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Splashdown! SpaceX And NASA Astronauts Make History
By: Nell Greenfieldboyce | NPR
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NASA and SpaceX are welcoming home two astronauts who splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico after several months on the International Space Station.
Here’s How the Pandemic is Changing America’s Plans for its Newest Spaceship
By: Geoff Brumfiel | NPR
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Later this week, NASA and SpaceX will launch the first rocket carrying astronauts from U.S. soil since the end of the space shuttle era. But COVID-19 has forced some changes to their plans.
WATCH: NASA Reveals Name of Next Mars Rover
By: PBS Newshour
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NASA announced the name of its latest Mars rover, which could begin its mission as early as this summer. The agency opened up the name selection process to students around the country, whittling down 28,000 entries to nine finalists: Clarity, Courage, Endurance, Fortitude, Ingenuity, Promise, Perseverance, Tenacity and Vision. Watch the video to see which… Read More
WATCH: SpaceX and OneWeb Face Off in Quest for Internet Domination
By: PBS Newshour
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In what has already been a busy year in space, the London-based telecommunications company, OneWeb, on Friday launched a second round of satellites into orbit in a bid to expand global internet coverage. The launch followed the return of NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who broke a spaceflight record for female astronauts. The Verge science reporter… Read More
WATCH: With Record Space Mission, Astronaut Christina Koch Inspires Women Back on Earth
By: PBS Newshour
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After spending nearly 11 months in orbit aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth Thursday, parachuting into Kazakhstan with two crewmates aboard a Soviet Soyuz capsule. Koch set a record for the single longest female stay in space and says the milestones she achieved are a tribute to the pioneering women… Read More
Where Trump’s 2019 State Of The Union Promises Stand
By: Barbara Sprunt | Domenico Montanaro | NPR
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The State of the Union this year may make for a seriously awkward moment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be seated over President Trump’s left shoulder Tuesday, less than two months after the Democratic-controlled House impeached him — and just as the Republican-controlled Senate will be deciding whether to keep or or remove him from… Read More
Secret Air Force Space Plane Lands After More Than 2 Years In Orbit
By: Scott Neuman | NPR
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The X-37B, launched in September 2017, has returned to Earth. It was the fifth acknowledged mission for the vehicle since 2010, but details of its mission are being kept under wraps.
The Nuclear-Powered Self-Driving Drone NASA Is Sending To A Moon Of Saturn
By: Geoff Brumfiel | NPR
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Almost everyone who learns about the project thinks it sounds “crazy,” admits one scientist. But the technology should work.
Amateurs Identify U.S. Spy Satellite Behind President Trump’s Tweet
By: Geoff Brumfiel | NPR
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The satellite is believed to be among America’s most advanced. Some believe it’s as large as the Hubble Space Telescope.
White House Hopes Revived Space Command Is One Giant Leap Toward Proposed Space Force
By: Colin Dwyer | NPR
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President Trump and Vice President Pence are expected to formally reestablish the U.S. Space Command on Thursday. It’s not the Space Force they want, but they intend it as a step in that direction.
How A 10-Year-Old-Boy Helped Apollo 11 Return To Earth
By: Josh Axelrod | Mia Warren | NPR
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Greg Force was just a boy when his father, the director of a NASA tracking station in Guam, called home with an important mission for him: to help the crew of Apollo 11 return safely to Earth.
NASA Renames WV Facility in Honor of Human ‘Computer’
By: Associated Press
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FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) – A NASA facility in West Virginia has been renamed in honor of a native of the state whose calculations helped put men on the moon 50 years ago. Katherine Johnson was portrayed in the film “Hidden Figures” and is now 100 years old. She did not attend Tuesday’s ceremony in Fairmont… Read More
This Week, NASA Is Pretending An Asteroid Is On Its Way To Smack The Earth
By: Nell Greenfieldboyce | NPR
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A fictitious asteroid is the focus of a realistic exercise, as experts at the Planetary Defense Conference run through how the Earth would respond to news of a looming asteroid strike.
A Black Hole Is Photographed For First Time By Massive Telescope Project
By: Bill Chappell | NPR
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“For the first time we have seen what we thought was unseeable,” said Event Horizon Telescope Director Shep Doeleman, as the first image of a black hole was released.
Massive U.S. Machines That Hunt For Ripples In Space-Time Just Got An Upgrade
By: Nell Greenfieldboyce | NPR
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The twin sites in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory are about to go back online. New hardware should make them able to sense more colliding black holes and other cosmic events.
NASA’s Mars Rover Opportunity Is Officially Declared Dead
By: Joe Palca | NPR
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NASA’s six-wheeled rover landed on the red planet in January 2004 for what was billed as a 90-day mission. The plucky robot was still going until a dust storm on Mars last summer killed it.
Images Reveal A ‘Snowman’ At The Frigid Outer Reaches Of Our Solar System
By: Nell Greenfieldboyce | NPR
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Scientists say Ultima Thule, a newly explored world out beyond Pluto, is a relic from our solar system’s earliest days.
Nancy Grace Roman, ‘Mother Of Hubble’ Space Telescope, Has Died, At Age 93
By: Russell Lewis | NPR
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Roman was one of the first female executives at NASA, its first chief of astronomy and she played an instrumental role in making the Hubble Space Telescope a reality. She died on Dec. 25.
After 9 Years In Orbit, Kepler Telescope Leaves A Legacy Of Discovery
By: Lulu Garcia-Navarro | Henry Zimmerman | NPR
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NASA’s Charlie Sobeck, former manager of the Kepler Space Telescope mission, discusses the monumental findings of the spacecraft and NASA’s decision to retire it in orbit.
A Small Planet With Big Implications
By: Joe Palca | NPR
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Astronomers have found a distant dwarf planet that appears to confirm the existence of Planet Nine, a giant planet lurking in the outer reaches of the solar system.
White House Describes Military ‘Space Force,’ Aims To Create It By 2020
By: Camila Domonoske | NPR
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Vice President Pence said in a speech Thursday that the Space Force, which would be the military’s sixth branch, will “prepare for the next battlefield” and “a new generation of threats.”
WATCH: Building A Probe That Will Survive A Trip To The Sun
By: Becky Harlan | Maia Stern | Madeline K. Sofia | NPR
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The sun is responsible for all life on Earth, but we still have a lot to learn about it. So this summer, NASA is sending the Parker Solar Probe closer to the sun than we have ever been before.
Virgin Galactic Space Plane Reaches New Heights In Test Flight
By: James Doubek | NPR
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Billionaire Richard Branson wants to be on the “first official flight” to see space as a tourist by the end of 2018. His company’s latest test flight reached heights of more than 32 miles.
Galileo Would Be Stunned: Jupiter Now Has 79 Moons
By: Joe Palca | NPR
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Astronomers have found 12 more moons orbiting the planet Jupiter. These moons are all small — just 5 kilometers or less across — and one of them behaves very strangely.
Stephen Hawking’s Voice Is Being Broadcast Into Space
By: Camila Domonoske | NPR
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The late scientist’s voice will be “beamed toward the nearest black hole,” his daughter tells the British press. Hawking is being interred at Westminster Abbey on Friday.