Category News

On 23 November 2023, Ariane 6, the next-generation European launch vehicle, underwent a significant milestone in its preparation for its inaugural flight. The rocket carried out a full-scale rehearsal, which included complex fuelling, a launch countdown, and the ignition of its core stage Vulcain 2.1 engine. This rehearsal aimed to simulate the entire core stage […]

ESA’s CryoSat satellite, dedicated to measuring the thickness of polar sea ice and monitoring changes in ice sheets, recently faced a fuel leak that threatened to end its mission in 2025. However, a successful swap to its back-up propulsion system has potentially extended the satellite’s lifespan by 5 to 10 years. CryoSat’s thirteen-year climate record […]

SpaceX is making significant progress towards its goal of completing 100 launches in 2023. The company had a busy week with two Starlink missions and the second launch of the Starship. The first launch involved a Falcon 9 rocket placing 23 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit. This was followed by ExPace launching an unknown payload […]

In recent years, there has been a shift in imaging methodology towards instruments specifically designed for astrophotography. The William Optics RedCat71 from First Light Optics is one such instrument that aims to meet the needs of astrophotographers. This magazine-style scientific article will provide an analysis of the RedCat71 and its features. The first thing that […]

Forty years ago this month, European-built Spacelab made its historic debut in space, marking the European Space Agency’s (ESA) entry into human spaceflight activities. On November 28, 1983, the Spacelab-1 mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on board Space Shuttle Columbia, carrying ESA’s first astronaut, Ulf Merbold. This mission was significant in […]

The William Optics RedCat 71 is a new astrophotography telescope that aims to deliver high-quality imaging performance. With its all-red livery and compact tube length of just 335mm, it’s an attractive and portable option for astrophotographers. The RedCat 71 comes in a durable and padded nylon carry-case, which meets the dimensions for airline hand-luggage. This […]

SpaceX’s Starship is set for its second test flight after obtaining final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and US Fish and Wildlife Service. The launch is scheduled for November 18 at 7:00 AM CST, following a one-day delay to fix an issue with Booster 9’s grid fin actuators. The first test flight of Starship, […]

ESA’s Juice spacecraft recently completed an important maneuver on its journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft, which launched in April 2023, is set to make detailed observations of the gas planet and its three large moons. However, reaching Jupiter is no easy task due to the Sun’s massive gravitational pull. Missions to gas planets like Jupiter […]

The North Channel, located between Northern Ireland and Scotland, is a fascinating and dynamic region that’s captured in stunning detail in a false-color radar image from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission. This image provides a wealth of information about the area, including its geography, land use, and the potential for wave forecasting. The North Channel serves […]

The space between Earth and Mars is usually filled with communication data and commands as multiple missions take place on the Red Planet. However, during the conjunction season, this communication will fall silent for about one and a half days in November as Mars passes behind the Sun. Solar conjunction for Mars occurs approximately every […]