Tag: Explorers
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Swarm of NASA nanosats to probe source of solar eruptions
This image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in 2013 shows the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the sun and an eruption of solar material shooting through the sun’s atmosphere, called a prominence eruption. This same region of the sun sent a coronal mass ejection out into space. Credit: NASA/SDO…
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NASA satellite to study ionosphere launches after two-year delay
Artist’s illustration of the Ionospheric Connection Explorer satellite. Credit: NASA A refrigerator-sized satellite soared into orbit aboard an air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket Thursday night over the Atlantic Ocean, finally setting off on a $252 million mission to probe the dynamic boundary region where space and Earth’s atmosphere meet. NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or…
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Timeline for Pegasus XL’s launch with NASA’s ICON satellite
Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket will take about 11 minutes to place NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite into a roughly 357-mile-high (575-kilometer) orbit after an airborne launch off Florida’s east coast. The nearly 53,000-pound (24-metric ton) rocket will drop from the belly of a modified L-1011 carrier plane, named Stargazer, flying on an…
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Live coverage: NASA’s ICON satellite successfully launched
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket with NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. NASA TV’s live video coverage of the Pegasus XL launch with the ICON satellite begins at 9:15 p.m. EDT (0115 GMT). Become a member today and support…
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Pegasus rocket ready for airborne launch with NASA scientific satellite
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Oct. 9 with 24-hour launch delay. A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is mounted underneath an L-1011 carrier jet, which will fire the launcher into orbit as soon as Wednesday night off Florida’s east coast. Credit: NASA/ Ben Smegelsky After a year-long delay to troubleshoot recurring…
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Air-launched rocket arrives at Cape Canaveral for satellite delivery mission
File photo of Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 carrier jet and Pegasus XL rocket arriving at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Free Station before a previous ICON launch attempt. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is back at Cape Canaveral after a cross-country ferry flight Tuesday under an L-1011 carrier jet, ready…
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NASA selects mission to probe the history of galaxies
Artist’s concept of the SPHEREx spacecraft in orbit. Credit: Caltech NASA has selected a space telescope named SPHEREx for launch in 2023 on a mission to survey the sky in near-infrared wavelengths, collecting spectral data to study the origins of the universe and ices in our own galaxy that could help seed life on planets.…
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NASA selects mission to probe the history of galaxies
Artist’s concept of the SPHEREx spacecraft in orbit. Credit: Caltech NASA has selected a space telescope named SPHEREx for launch in 2023 on a mission to survey the sky in near-infrared wavelengths, collecting spectral data to study the origins of the universe and ices in our own galaxy that could help seed life on planets.…