Author: starpathwp-production
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Boeing’s Starliner Successfully Docks with ISS Despite Thruster Issues
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6, marking its first crewed flight after overcoming thruster problems. The spacecraft docked with the forward port on the station’s Harmony module at 1:34 p.m. Eastern, nearly 27 hours after its launch from Florida on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission.…
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Defunct European Satellite’s Reentry Highlights Orbital Debris Risks Amid Policy Shifts
The imminent reentry of the European Space Agency’s European Remote Sensing (ERS) 2 satellite serves as a stark reminder of the persistent hazards posed by existing space objects, even as agencies strive to curtail the proliferation of orbital debris. Expected to descend on February 21st after orbiting for nearly two decades, the European Remote Sensing…
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Schweickart Prize Awarded to Astronomer Proposing Solar Direction Asteroid Detection Campaign
In a milestone event on June 28, the inaugural Schweickart Prize was presented to Joseph DeMartini, a Ph.D. student in astronomy at the University of Maryland. DeMartini received a $10,000 grant from the B612 Foundation’s newly established prize named after Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart. This annual award recognizes graduate students who propose innovative strategies for…
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper Broadband Launch Delayed to 2025 Amid Production Milestones
Amazon’s ambitious Project Kuiper initiative, aimed at delivering broadband services via a constellation of satellites, faces a revised timeline with initial services now expected in 2025. The company disclosed this update on June 27, citing logistical adjustments and production milestones. Initially planned for deployment in the first half of 2024 with beta trials involving partners…
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Mere days before its debut, the Ariane 6 rocket loses a key customer to SpaceX
In a shocking announcement this week, the European intergovernmental organization responsible for launching and operating the continent’s weather satellites has pulled its next mission off a future launch of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket. Instead, the valuable MTG-S1 satellite will now reach geostationary orbit on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2025. “This decision was driven…
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Webb finds never-before-seen structures above Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
Using the joint NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) James Webb Space Telescope, a group of scientists has discovered a variety of never-before-seen features in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. The features were found in the atmospheric region above the iconic Great Red Spot—a high-pressure region in Jupiter’s atmosphere that produces a massive…
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SpaceX launches multiple satellites for the NRO from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the NROL-186 mission on June 28, 2024. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched a national security mission on behalf of the United States’ National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday night. The spy agency described the classified mission as “the second…
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NASA orders more tests on Starliner, but says crew isn’t stranded in space
NASA and Boeing officials pushed back Friday on headlines that the commercial Starliner crew capsule is stranded at the International Space Station but said they need more time to analyze data before formally clearing the spacecraft for undocking and reentry. Two NASA astronauts, commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, will spend at least a…
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NASA and SpaceX misjudged the risks from reentering space junk
Since the beginning of the year, landowners have discovered several pieces of space junk traced to missions supporting the International Space Station. On all of these occasions, engineers expected none of the disposable hardware would survive the scorching heat of reentry and make it to Earth’s surface. These incidents highlight an urgency for more research…