SCIENCE - Page 13

Kim Jong Un celebrated a “new era of space power” with scientists and his family, state media said Friday, after the North successfully put a military spy satellite into orbit. During a visit to the National Aerospace Technology Administration, accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae, Kim “praised the engineers and scientists” who helped with Tuesday’s launch of the “Malligyong-1,” KCNA reported. He called it “an eye-opening event of deploying our ‘ space guard’ constantly grasping the military intention and moves

OneWeb is on track to launch its low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation for broadband service in India, its largest market. On Tuesday, the company’s local subsidiary, OneWeb India, said that it has acquired approval from India’s space regulator, IN-SPACe, to launch commercial satellite broadband services in the country. The clearance will allow OneWeb India to operate as soon as it receives the final spectrum authorization from the Department of Telecommunications for its gateways and user terminal operations in Gujarat and

The idea of a tunnel-like body of magma coursing under a city and threatening to explode might conjure up images from the 1997 action movie Volcano, but that is precisely the scenario facing residents of the small Icelandic town of Grindavik. A number of the 3,500 people living in the coastal community on the Reykjanes Peninsula have already been evacuated as they watch lava crack through the ground and ooze into the sea from a 15-kilometer crack in the earth.

North Korea appears to be preparing for its third attempt this year at launching a reconnaissance satellite, a move that may prove as controversial as the nuclear-armed country’s weapons tests. A report Thursday by the state-run news agency KCNA cited by South Korean officials said the country would launch what is described as a “military satellite” on Nov. 30. The report didn’t say whether the spacecraft would be put into orbit or crash into the Earth. However, officials have warned

In a rare celestial event that captivated stargazers, a Leonid meteor blazed across the night sky, leaving behind a luminous vapor trail. The spectacular sight was captured on camera, providing a visual feast for astronomy enthusiasts and casual observers alike. The Leonid meteor shower peaked last weekend and is known for its fast-moving meteors that can produce such dramatic displays. The meteors are produced by debris shed from the comet Tempel-Tuttle as it orbits the Sun. The debris consists of

On Saturday, SpaceX conducted the second integrated development flight test of its Starship Super Heavy rocket, developed to carry humans to space and return. During this test, the Starship was supposed to enter space for the first time and briefly orbit Earth before splashing down near Hawaii. However, the mission was cut short before reaching that point, and Starship’s flight termination system appeared engaged. It was a much smoother launch than April, which saw Starship tumble tail-over-head less than four

SpaceX’s uncrewed spacecraft Starship, which was developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, failed in space shortly after lifting off on Saturday. It’s the company’s second test flight, but even though it didn’t go all the way, it made it further than an earlier attempt that ended in an explosion. The two-stage rocketship blasted off from the Elon Musk-owned company’s Starbase launch site near Boca Chica in Texas, helping boost the Starship spacecraft as high as 90 miles

Seven months after its first attempt to reach space ended with an explosion, SpaceX’s next-generation spacecraft Starship was set for blastoff on Saturday for a repeat test flight from south Texas. But it still needs to be made clear when the company will fly Starship with people aboard or if it ever will. On April 20, the giant rocket’s Super Heavy first stage burned up in a spectacular explosion that carved a crater a few meters deep beneath the launch

The pioneering space tourism company Virgin Galactic is reducing the frequency of its current suborbital vehicle flights and will cease them by mid-2024. This results from the company shifting its focus towards developing its next-generation vehicles, the Delta-class spaceships. Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said that the move will allow the company to focus all its efforts on bringing these new spaceships into service. The announcement came during a recent earnings call the company hosted to discuss its third-quarter results,