Copernical Team
Year's 1st SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch on tap Tuesday with NOAA satellite
SpaceX is locked and loaded for what would be only the 10th launch for its powerhouse Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday, scheduled to take a powerful weather satellite to space if weather cooperates.
The payload is the 11,000-pound GOES-U satellite for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, headed to geostationary orbit where next year it will take on the duties of scanning the Atlantic Ocean for tropical threats as well as other dangerous weather affecting the United States.
"GOES-U … will be the sentinel in the sky to keep an eye on hurricanes," said Dan Lindsey, the chief scientist of NOAA's GOES program, during a press conference Monday. It will also continue to scan Central America, the Caribbean and South America as well as add to the lightning and wildfire observation capability in the U.S.
Liftoff is targeted at 5:16 p.m. from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A at the opening of a two-hour window, with a backup during the same window on Wednesday. NASA plans launch broadcast coverage on NASA TV and its social media channels beginning at 4:15 p.m.
Hydrothermal Vents on Ocean Worlds Could Support Life, UC Santa Cruz Study Finds
UC Santa Cruz researchers have found that lower-temperature hydrothermal vents, which are common on Earth's seafloor, may create conditions that support life on "ocean worlds" in our solar system.
Ocean worlds are planets and moons with liquid oceans, often under ice or within their rocky interiors. Some of Jupiter's and Saturn's moons are considered ocean worlds. These moons have inspired European tech must keep pace with US, China: Meta's Clegg
Europe is lagging behind both the United States and China when it comes to technology and innovation, top executive with US firm Meta Nick Clegg has told AFP.
Clegg, president of global affairs at the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said Europe had a "real problem".
"We are falling very rapidly behind the US and China," said Clegg, who was promoting a scheme to mentor GOES-U Mission Ready for Launch Following Successful Review
NASA and SpaceX have confirmed the GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U) mission is ready for launch following a successful readiness review at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The launch is scheduled for a two-hour window beginning at 5:16 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 25. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will carry the satellite into orbit from Launch Complex 39A at Kenned China lunar probe returns to Earth with samples
A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the Moon returned to Earth on Tuesday, capping a technically complex 53-day mission heralded as a world first.
The landing module of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft touched down at a predetermined site in Inner Mongolia at 2:07 pm (0607 GMT), the China National Space Administration said, hailing the mission a "complete success".
It comes bea Jupiter’s upper atmosphere surprises astronomers
Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, scientists observed the region above Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot to discover a variety of previously unseen features. The region, previously believed to be unremarkable in nature, hosts a variety of intricate structures and activity.
Media briefing on Ariane 6’s inaugural flight
Video:
01:00:08
Watch the replay of the Ariane 6 inaugural flight pre-launch media briefing to learn more about the first flight of Europe’s new heavy lift launch vehicle.
Reusable carrier rocket completes critical hop test
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's leading space contractor, achieved a significant milestone on Sunday by conducting a critical test for its upcoming reusable carrier rocket.
The State-owned conglomerate announced that its subsidiary, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, successfully executed a "hop test" using an experimental rocket. This test, conducted Webb spots giant star clusters shaping galaxy in early universe
The James Webb space telescope has discovered massive clusters of stars in the early universe so huge and densely packed that they influenced how their galaxy formed, astronomers said on Monday.
The five clumps of stars, known as globular proto-clusters, are the earliest ever observed, dating back to 460 million years after the Big Bang when the universe was three percent its current age. China lunar probe to return to Earth with samples
A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the Moon is expected to return to Earth on Tuesday, capping a technically complex 53-day mission heralded as a world first.
Beijing has not disclosed the spacecraft's estimated arrival time, but experts say it will likely touch down in a barren expanse of desert in the northern Inner Mongolia region at around midday (0400 GMT).
It com 
