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☆ SpaceX launched Starship for the sixth time but canceled the highly-anticipated 'chopsticks' maneuver minutes after lift-off
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SpaceX didn't attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster by a pair of "chopsticks" mid-air as planned. SpaceX launched its Starship mega-rocket for the sixth time on Tuesday, but the main event was canceled. In October, SpaceX caught its Super Heavy booster in mid-air. SpaceXElon Musk, SpaceX founder and CEO, has said his plans of building a Mars city rests on Starship. For this test launch, Starship splashed down in the Indian Ocean as expected about an hour and five minutes after launch.

Persons: Elon Musk's, SpaceX Elon, SpaceX SpaceX's, SpaceX's, Donald Trump, Trump, Elon Musk Organizations: SpaceX, Super, Mars, SpaceX Elon Musk, SpaceX SpaceX, Falcon, Star, New York Times, Truth, Great Patriots Locations: Gulf, Mexico, Gulf of Mexico

☆ Booker Prize 2024: Samantha Harvey’s space-station novel ‘Orbital’ wins annual literature award
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London AP —British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of Earth. The prize is open to English-language writers of any nationality and has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers. De Waal praised the “crystalline” writing and “capaciousness” of Harvey’s succinct novel — at 136 pages in its UK paperback edition, one of the shortest-ever Booker winners. Harvey is the first female Booker winner since 2019, though one of five women on this year’s shortlist, the largest number in the prize’s 55-year history. Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to novels originally written in English published in the UK or Ireland.

Persons: Samantha Harvey, Booker, Harvey, ”, Edmund de Waal, ” Gaby Wood, ” Harvey, Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Hilary, Waal, Percival Everett, “ James, Twain’s, Huckleberry Finn ”, Jim, Rachel Kushner’s, Canadian Anne Michaels, Charlotte Wood’s, Yael van der, De Waal, Paul Lynch, ” Lynch Organizations: London AP, Space, Prize Foundation, Ireland Locations: British, Canada, United States, Australia, Netherlands, Canadian, London, Japan

☆ Voyager 2’s defining Uranus flyby may have been skewed by a rare cosmic event
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Magnetospheres are the protective bubbles around planets like Earth that have magnetic cores and magnetic fields, and they are driven by the planet’s magnetic field. Voyager 2’s data showed that Uranus’ magnetosphere was home to unexpectedly powerful electron radiation belts. Voyager 2’s observations of Uranus’ magnetosphere defied the way astronomers understand how magnetic fields trap energetic particles and their radiation. The first panel (left) of this artist's concept depicts how Uranus' protective magnetosphere behaved prior to Voyager 2's flyby. Fortunately, sending a dedicated mission to study Uranus in the future has become a priority for NASA, according to a report released in 2022.

Persons: ”, Jamie Jasinski, ” Jasinski, It’s, Linda Spilker, Spilker, ” Spilker, James Webb Organizations: CNN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Orbiter, Probe Locations: Pasadena , California

☆ Ancient DNA reveals surprises about bodies found together in Pompeii
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Over time, Pompeii was forgotten, and it wasn’t until centuries later that excavations unearthed evidence of the tragic event. Archaeological Park of PompeiiAncient DNA sequenced from bone fragments preserved within the plaster casts at the Pompeii site has upended some long-held assumptions about bodies found together. Other worldsAstronomers have been searching the Kuiper Belt on the edge of our solar system for a hidden ninth planet for more than a decade. CNN/Adobe StockFor years, astronomers have searched the edge of our solar system for evidence of an unseen world called Planet Nine. They find wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.

Persons: Giuseppe Fiorelli, “, ” Aaron Fowler, Lady Chenet, embalmers, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt, Jackie Wattles Organizations: CNN, Australian Broadcasting Corp . Local, Chicago’s Field, Adobe, NASA, CNN Space, Science Locations: Beach, Denmark, Western Australia, Antarctica, Colombia, Poland

☆ Planet 9: Inside the search for a hidden planet in our solar system
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

“It could completely reshape our understanding of the solar system and of other planetary systems, and how we fit into that context. Brown and his colleague, planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin, reported having strong evidence of a hidden planet on the fringes of our solar system. “If you look at these bodies, their lifetimes are tiny compared to the age of the solar system,” Batygin said. “By now, we expected to have found many more of these extreme trans-Neptunian objects,” Sheppard said in an email. Finding a smaller planet would also spark excitement, Rice added, because every solar system planet is immensely useful for extrapolating information about the thousands of comparable exoplanets that researchers are uncovering across the galaxy.

Persons: Mike Brown, Pluto, ”, Brown, Pluto’s, Malena Rice, ” Rice, Konstantin Batygin, Neptune, they’ve, Brown’s, “, we’re, Scott Sheppard, Chadwick Trujillo, Trujillo, ” Brown, Batygin, ” Batygin, Patryk Sofia Lykawka, ” Lykawka, Lykawka, Rice, Hur, Renu Malhotra, Malhotra, Sheppard, ” Sheppard, ” Malhotra, she’s, “ It’s, Sigurd Naess, ” Naess, Vera C, Rubin, That’s Organizations: CNN, Caltech, NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research, International Astronomical, ESA, Yale University, Getty, California Institute of Technology, Planet Nine, Carnegie Institution for Science, Northern Arizona University, Sheppard, Kindai University, Rice of Yale University, University of Arizona, Survey Telescope, Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, US National Science Foundation, Stanford University, Rubin, Rubin Observatory, Nine Locations: Pasadena , California, AFP, Washington ,, Japan, Neptune, Hawaii, Chile, Norway

☆ Southern Taurid meteor shower: When and how to see its peak
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Southern Taurids, the first branch of the Taurid meteors showers, will be optimally visible after midnight early Tuesday. “An advantage with (the Taurids) is that they do tend to produce bigger, brighter (meteors) compared (with) other meteor showers. The Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers will be visible almost everywhere in the world except Antarctica, Schmoll said, as long as the constellation Taurus is visible in the sky. Every few years, the Taurid showers see an increase in the rates of meteors produced, often called the Taurid “swarm,” such as the higher rates created in 2022. This heightened activity is usually seen every three or seven years, according to the American Meteor Society.

Persons: —, Patience, ”, Shannon Schmoll, Abrams, it’s, Schmoll, Encke, ” Schmoll, “ Organizations: CNN, American Meteor Society, Abrams Planetarium, Michigan State University, NASA, Meteors, Farmers Locations: Southern, Northern, —

☆ Rocket builder Firefly’s new CEO is working ‘maniacally’ to scale launches, spacecraft and moon missions
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

He sees gaps in the launch market for Firefly's Alpha and coming MLV rockets, which slot into the middle of the small-to-heavy class of vehicles. Firefly has three main product lines: its rockets, Alpha and MLV; space tugs, called Elytra, and lunar landers, known as Blue Ghost. More rocketsThe company's fifth Alpha launch lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in July 2024. A rendering of the MLV rocket. Firefly AerospaceKim sees Firefly as having a key advantage — "an engine that works" — in its Reaver engines that power the Alpha rockets.

Persons: Jason Kim, Firefly Aerospace Jason Kim, he's, Elon Musk's, ULA, Jeff Bezos, Kim, he'd, I'm, … I'm, what's, Firefly's, Trevor Mahlmann, Northrop, Aerospace Kim, Miranda, We've, MLV, Firefly's Alpha, Lockheed Martin, Simone Biles, we're Organizations: Firefly Aerospace, Aerospace, Boeing, Elon, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Firefly's Alpha, CNBC, Firefly, Alpha, California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, Industrial Partners, Vandenberg Space Force, SpaceX, Lockheed, Payload Services, NASA, Blue Locations: U.S, Austin , Texas, California's, California, Northrop's, Briggs , Texas

☆ Vera C. Rubin Observatory: World’s largest digital camera will be a ‘game-changer’ for astronomy
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-23 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —On a mountaintop in northern Chile, the world’s largest digital camera is preparing to power up. The expectation is that in this way, Vera Rubin will discover about 17 billion stars and 20 billion galaxies that we’ve never seen before — and that’s only the beginning. “We’re anticipating about 10 million alerts per night coming off the telescope,” Higgs says. “The Vera Rubin Observatory will enable astronomers to map the distribution of dark matter like never before, based on how dark matter bends the path of ordinary starlight — a process known as ‘gravitational lensing,’” Kaiser explains. “After all, it was her seminal work on the detection of dark matter in spiral galaxies in the 1970s that got this pursuit going,” says Natarajan.

Persons: Vera C, —, Vera Rubin, “, Rubin, ”, Clare Higgs, Higgs, Charles Simonyi, Bill Gates, it’s, Olivier Bonin, ” Higgs, “ We’re, There’s, David Kaiser, Kaiser, ” Kaiser, Rubin Obs, Konstantin Batygin, Kate Pattle, “ Rubin, Priyamvada Organizations: CNN, Rubin, Department of Energy’s, Science, US National Science Foundation, Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University in, Accelerator, Survey, Netflix, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nine, California Institute of Technology, of Physics, Astronomy, University College London, Yale University Locations: Chile, Cerro Pachón, Chilean, Santiago, Stanford University in California, California

☆ October full hunter’s moon is the closest supermoon in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Gina Park | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The closest supermoon of the year will soon loom large and bright in the autumn sky. October’s hunter’s moon is set to peak at its fullest around 7:26 a.m. Many people associate the hunter’s moon with being orange in color as it rises, but the same could be said of all full moons. Why the full moon is called hunter’s moonThe hunter’s moon is the first full moon after the autumnal equinox, which occurred on September 22 this year. The hunter’s moon is expected to be joined by Jupiter, a red giant star called Aldebaran and the star cluster Pleiades, according to EarthSky.

Persons: it’s, Robin L, Shelton, Don’t, • Orionids, Leonids, Geminids, Ursids Organizations: CNN, NASA, University of Georgia, Jupiter, American Meteor Society Locations: Potawatomi, Fort Ouiatenon, West Lafayette , Indiana

☆ This startup uses AI to predict wildfires. Check out the 10-slide deck OroraTech used to raise a $27 million Series B.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-15 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Munich-based startup OroraTech has secured a $27 million Series B funding round. The startup uses AI and thermal data to predict and monitor wildfire risks globally. The startup provides thermal data and insights to customers for a range of use cases — predominantly to predict and monitor the risk of wildfires. AdvertisementOroraTech has gained interest from various stakeholders, including governments and insurance companies. The startup makes its money by charging a monthly subscription to companies that can use its API to stream OroraTech data into their own systems.

Persons: OroraTech, Martin Langer, Langer Organizations: Service, Bayern Kapital, Ananda Impact Ventures, ConActivity, Findus Venture Locations: Munich, Greece

☆ Why yesterday's SpaceX launch was such a huge deal for space travel
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-14 | by ( Ellie Zolfagharifard | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After liftoff, the Super Heavy booster returned to the launch in a world-first maneuver. The Super Heavy booster released Starship on its path toward space, then began to fall back to Earth. A huge step toward Musk's vision of colonizing MarsOn Sunday, SpaceX's Super Heavy booster returned home and was caught in midair with giant mechanical arms. SpaceX makes rocket historyIn past Starship test flights, the Super Heavy booster either exploded mid-flight or landed in the water. SpaceX said regulators were delaying Starship's fifth test launch because of minor changes and that the FAA was dragging its heels.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Musk, I'd, Musk's, Olivier de Weck, It's Organizations: SpaceX, Super, Service, YouTube, Space Shuttle, astronautics, MIT, FAA, New York Times Locations: Texas

☆ Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS will soon fly by Earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A recently discovered comet, known as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, will make its closest approach of Earth on Saturday. Sky-gazers won’t want to miss the event since it may be the last time the comet will be seen in the night sky for another 80,000 years. It will just appear to hang there, and it will slowly change position from night to night,” Cooke said. C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS appears brighter in an image taken by the Virtual Telescope Project three days after the comet reached its perihelion. “For many people, and especially children, seeing a bright comet in the night sky is a beautiful and life-changing experience,” Kareta said.

Persons: CNN —, Gianluca Masi, Bill Cooke, It’s, ” Cooke, ”, Teddy Kareta, Cooke, ” Kareta Organizations: CNN, Southern Hemisphere, Northern Hemisphere, NASA, Telescope, Marshall Space, Lowell, Virtual Telescope, American Meteor Society, Taurids Locations: Italy, Meteoroid, Huntsville , Alabama, South Africa, Flagstaff , Arizona

☆ Bridgit Mendler's space startup Northwood passes first test, connecting prototype antenna to Planet satellites
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The company's prototype antenna "Frankie" during testing in North Dakota on Oct. 5, 2024. North Dakota testingSetting up the company's prototype antenna in the early hours of Oct. 2, 2024. Northwood SpaceLast week the Northwood team was out in remote Maddock, North Dakota, to test its prototype antenna — "fondly dubbed Frankie," Mendler notes — by connecting to a Planet satellite in orbit. We're proud to be a part of this breakthrough in ground station technology," Planet senior director of global ground networks Joseph Breu said in a statement to CNBC. Northwood Space

Persons: Griffin, Bridgit Mendler, Mendler, Northwood, Frankie, Joseph Breu Organizations: Software, Northwood, CNBC, Service, Northwood Space Locations: Northwood, Segundo , California, North Dakota, Maddock , North Dakota

☆ Hera mission will launch to explore asteroid system intentionally hit by NASA DART spacecraft
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A European spacecraft and two shoebox-size satellites are about to launch to survey the aftermath from NASA’s DART mission, which intentionally slammed into an asteroid named Dimorphos and altered its orbit two years ago. The European Space Agency’s Hera mission is expected to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 10:52 a.m. The spacecraft and its two CubeSat companions are slated to arrive at the asteroid Dimorphos, and the larger asteroid it orbits named Didymos, in late 2026. NASA planned the DART, or Double Asteroid Redirection Test, mission to carry out a full-scale assessment of asteroid deflection technology on behalf of planetary defense. But many questions remain, including whether the DART spacecraft merely left behind a crater or if its momentum completely reshaped Dimorphos.

Persons: NASA’s, Hera doesn’t, ”, Patrick Michel, Hera, Berthier, Santana, Ros, Petrescu, Micheli, Milani, Andrea Milani, Michel said, Dimorphos, Michel, DRACO, ” Michel Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, ESA, NASA, DART, National Centre for Scientific Research, Les, Italy’s University of Pisa, Science Locations: Florida, France, La Réunion, Dimorphos, Giza, Mars, Didymos

☆ A new Blue Origin: CEO Dave Limp is bringing urgency and ‘decisiveness’ to Jeff Bezos’ space company
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, left, and founder Jeff Bezos look up at a New Glenn rocket on at the company's LC-36 facility in Florida. Blue OriginDave Limp had only one question for Jeff Bezos when he interviewed last year to become CEO of Blue Origin, the billionaire's space venture. "Jeff felt that [Blue Origin] needed manufacturing expertise; it needed decisiveness; it need a little bit of energy," Limp said. CEO Dave Limp, third from the left, with Blue Origin employees at the company's New Glenn facility in Florida. In the mission's place, Blue Origin will fly a demonstration of its spacecraft Blue Ring on the first New Glenn launch.

Persons: Dave Limp, Jeff Bezos, Jeff, Limp, Bezos, It's, I'm, New Glenn, Allen Parker, Jennifer Pena, Leanos, Ian Richardson, Tim Collins, it's, Origin's, ULA, Paul Hennessy, Glenn, We've, Starliner, Shepard, Blue, let's Organizations: Glenn, Florida ., Amazon, CNBC, Blue, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Company, NASA, Amazon Devices, Flexport, Vulcan, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Anadolu, Getty, New Glenn, Falcon, Shepard, National Security, Washington , D.C Locations: Florida, New, Mars, Seattle, Kent , Washington, Texas , Florida, Alabama, ULA, West Texas, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Glenn, Washington ,, Huntsville , Alabama, Cape Canaveral , Texas

☆ CEO of $8 billion company worked 2 jobs at once to lead a civilian crew into space: ‘You don't sleep a lot’
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Billionaire Jared Isaacman spent 2½ years training for a historic 10-minute spacewalk — while simultaneously running a nearly $8 billion company. Isaacman, 41, financed and commanded a SpaceX mission last month that featured the first-ever all-civilian spacewalk, during which he personally floated outside a Dragon space capsule. Isaacman, who has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, says he didn't take a leave of absence during those two-plus years of training. The trip was Isaacman's second space venture: In 2021, he financed and led the SpaceX team that became the world's first all-civilian crew to reach orbit. Once in space, the crew worked around the clock, conducting dozens of research experiments in five days while monitoring the capsule and its systems.

Persons: Jared Isaacman, He's, I've, Isaacman, —, Get Organizations: SpaceX, CNBC, Revel Systems Locations: Shift4, Los Angeles

☆ FAA grounds SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket after a malfunction on its return to Earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Before that, groundings were rare for Falcon 9, SpaceX’s centerpiece rocket, which much of the Western world relies on for accessing space. SpaceX is likely to seek FAA approval to resume flights in a similar manner, while its engineering investigation continues with oversight by the FAA. The agency regulates rocket launches and rocket re-entries to the extent they may affect public safety. Falcon 9’s first stage is reusable, but its second stage is not. The Falcon 9 grounding does not directly affect Starship, SpaceX’s giant, next-generation rocket system that it has tested four times since 2023.

Organizations: U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, SpaceX, Saturday, International Space Station, ISS, FAA, Falcon

☆ Spacecraft delivery startup founded by former SpaceX rocket guru raises $150 million, led by Founders Fund
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Impulse SpaceLos Angeles-based space startup Impulse, which is led by renowned rocket specialist Tom Mueller, has raised $150 million in a new fundraising round led by venture capital firm Founders Fund. University of IdahoImpulse flew its first mission, called LEO Express-1, with a Mira vehicle carrying and deploying a small satellite. A wide swath of venture investors joined the company's $150 million round including: Airbus Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Balerion Space Ventures, Lux Capital, RTX Ventures, Spring Tide, Tamarack Global, 137 Ventures, DCVC, Elysium, First Principles Group, Island Green, Overmatch and Trousdale Ventures. A Mira vehicle in orbit during the LEO Express-1 mission that launched November 2023, with several pairs of its Saiph thrusters visible. "There's a lot of cost and efficiency to be gained … [with] a reliable solution for any customer who wants to move things around in space," Mueller said.

Persons: Tom Mueller, Elon Musk, Mueller, Helios, Mira, we're, there's, SpaceX Organizations: Fund, Mueller, SpaceX, CNBC, University of Idaho, University of Idaho Impulse, LEO, Impulse, U.S . Space Force, Airbus Ventures, Ventures, Balerion Space Ventures, Lux, RTX Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, GEO, Rocket Lab, NASA Locations: Los Angeles, Beach, Redondo Beach , California

☆ China’s astronauts are aiming to land on the moon by 2030. They now have a new spacesuit to do it
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has taken a step forward in its ambitious plan to land astronauts on the moon by 2030 – unveiling the specially designed spacesuit its crew will don for what’s expected to be a landmark mission in the country’s space program. An image of China's new lunar spacesuit as it appeared in a video shared by state media. The agency revealed a protoype of its Artemis III spacesuit prototype, the AxEMU, in 2023. Thanks to its thin exosphere, the moon is an unforgiving place, exposed to both the sun’s rays and the cold of space. “Unlike low-Earth orbit missions, astronauts will be in a harsh natural lunar environment during lunar extravehicular activities.

Persons: Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, Elon Musk, –, China’s, Artemis, Wu Zhiqiang, Wang Chunhui Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Manned Space Agency, SpaceX, Federal Aviation Administration, CNN, FAA, NASA, Xinhua, China National Space Administration, China Astronaut Research, Training Center Locations: Hong Kong, China, America, United States, China’s Dunhuang

☆ SpaceX set to launch mission that will bring home Starliner astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-28 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A SpaceX mission due to take flight Saturday aims to unite the Boeing Starliner astronauts with the spacecraft that will bring them home. NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have already been on the International Space Station more than 100 days longer than expected. The two rode the Starliner to the International Space Station in early June for what was expected to be about a weeklong test flight. At liftoff, Hague and Gorbunov will be strapped inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, nicknamed Freedom, as it sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Gorbunov and Hague will join them after docking with the space station, set for Sunday.

Persons: NASA’s Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Helene, ”, Steve Stich, Nick Hague, Aleksandr Gorbunov, Williams, Wilmore, Gorbunov, Stephanie Wilson, Zena, Cardman, “, Nick, Alex, ” Cardman, Wilson, I’m, ” Williams Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, Boeing, Space, Cape Canaveral Space Force, NASA, Mission, International Space Station, International, Station, Engineers, Ad astra, Hague Locations: Florida, United States, Hague, Russian

Days after returning to Earth, the four civilian crew members of the Polaris Dawn mission opened up about their experience seeing the planet from orbit, floating in weightlessness and conducting the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk. “The perfection of what you’re looking at is just awe-inspiring,” Poteet said, recalling the views of sunrises and sunsets out the window of their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. The crew spent two-and-a-half years training for the Polaris Dawn mission, which included choreographing and rehearsing each step of the spacewalk. (The crew members also raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during their time in orbit.) He said the larger goal for both SpaceX and the Polaris program is to eventually make humans a multiplanetary species.

Persons: NBC’s Lester Holt, Jared Isaacman, Scott “ Kidd ” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, Anna Menon —, ” Poteet, Lester Holt, Isaacman, ” Isaacman, “, Gillis, “ It’s, ”, Poteet, Menon, choreographing, Jude Children’s, Van Allen Organizations: Polaris, NBC, Air Force, SpaceX, St, Jude Children’s Research Hospital Locations: Gulf of Mexico, Florida

A SpaceX capsule carrying four private citizens splashed down off the coast of Florida before dawn 3:36 a.m. The five-day Polaris Dawn flight marked the fifth private mission for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. This meant that all four members of the Polaris Dawn mission wore spacesuits during the spacewalk, and the entire capsule was depressurized to vacuum conditions. He was part of the first all-civilian SpaceX mission to orbit in 2021 and funded the Polaris Dawn mission, his second spaceflight, for an undisclosed sum. The Polaris Dawn flight was designed to test new technologies and procedures for future long-duration missions.

Persons: Jared Isaacman, Scott “ Kidd ” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, Anna Menon, ” operatators, Isaacman, Gillis, Van Allen Organizations: SpaceX, Air Force, Polaris, Polaris Dawn Locations: Florida, Tortugas , Florida, Gulf of Mexico

☆ SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk: Why it was a historic milestone
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn crew is beginning its fifth day in orbit, having marked a few record-setting milestones on a historic journey — including the world’s first commercial spacewalk. Polaris Dawn crew member and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis emerges from the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule during the first commercial spacewalk on Thursday. The Polaris Dawn mission's Crew Dragon capsule is seen Wednesday 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above Earth — the farthest humans have traveled since the Apollo program over 50 years ago. The riskiest part of the journey may be over, but the Polaris Dawn crew still has a key milestone ahead: coming home. Polaris Dawn mission commander and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman is seen anchored to a ladder dubbed the "skywalker" by SpaceX during his spacewalk.

Persons: CNN —, Elon, Jared Isaacman, Scott “ Kidd ” Poteet, Anna Menon, Sarah Gillis —, Gillis, —, Sarah Gillis, Isaacman, Bill Nelson, “, ” Nelson, Van Allen, mission's, Menon, NASA’s, Isaacman — Organizations: CNN, Polaris, NASA, Hubble, Telescope, Space, SpaceX, Elon Musk’s, Shift4, US Air Force, Polaris Program, International Space, Polaris Dawn Locations: United States, U.S, Florida, West, of Florida

☆ Billionaire undertakes first civilian spacewalk and big moments from the VMAs: Morning Rundown
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Elizabeth Robinson | Elizabeth Robinson Is A Newsletter Editor For Nbc News | Based In Los Angeles. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Some Donald Trump allies expressed concern over his debate performance. And Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan win big at the MTV VMAs. SpaceX / PolarisFour private citizens orbiting Earth in a SpaceX capsule are attempting to make history by completing the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk. During the outing, Isaacman and Gillis are expected to exit the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a tether. Trump’s conspiracy-laced debate performance prompts concernsFormer President Donald Trump declared Tuesday’s debate against Vice President Kamala Harris a win, but not all his allies see it that way.

Persons: Donald Trump, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Francine drenches, Francine, Jared Isaacman, Scott “ Kidd ” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, Anna Menon, Isaacman, Gillis, Kamala Harris, Harris ’, Trump, David Ingram, Matt Dixon, ’, Megan Thee, Britney Spears, hird, ong, Joh, els, ord Organizations: MTV, Angeles National Forest, SpaceX, Polaris, Air Force, Tech, Republican, Senior, Trump, Megan Thee Stallion, Doha Madani Locations: Louisiana, Southern California, Francine drenches Gulf, New Orleans, Alabama, Florida, California, San Bernardino County, Orange County, ord

☆ China’s secretive space plane has returned to Earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Here’s what we know – and don’t – about China’s space plane. The term “space plane” often evokes NASA’s Space Shuttle, which flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, carrying astronauts into orbit and helping to construct the International Space Station. Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesWhat do we know about China’s space plane program? China’s space plane development comes as a growing number of countries are paying attention to the deepening connections between security on Earth and in space – and vying for so-called counterspace technologies with the potential to disrupt or even destroy adversaries’ assets in space. But observers have also raised questions about the activities of the space plane, including its own deployment of multiple small satellites.

Persons: –, “ It’s, Chance Saltzman, NASA's, “, It’s, ”, Juliana Suess, Clayton Swope, Joe Skipper, Brendan Mulvaney Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Boeing, Xinhua, Shuttle, Space, Space Force, Columbia, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, US Space Shuttle, Hulton, China Aerospace Science, Technology Corporation, Royal United Services Institute, Aerospace Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, SpaceX, Earth, US Space Force, United, Foundation, China Aerospace Studies Institute, US Air Force Locations: China, Hong Kong, United States, Soviet, “, Florida, Xinjiang, London, Washington

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