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ESA's reusable Space Rider capsule would carry equipment to orbit and back

Michael Irving June 5, 2019

Space flight requires quite a lot of single-use machinery, and that gets expensive and wasteful. Now ESA has outlined its reusable Space Rider capsule, which would carry scientific equipment to the edge of space and back several times over.

Space

Dusty pseudo-satellites spotted orbiting Earth

Michael Irving October 28, 2018

Hungarian astronomers have spotted two new pseudo-satellites – in the form of clouds of dust – caught in the gravitational tug-of-war between the Earth and the Moon.

An artist's rendition of the dusty pseudo-moon spotted in orbit around Earth

Space

12 new moons discovered orbiting Jupiter

Michael Irving July 17, 2018

With dozens of moons whizzing around Jupiter, it makes sense that a few have slipped under the radar, but the latest discovery is still a surprisingly large haul. Astronomers have announced the detection of 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter, including one particularly reckless “oddball.”

Io, pictured here orbiting Jupiter in 2007, has more company than we thought: astronomers have discovered ...

Space

Interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua's trajectory suggests it's not an asteroid after all

Michael Irving June 28, 2018

‘Oumuamua is the first interstellar visitor ever detected passing through our Solar System, and while it was originally classed as an asteroid after its discovery, astronomers have now updated the label. ‘Oumuamua, it turns out, is a comet after all, but it’s unlike any other known comet.

A new artist's impression of the interstellar object 'Oumuamua, which is now believed to be a ...

Space

Alien asteroid discovered orbiting the Sun

Anthony Wood May 21, 2018

An international team of astronomers has discovered an asteroid sharing Jupiter's orbit, that appears to have originated from another solar system. The imaginatively named asteroid 2015 BZ509 could have immigrated to our system at a time when our Sun was still embedded in a colossal star cluster.

Image of 2015 BZ509 captured by the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, Arizona

Environment

Rock-solid evidence shows how Earth's eccentric orbit affects climate change

Michael Irving May 9, 2018

Models have long suggested that Earth's orbit shifts from circular to elliptical and back again over hundreds of thousands of years, which plays a part in natural climate swings. Now, scientists have found the first physical evidence for the cycle, and traced it back to before the dinosaurs.

Researchers have found rock-solid evidence for a 405,000 year cycle in Earth's orbit, which affects climate ...

Space

Aurora Station, the luxury space hotel slated to open by 2022

Rich Haridy April 8, 2018

Space tourism has been long touted as 'coming soon', but the only opportunity to buy your way into space were rare private trips to the International Space Station with price tags of US$20 million. Now Orion Span has revealed Aurora Station space hotel, promising an ambitious 2022 opening date.

In addition to hotel stays, Orion Span also plans to sell private "space condos" to those ...

Aircraft

Stratolaunch, the world's largest plane, speeds down the runway for the first time

Rich Haridy February 28, 2018

The gargantuan Stratolaunch dual-fuselage aircraft, with a wingspan of 385 ft (117 m), is one step closer to reaching the skies after it recently completed a second taxi test that saw it hit a speed of 46 mph (74 km/h) as it stormed down a runway in Mojave, California.

The giant Stratolaunch aircraft has now successfully completed two runway taxi tests reaching a top speed ...

Space

60 years ago today, America launched its first satellite into orbit

Anthony Wood January 31, 2018

On this day 60 years ago, America became the second country to send a human-made object into low-Earth orbit, with the successful launch of its first satellite – Explorer 1.

The Jupiter-C rocket, captured launching from Cape Canaveral on January 31, 1958

Space

Dream Chaser spaceplane successfully completes glide flight and landing

Rich Haridy November 12, 2017

Four years ago, the Dream Chaser's first glide and landing test ended in a crash after its landing gear failed to deploy correctly. Since then, the reusable spaceplane has undergone a complete refurbishment and finally achieved its first successful flight and landing on Saturday.

The Dream Chaser has made its first successful glide test and landing since its infamous crash ...