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A History of Launch Failures: “Not Because They are Easy, but Because They...
Over the 50-plus years since President John F. Kennedy’s Rice University speech, spaceflight has proven to be hard. It doesn't take much to wreck a good day to fly.Befitting a Halloween story, rocket...
View ArticleWeekly Space Hangout – Oct. 31, 2014: Bad Week in Space
Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain)Guests: Morgan Rehnberg (cosmicchatter.org / @cosmic_chatter) Ramin Skibba (@raminskibba) Alessondra Springmann (@sondy) Ken Kremer (kenkremer.com / @ken_kremer) This Week’s...
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SpaceX Successfully Launches Cargo Ship to Station and Hard Lands Rocket on...
SpaceX successfully launched their commercial Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship on a critical mission for NASA bound for the space station this morning, Jan. 10, while simultaneously accomplishing...
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Busy Year of 13 Launches by ULA in 2015 Begins with Blastoffs for the Navy...
A busy year of 13 space launches by rocket provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) in 2015 begins with a pair of blastoffs for the US Navy and NASA tonight and next week, emanating from both the US East...
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What Are The Most Famous Stars?
While there are untold billions of celestial objects visible in the nighttime sky, some of them are better known than others. Most of these are stars that are visible to the naked eye and very bright...
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Orbital ATK Aims for March 2016 Antares Rocket Launch Restart with New Engines
The newly merged company Orbital ATK is aiming to restart launches of their “upgraded Antares” rocket in March 2016 using completely new engines, following the catastrophic explosion on Oct. 28, 2014...
View ArticleWeekly Space Hangout – April 24, 2015: Bas Lansdorp, CEO of Mars One
Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain) Special Guest: Bas Lansdorp, CEO of Mars One Guests: Morgan Rehnberg (cosmicchatter.org / @MorganRehnberg ) Brian Koberlein (@briankoberlein) Alessondra Springmann (@sondy)...
View ArticleWeekly Space Hangout – April 26, 2015: Special Cosmoquest Hangoutathon Edition
Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain)Guests: Morgan Rehnberg (cosmicchatter.org / @MorganRehnberg ) Nicole Gugliucci (cosmoquest.org / @noisyastronomer) Nancy Atkinson (UniverseToday.com / @Nancy_A) This Week’s...
View ArticleWeekly Space Hangout – Oct. 9, 2015: Nobel Prizes, Private Moon Launches &...
Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain)Guests: Paul Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter) Morgan Rehnberg (cosmicchatter.org / @MorganRehnberg ) Kimberly Cartier (@AstroKimCartier ) Brian Koberlein...
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Cygnus Cargo Craft Comes Together for Space Station ‘Return to Flight’...
[caption id="attachment_122929" align="aligncenter" width="4320"] Cygnus service module built by Orbital ATK in their Dulles, Virginia cleanroom is shown here with unfurled UltraFlex solar panels that...
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Messier 4 (M4) – The NGC 6121 Globular Cluster
During the late 18th century, Charles Messier began to notice that a series of “nebulous” objects in the night sky that he originally mistook for comets. In time, he would notice that they were in fact...
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Messier 8 (M8) – The Lagoon Nebula
Welcome to another Messier Monday. In our ongoing tribute to the great Tammy Plotner, we bring you another item from the Messier Catalog!In the 18th century, while searching the night sky for comets,...
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Re-engined’ Antares Rocket Completes Crucial Engine Test Firing
Orbital ATK announced late Tuesday that the company’s Antares medium-class commercial rocket outfitted with new first stage RD-181 engines has successfully completed a test firing of the powerplants....
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Messier 19 (M19) – The NGC 6273 Globular Cluster
Welcome back to Messier Monday! In our ongoing tribute to the great Tammy Plotner, we take a look at the Messier 19 globular star cluster. Enjoy! In the 18th century, while searching the night sky for...
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5 Days, 2 Spectacular Conjunctions
Conjunctions of bright planets make for jewelry in the sky. This week, get ready for some celestial shimmer. If you've been following the hither and thither of Mars and Saturn near Antares this...
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NASA Targets ‘Return to Flight’ of Upgraded Antares for mid-October for...
NASA is targeting mid-October for the ‘Return to Flight’ launch of the upgraded Orbital ATK Antares rocket on a cargo mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time in...
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New Study of Antares Creates the Best Map Ever of a Distant Star
When stars exhaust their supply of hydrogen fuel, they exit the main sequence phase of their evolution and enter into what is known as the Red Giant Branch (RGB) phase. This is characterized by the...
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Orbital ATK Antares Rocket Set for Breakfast Blastoff from Virginia to Space...
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket topped with the Cygnus OA-8 spacecraft creates a beautiful water reflection in this prelaunch nighttime view across the inland waterways. Launch is targeted for Nov. 11,...
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Antares Rocket Blasts Off from Virginia Bound for Space Station with Cygnus...
Orbital ATK’s eighth contracted cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station successfully launched at 7:19 a.m. EST on an Antares rocket from Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in...
View ArticleAntares is a supergiant star that would fill the Solar System beyond Mars,...
Antares, the angry red eye of the constellation Taurus the bull, is a red supergiant star near the end of its life. And astronomers with the VLA and ALMA have realized that it’s much, much bigger than...
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