Space Explored

In a new render of DC200, the Crew version of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Vehicle appears without any external windows. While the lack of external windows isn’t significant for the vehicle while in space, it is particularly notable due to the vehicle’s runway-based landing. Astronauts returning to Earth won’t have any direct view of the runway they are landing on.

During the start of the space race, women were excluded from being Astronauts. The first American woman in space, Sally Ride, wouldn’t fly until 1983, 20 years after the Soviets flew the first woman in space. But even as policies kept women out of the coveted role of Astronaut, Women have always played a vital role in the space program.

On March 8, Apple announced its newest Mac family member, the Mac Studio. Using the company’s latest System on a Chip called the M1 Ultra, Apple used NASA‘s TetrUSS software to see just how powerful it is.

SpaceX quickly jumped into action when Ukraine’s vice prime minister asked for help keeping internet connectivity in the country during Russia’s invasion. Now, SpaceX is continuing to assist, pushing updates to improve connectivity options and versatility through continued attacks on the country’s infrastructure.

Over the past few days, the director of Russia’s space agency, Dimitry Rogozin, took to Twitter to make demands before launching OneWeb‘s next group of satellites. Then on March 3, the company decided to pull out entirely of its Baikonur-based Soyuz launches.

On Thursday morning, as the sun rose into the sky, SpaceX successfully launched yet another Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

SpaceX’s Starlink internet service takes a different approach than most other internet services, one that allows it to operate in remote areas, disconnected from the grid, all around the world. That’s why it has so quickly become a part of aid efforts, be it in Fiji after a volcano eruption, Washington state after wildfires, or Ukraine, in the midst of a Russian invasion.

On March 1, Steve Wozniak’s Privateer officially came out of stealth mode, releasing its first space tracking app named “Wayfinder,” allowing you to visualize and track orbiting satellites and space debris.

Rocket Lab announced on February 28 that it will build, launch, and land its Neutron rocket in Virginia near NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and the company’s US-based launch complex.

Over the past few days, Ukraine has been under attack by Russian forces, who are now battling to control the nation’s capital. As a result, top government officials have been begging for help from other countries as they fight for their freedom, the most recent is a need for Starlink internet service.

Update: The terminals have arrived in Ukraine.

On February 26, Sierra Space, which just recently began a massive hiring spree, signed an agreement to explore landing its Dream Chaser spaceplane at Oita Airport, in Japan.

The long-awaited James Webb Space Telescope is at its position at L2 and is currently being aligned and calibrated, so the view from each of the 18 mirrors combine to form one clear image. The 18 points of light have been combined, forming a single spot of light that now has to be refined and sharpened through further calibration.

On Wednesday night, Russian forces began their attack on Ukraine, starting what many viewed as an inevitable invasion of the once soviet country. Once again, we find Russia and the United States on the brink of conflict, but their cooperation in space shows hope.

Sierra Space, a space company with extensive experience in space missions that is currently developing its Dream Chaser space plane, is looking to hire 1,000 new employees, nearly doubling its current 1,100 employee workforce.

The launch control center at Kennedy Space Center that first sent mankind to the Moon has now been named after Rocco Petrone, a man instrumental in America’s journey to reach Earth’s celestial neighbor during the Apollo program.

In an update on its website, SpaceX has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to being good stewards of space through safe and sustainable satellite operation. “SpaceX is deeply committed to maintaining a safe orbital environment, protecting human spaceflight, and ensuring the environment is kept sustainable for future missions to Earth orbit and beyond.”

In an update post on the company’s website, SpaceX called on the FCC and other international parties to change its standard on how long a satellite should stay in Low Earth Orbit.

Rocket Lab has been working on adding multiple launch locations for its Electron rocket for the past few years. Finally, the company’s second pad in New Zealand is ready, and Rocket Lab is showing it off with dual rockets.

We’ve been following a rocket upper stage that is headed for a crash landing on the Moon for nearly a month now. While the object has been observed from Earth, and its collision time has been estimated at around 7:30 a.m. on March 4, the actual identity of the rocket stage has come into question. Now a spokesperson for China has denied that the object is one of the country’s rocket upper stages.