Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
NASA funds three companies to develop commercial space stations
The initiative will help maintain NASA’s presence in low-Earth orbit
NASA announced the selection of three US companies that will receive government funding to further develop private space stations on Thursday. From a set of 11 proposals, NASA selected Blue Origin, Nanoracks LLC, and Northrop Grumman to receive over $400 million in federal funds through three separate Space Act Agreements.
@astronomy_knowledge
The initiative will help maintain NASA’s presence in low-Earth orbit
NASA announced the selection of three US companies that will receive government funding to further develop private space stations on Thursday. From a set of 11 proposals, NASA selected Blue Origin, Nanoracks LLC, and Northrop Grumman to receive over $400 million in federal funds through three separate Space Act Agreements.
@astronomy_knowledge
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
Elon Musk says Raptor engine production is a ‘disaster’ that puts SpaceX at risk of bankruptcy
On Black Friday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sent an anxious email to his company’s employees, urging them to work over the weekend on SpaceX’s Raptor engine line and describing the production situation as a “crisis.” In the email, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, Musk argued that the company faces a “genuine risk of bankruptcy” if production doesn’t increase to support a high flight rate of the company’s new Starship rocket next year.
The Raptor is SpaceX’s massive methane engine that will be used to propel the company’s next-generation launch system, called Starship.
@astronomy_knowledge
On Black Friday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sent an anxious email to his company’s employees, urging them to work over the weekend on SpaceX’s Raptor engine line and describing the production situation as a “crisis.” In the email, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, Musk argued that the company faces a “genuine risk of bankruptcy” if production doesn’t increase to support a high flight rate of the company’s new Starship rocket next year.
The Raptor is SpaceX’s massive methane engine that will be used to propel the company’s next-generation launch system, called Starship.
@astronomy_knowledge
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
Scientists have spotted one of the smallest planets ever discovered outside our solar system, a scorching-hot world a bit larger than Mars and just about as dense as pure iron zooming around its home star every eight hours.
Named GJ 367b, it is the smallest exoplanet to be so precisely characterized. It has a diameter of about 5,600 miles (9,000 km) - compared to Earth's 7,900 miles (12,700 km) and the 4,200 miles (6,800 km) of Mars. Its mass is 55% that of Earth.
GJ 367b orbits its star once every 7.7 hours, placing it in a category of "ultra-short period" exoplanets that travel around their home stars in less than 24 hours. One side of GJ 367b probably faces its star at all times, with surface temperatures up to about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius).
Source
Named GJ 367b, it is the smallest exoplanet to be so precisely characterized. It has a diameter of about 5,600 miles (9,000 km) - compared to Earth's 7,900 miles (12,700 km) and the 4,200 miles (6,800 km) of Mars. Its mass is 55% that of Earth.
GJ 367b orbits its star once every 7.7 hours, placing it in a category of "ultra-short period" exoplanets that travel around their home stars in less than 24 hours. One side of GJ 367b probably faces its star at all times, with surface temperatures up to about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius).
Source
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
A planet the size of Neptune was found orbiting a dead star
The discovered planet is 4 times the size of the star.
The animation shows that the white dwarf appears to be slowly destroying the planet: its heat evaporates material from the planet's atmosphere, forming its comet-like tail.
The discovered planet is 4 times the size of the star.
The animation shows that the white dwarf appears to be slowly destroying the planet: its heat evaporates material from the planet's atmosphere, forming its comet-like tail.
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
In preparation for launch later this month, ground teams have successfully completed the delicate operation of loading the James Webb Space Telescope with the propellant it will use to steer itself while in space.
To safely handle these extremely toxic propellants, Webb was moved to the fueling section of the Ariane payload preparation facility at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Specialists wore Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, or “SCAPE,” suits while loading the observatory.
Webb’s spacecraft bus, built by Northrop Grumman, was filled with 369 pounds (168 kilograms) of hydrazine fuel and 292 pounds (133 kilograms) of dinitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. Both fuel and oxidizer will be used together to maximize power for the biggest “burns” by Webb’s Secondary Combustion Augmented Thrusters, which are for mid-course corrections and inserting into L2 orbit, as well as for orbit maintenance around L2 during the mission.
To safely handle these extremely toxic propellants, Webb was moved to the fueling section of the Ariane payload preparation facility at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Specialists wore Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, or “SCAPE,” suits while loading the observatory.
Webb’s spacecraft bus, built by Northrop Grumman, was filled with 369 pounds (168 kilograms) of hydrazine fuel and 292 pounds (133 kilograms) of dinitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. Both fuel and oxidizer will be used together to maximize power for the biggest “burns” by Webb’s Secondary Combustion Augmented Thrusters, which are for mid-course corrections and inserting into L2 orbit, as well as for orbit maintenance around L2 during the mission.
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
The Chinese are slowing down the Earth😱
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is the heaviest human-made object on Earth. It is 185 meters high and almost 2,300 meters long.
It contains 39 trillion liters of water and this mass has caused the Earth's moment of inertia to increase and consequently slow the angular velocity of rotation.
📌This was talked about 10 years ago, and now it has been confirmed by NASA scientists and a number of other experts.
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is the heaviest human-made object on Earth. It is 185 meters high and almost 2,300 meters long.
It contains 39 trillion liters of water and this mass has caused the Earth's moment of inertia to increase and consequently slow the angular velocity of rotation.
📌This was talked about 10 years ago, and now it has been confirmed by NASA scientists and a number of other experts.
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
During the height of the space race in the 1960s, legend has it, NASA scientists realized that pens could not function in zero gravity. They therefore spent years and millions of taxpayer dollars developing a ballpoint pen that could put ink to paper without needing gravitational force to pull on the fluid. But their crafty Soviet counterparts, so the story goes, simply handed cosmonauts grease pencils.
The Space Pencil
Originally American astronauts, like the Soviets, wrote with pencils, according to NASA historians. Indeed, in 1965 NASA ordered 34 mechanical pencils from Tycam Engineering Manufacturing in Houston at $128.89 apiece: $4,382.50 in total. When these sums became public and caused an outcry, NASA scrambled to find a cheaper alternative.
The Space Pencil
Originally American astronauts, like the Soviets, wrote with pencils, according to NASA historians. Indeed, in 1965 NASA ordered 34 mechanical pencils from Tycam Engineering Manufacturing in Houston at $128.89 apiece: $4,382.50 in total. When these sums became public and caused an outcry, NASA scrambled to find a cheaper alternative.
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
On January 1, 2022, we could see four planets at once
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible without any devices!🔥
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible without any devices!🔥
Forwarded from Astronomy Knowledge
Surviving more than 3,300 Martian days (or sols) since its landing, NASA's Curiosity rover has been trekking across Gale Crater since 2011 on its quest for signs of long-ago life on the Red Planet.
In the meanwhile, it's snapped some great pictures, too! This 360-degree selfie is a combination of 81 individual photos taken using the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. This selfie was taken near Greenheugh Pediment, which Curiosity previously climbed in 2020; Curiosity is headed towards Maria Gordon Notch, the U-shaped opening behind the rover to the left.
In the meanwhile, it's snapped some great pictures, too! This 360-degree selfie is a combination of 81 individual photos taken using the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. This selfie was taken near Greenheugh Pediment, which Curiosity previously climbed in 2020; Curiosity is headed towards Maria Gordon Notch, the U-shaped opening behind the rover to the left.