Author: starpathwp-production
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Firefly Aerospace Awarded Launch Agreement for the VICTUS SOL Space Mission
Firefly Aerospace, the leader in responsive space launch services, announced the company was awarded a $21.81 million contract to launch the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) VICTUS SOL Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission. VICTUS SOL is an early operational capability to enable the United States to rapidly respond to on-orbit needs and…
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NASA to Provide Coverage of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lunar Landing
With a suite of NASA science and technology on board, Firefly Aerospace is targeting no earlier than 3:45 a.m. EST on Sunday, March 2, to land the Blue Ghost lunar lander on the Moon. Blue Ghost is slated to touch down near Mare Crisium, a plain in the northeast quadrant on the near side of…
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ispace Successfully Completes Success 5 of Mission 2 Milestones
ispace, a global lunar exploration company, announced that the RESILIENCE lunar lander successfully completed a flyby of the Moon on Feb. 15, 2025, reaching its closest point at 22:43 UTC, Feb. 14, 2025. The RESILIENCE lander came within approximately 8,400 kilometers of the Moon’s surface on its flyby, a historic first of its type for…
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NASA nominee previews his vision for the agency: Mars, hard work, inspiration
The likely next leader of NASA, private astronaut and pilot Jared Isaacman, has kept a low profile since the announcement last year that he was President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the space agency. This is understandable, as Isaacman must still be confirmed by the US Senate. No date has yet been put forward for…
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Long March-8A carrier rocket completes maiden flight
China’s Long March-8A carrier rocket successfully conducted its maiden flight on Tuesday, sending a group of low Earth orbit satellites into space from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in the southern Hainan Province. The satellite group is the second of its kind and will form an internet constellation. It was launched at 5:30 p.m. (Beijing…
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China reveals names of moon-landing spacesuit, manned lunar rover
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Wednesday unveiled the names of the moon-landing spacesuit and manned lunar rover for the country’s manned lunar exploration missions. The moon-landing spacesuit is named Wangyu, meaning gazing into the cosmos, and it echoes the name of the country’s extravehicular spacesuit, Feitian, which means flying into space, according to…
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Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander arrives in lunar orbit
While in lunar orbit, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captured an image of the Moon’s south pole on the far left. Image: Firefly Aerospace A robotic lander from Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is now in orbit around the Moon and going through its final preparations to land in the coming weeks. On Thursday, the company announced that…
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Euclid reveals an Einstein ring around a nearby galaxy
Using the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope, astronomers have accidentally found a complete Einstein ring around a nearby galaxy known as NGC 6505. This optical effect shows a distorted image of a far-away galaxy as a ring around a separate galaxy in the foreground. NGC 6505’s proximity to Earth and the completeness of its…
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Sex in space? Find out how science weighs the pluses and minuses on Valentine’s Day
The effects of the space environment’s reduced gravity on sexual intimacy and reproduction have been debated for decades. (Credit: Catrin1309 / Bigstock) You might think sex in space would be an out-of-this-world experience — but based on the scientific evidence so far, low-gravity intimacy isn’t likely to be as much of a high as it…