensing; Earth’s Moon to be used as a giant radio telescope; “Hello, Andromeda calling”, gravitational waves might be used to carry information; 1500 km long water cloud appears on Mars after the planet-wide storm from last month, while InSider probe has only one month left hurling through space, and will land on Mars in November; scientists narrow down the landing sites for Mars 2020 rover; change of plans, why not land among the clouds of Venus? Hubble and Chandra telescopes have been repaired, mostly by switching them on and off and stay tuned for the position of Uranus in the sky.
What’s Going to Mercury?
BepiColombo is due to launch on Saturday on an Ariane 5 rocket. The mission will get to Mercury in 2025 helping us learn a lot more about the planet that is the closest to the Sun.
International Observe the Moon Night
This Saturday night is International Observe the Moon Night so hopefully the weather will be great and we can all catch a glimpse of the Moon.
Now Chandra has a glitch
The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has developed a glitch and gone into safe mode. The 19 year old spacecraft is well past it’s design life but continues to produce incredible science so hopefully it’ll be back to full serviceability very soon.
Aborted launch to the ISS
The aborted launch of the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft with Expedition 57 to the International Space Station reminded the world that space flight can still be dangerous. Fortunately both Nick Hague and Alexey Ovchinin return safely to the surface of the Earth.
