Weekly Spacecraft Mission News (English, German) – 30.04.20

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Title photo: NASA, ESA, and STScI; CC BY 4.0

Hubble-Weltraumteleskop feiert seinen 30. Geburtstag mit einer faszinierenden Aufnahme

Die atemberaubenden Bilder und bahnbrechenden Erkenntnisse des NASA/EA-Hubble-Weltraumteleskops haben unseren Blick auf das Universum revolutioniert. Drei Jahrzehnte wissenschaftlicher Entdeckungen werden nun mit einer Aufnahme einer Molekülwolke gefeiert, die zu den beeindruckendsten gehört, die das Teleskop seit seiner Inbetriebnahme angefertigt hat.

Hubble celebrates its 30th anniversary with a tapestry of blazing starbirth

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s iconic images and scientific breakthroughs have redefined our view of the Universe. To commemorate three decades of scientific discoveries, this image is one of the most photogenic examples of the many turbulent stellar nurseries the telescope has observed during its 30-year lifetime.

Hubble: 30 years unveiling the universe

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the international Hubble Space Telescope. Launched on 24 April 1990, and deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery cargo bay a day later (25 April 1990), the telescope has given us a new perspective on the Universe.

30 Years of the Hubble Space Telescope

On April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the cargo bay of space shuttle Discovery.

Celebrating 30 Years: The Universe Through Hubble’s Eye

Amateurs celebrate the venerable space telescope’s 30th anniversary with a look at some of its most mesmerizing images. The post Celebrating 30 Years: The Universe Through Hubble’s Eye appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Hubble still going strong 30 years after launch

hirty years ago Friday, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the shuttle Discovery with a famously flawed mirror, the opening chapter in an improbable saga of redemption and scientific discovery that revolutionized humanity’s view of the cosmos with jaw-dropping images now familiar to millions

Astronaut coffee break: let’s talk landing

Take a break with ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst, Samantha Cristoforetti, Luca Parmitano and Thomas Pesquet as they discuss living and working in space. In this video, our astronauts talk about their experiences of landing in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft upon returning from the International Space Station.

Name Thomas’ next space mission!

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is due to fly to the International Space Station in 2021 and will soon begin training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA after finishing a training session at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. We have the operational side covered… but we need your help to find the name of the mission!

Chinas erste Marsmission heißt Tianwen-1

Die erste Marsmission Chinas erhält den Namen Tianwen-1 (übersetzt etwa: Fragen an den Himmel). Er beruht auf dem gleichnamigen Gedicht des großen Poeten Qu Yuan (etwa 340-278 v. Chr.), teilte die nationale Raumfahrtbehörde CNSA am Freitag in Peking mit. Als Logo dient ein C für China, das zugleich seine internationale […]

Russischer Frachter legt pünktlich automatisch an der ISS an

Das russische Frachtraumschiff Progress MS-14 hat mit über zwei Tonnen Nachschub an Bord am Samstagmorgen pünktlich um 7.12 Uhr deutscher Zeit die Internationalen Raumstation ISS erreicht. Die automatische Kopplung erfolgte nur drei Stunden und 21 Minuten nach dem Start in Baikonur (Kasachstan), teilte die GK Roskosmos in Moskau mit. Der […]

GK Roskosmos: ISS-Besatzung nicht mit Coronavirus infiziert

Die neue Besatzung der Internationalen Raumstation ISS hat sich nicht mit dem Coronavirus infiziert. Die Russen Anatoli Iwanischin und Iwan Wagner sowie ihr US-Kollege Chris Cassidy, die am 9. April auf die Umlaufbahn gekommen sind, haben die Inkubationszeit hinter sich und fühlen sich normal, teilte die […]

Cygnus Prepped for Departure During Station Science and Upkeep

The International Space Station is looking ahead to its next cargo mission when a U.S. space freighter departs next month. The Expedition 63 crew is also working on variety of space research and Russian spacecraft activities.

Study Improving Fiber Optics; Cosmonauts Relaxing After Cargo Mission

The International Space Station provides an orbiting research platform that benefits not only human health, but also industry and technology. Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy kicked off a physics study today that explores space manufacturing.

Progress Cargo Ship Docked to Station

Traveling about 260 miles over Northwestern China, south of the Mongolian border, the unpiloted Russian Progress 75 cargo ship docked at 1:12 a.m. EDT to the Zvezda Service Module on the Russian segment of the complex.

Galileo positioning aiding Covid-19 reaction

As European governments plan their phased recoveries from the lockdown states triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the positioning delivered through satellite navigation is becoming more important than ever before. Location is a key requirement when attempting to monitor and map the spread of a disease and satnav is one of the main tools supporting this.

Namib Desert

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the Namib Desert in western Namibia.

Earth from Space: Namib Desert

In this week’s edition of the Earth from Space programme, Copernicus Sentinel-2 takes us over part of the Namib Desert, considered the oldest desert on Earth.

Air pollution drops in India following lockdown

Lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus have been recently linked with cleaner air quality over Europe and China. New images, from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, from the European Union Copernicus programme, now show some cities across India seeing levels drop by around 40–50% owing to its nationwide quarantine.

Space Station Crew Snaps an Image of the Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River cuts through the folds of the Valley-and-Ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains in this photograph taken by the crew of the International Space Station.

An Otherworldly-Looking Bombetoka Bay, Madagascar

On the northwestern coast of Madagascar, the salty waters of the Mozambique Channel penetrate inland to join with the freshwater outflow of the Betsiboka River, forming Bombetoka Bay.

ESA in a post Covid-19 world

As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks vast changes on people’s daily lives, ESA is examining how space can help improve life on Earth both during and after the outbreak.Experts in economics, geopolitics, psychology, medicine, data science and digital services will contribute to a series of online seminars organised by the agency and led by its Director General, Jan Wörner.

Russland will 2021 seine erste Mondstation starten

Die Russische Föderation (RF) steht vor einer spannenden Weltraumpremiere: Mitte Oktober 2021 soll mit Luna-25 die erste eigene automatische Mondstation gestartet werden. Der Vorgänger mit der Seriennummer 24 wurde noch 1976, also zu Sowjetzeiten, aufgelassen. Etwa zehn Tage nach dem Start soll Luna-25 in der Nähe des […]

NASA to Announce Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Moon Missions

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, to announce the companies selected to develop modern human landing systems (HLS) that will carry the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and develop sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade.

Solar Orbiter: Teleskop der Sonnensonde funktioniert

Im Februar startete die europäische Weltraumagentur ESA ihre Sonnenmission Solar Orbiter. Auf dem Weg zu ihrem Einsatzorbit werden die Instrumente der Sonde aktuell gründlich überprüft. Das Doppelteleskop PHI hat nun alle Tests bestanden und schon den ersten Rekord der Mission aufgestellt: Es blickte aus der bislang geringsten Entfernung auf die Sonne. (28. April 2020)

Hubble Watches Comet ATLAS Disintegrate Into More Than Two Dozen Pieces

These latest images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of the doomed comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), taken on April 20 and 23, 2020, provide the sharpest views yet that the comet’s solid icy nucleus is breaking apart into as many as 30 pieces that are each roughly the size of a house. So, despite the name, ATLAS doesn’t look like anything to be afraid of.

Hubble captures breakup of Comet ATLAS [heic2008]

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided astronomers with the sharpest view yet of the breakup of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS). The telescope resolved roughly 30 fragments of the fragile comet on 20 April and 25 pieces on 23 April.

Russischer Experte kritisiert Kooperationsverweigerung Rogosins mit Musk

Das hat in solcher Deutlichkeit in Russland Seltenheitswert: Das Korrespondierende Mitglied der Ziolkowski-Raumfahrtakademie, Andrej Ionin, hat die Weigerung von GK Roskosmos-Generaldirektor Dmitri Rogosin (Foto) scharf kritisiert, mit dem Chef des US-Konzerns SpaceX, Elon Musk, zusammenzuarbeiten. „Russland ist immer für die Zusammenarbeit im Weltraum eingetreten. Die leuchtendsten […]

SpaceX’s Starlink network surpasses 400-satellite mark after successful launch

SpaceX launched 60 more spacecraft Wednesday to join the Starlink fleet beaming broadband signals around the world, while the company’s engineers move closer to debuting a sunshade that could reduce the satellites’ impacts on ground-based astronomy.

Jupiter explorer Juice arrives for final integration

ESA’s upcoming JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft arrives at the satellite integration centre of the project’s prime contractor Airbus in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in April 2020, to undergo final integration.

Starship prototype clears cryogenic pressure test

The Starship test vehicle, designated SN4, was loaded with super-cold liquid nitrogen Sunday night in a “proof test” that damaged or destroyed previous Starship prototypes.

Starlink Discussion | National Academy of Sciences

SpaceX is launching Starlink to provide high speed, low latency broadband connectivity across the globe, including to locations where internet has traditionally been too expensive, unreliable, or entirely unavailable. We also firmly believe in the importance of a natural night sky for all of us to enjoy, which is why we have been working with leading astronomers around the world to better understand the specifics of their observations and engineering changes we can make to reduce satellite brightness. Our goals include:

‘UFO’ videos declassified by US Navy

Three videos captured by U.S. Navy pilots show unidentified aircraft flying at hypersonic speeds.

Q&A with the Student Who Named Ingenuity, NASA’s Mars Helicopter

longtime fan of space exploration, Vaneeza Rupani appreciates the creativity and collaboration involved with trying to fly on another planet.

Alabama High School Student Names NASA’s Mars Helicopter

Vaneeza Rupani’s essay was chosen as the name for the small spacecraft, which will mark NASA’s first attempt at powered flight on another planet.