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Wild solar weather is causing satellites to plummet from orbit. It's only going to get worse.

In late 2021, operators of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Swarm constellation noticed something worrying: The satellites, which measure the magnetic field around Earth, started sinking toward the atmosphere at an unusually fast rate — up to 10 times ...

Second segment added to Starship launch tower at Kennedy Space Center

Spaceflight Now

Spaceflight Now

The launch pad tower under construction at pad 39A sits about 1,000 feet, or 300 meters, east of the location where SpaceX launches Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets carrying satellites and astronauts into orbit. The ...

NASA declares Artemis 1 moon mission test successful, begins prepping for launch

The most recent Artemis 1 "wet dress rehearsal" wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to keep the NASA moon mission on course for liftoff a few months from now. Artemis 1's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule wrapped up the wet dress ...

Controversy Grows Over whether Mars Samples Endanger Earth

Scientific American

Scientific American

Then there's the design and testing of the Mars Ascent Vehicle for lifting those retrieved samples into orbit for subsequent ferrying to Earth is proceeding apace. But one crucial aspect of the project remains troublingly unresolved: How exactly ...

NASA will unveil the James Webb Space Telescope's 1st science photos in July. Here's how to watch.

Hindustan Times

The instruments are roughly halfway through their mode checks as the observatory continues clicking through milestones smoothly in deep space after its launch on Dec. 25, 2021. The main image release event will ...

Here's how to watch the peak of a rare, 5-planet alignment this weekend

(CNN) A rare, five-planet alignment will peak on June 24, allowing a spectacular viewing of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn as they line up in planetary order.

Hubble Space Telescope catches dead star in the act of cosmic cannibalism

The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted evidence of a white dwarf star devouring rocky and icy material from its own system, suggesting that water and other volatiles might be common in the outer reaches of planetary systems.

You Don't Need a Microscope to See the Biggest Bacteria Ever Found

The New York Times

The New York Times

In a Caribbean mangrove forest, scientists have discovered a species of bacteria that grows to the size and shape of a human eyelash. These cells are the largest bacteria ever observed, thousands of times bigger than more familiar bacteria such as ...

World's largest bacterium discovered is the size of a human eyelash

Thiomargarita magnifica – a reference to its exceptional size – has an average cell length greater than 9,000 micrometers, which is nearly 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) in length. Cells of most bacterial species are around 2 micrometers in length, although ...

Rare alignment of 5 planets peaks Friday as crescent moon joins the parade

On Friday (June 24) the "planet parade" will be joined by a special guest as the crescent moon slots in between Venus and Mars, acting as a "stand-in" for Earth in the planetary procession.