NEO Asteroid 2014 JO25 Set to Buzz Earth on April 19th

By David Dickinson - April 13, 2017 01:29 PM UTC | Planetary Science
It's a shooting gallery out there. The spattered face of Earth's Moon and large impact sites such as Meteor Crater outside of Flagstaff Arizona remind us that we still inhabit a dangerous neighborhood. But despite the inevitable cries for the "End of the World of the Week," humanity can breathe a collective sigh of relief next Wednesday on April 19th, when asteroid 2014 JO25 passes safely by the Earth.
Continue reading

Space Station Trio Touches Down on Earth as NASA's Next Cargo Ship Targets Apr. 18 Blastoff

By ken-kremer - April 11, 2017 11:52 PM UTC | Missions
Comings and goings continue apace on the International Space Station! After living and working fruitfully for six months in space aboard the ISS, an international trio of astronauts and cosmonauts including NASA's Shane Kimbrough departed the orbiting lab complex aboard their Soyuz capsule and plummeted back safely through the Earth's atmosphere to a soft touchdown in Kazahkstan on Monday- as NASA meanwhile targets liftoff of the next US resupply ship a week from today.
Continue reading

Worlds' 1st Recycled Booster from SpaceX Sails Serenely at Sunrise into Port Canaveral - Photo/Video Gallery

By ken-kremer - April 05, 2017 12:37 AM UTC | Space Exploration
PORT CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Basking in the sunrise glow, the world's first recycled booster - namely a SpaceX Falcon 9 - sailed serenely into Port Canaveral this morning, Tuesday, April 4, atop the tiny droneship on which it soft landed shortly after launching on March 30 for an unprecedented second time.
Continue reading

Surprise: Comet E4 Lovejoy Brightens

By David Dickinson - April 03, 2017 01:43 PM UTC | Observing
Had your fill of binocular comets yet? Thus far this year, we've had periodic comets 2P/Encke, 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková and 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák all reach binocular visibility above +10th magnitude as forecasted. Now, we'd like to point out a surprise interloper in the dawn sky that you're not watching, but should be: Comet C/2017 E4 Lovejoy.
Continue reading

1st Reflown SpaceX Falcon 9 Soars to Orbit with SES-10 Revolutionizing Rocketry Forever - Photo/Video Gallery

By ken-kremer - April 02, 2017 10:14 PM UTC | Space Exploration
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Billion dollar bet on rocket recycling paid off beautifully when the world's first ever reflown rocket booster - a SpaceX Falcon 9 - roared off NASA's historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center and successfully delivered the next generation SES-10 TV satellite to orbit and simultaneously shot revolutionary shock waves reverberating forever across the rocket industry worldwide.
Continue reading

SpaceX Accomplishes American 'Science Triumph' with 'Mind Blowing' Historic 2nd Launch and Landing of Used Rocket

By ken-kremer - March 30, 2017 11:59 PM UTC | Space Exploration
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - SpaceX accomplished an American 'Science Triumph' with today's "Mind Blowing" and history making second launch and landing of a previously flown Falcon 9 booster that successfully delivered a massive and powerful Hi Def TV satellite to orbit for telecom giant SES from the Kennedy Space Center.
Continue reading

SpaceX Attempting Launch of 1st Orbit Class Recycled Rocket March 30 - Watch Live

By ken-kremer - March 30, 2017 01:38 PM UTC | Space Exploration
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - The moment of truth is rapidly approaching as SpaceX attempts the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket later today, Thursday, March 30, with the firms Falcon 9 standing proudly at historic launch complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida - ready to deliver an advanced TV broadcast satellite to orbit for the America's for telecom giant SES.
Continue reading

SES ComSat Boss Proclaims High 'Confidence' in SpaceX's Bold 1st 'Flight-Proven' Rocket Launch - March 30

By ken-kremer - March 29, 2017 11:59 PM UTC | Space Policy
CAPE CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - As the hours tick down to the history making liftoff of the world's first recycled rocket, the commercial customer SES is proclaiming high "confidence" in the flight worthiness of the "Flight-Proven" SpaceX Falcon 9 booster that will blastoff with a massive Hi-Def TV satellite for telecom giant SES this Thursday, Chief Technology Officer Martin Halliwell told Universe Today at a media briefing.
Continue reading