George Dvorsky
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Crucial Rocket Parts End Up Crushed in a Landfill, Imperilling Satellite Mission
The final mission of the European Space Agency’s Vega rocket has encountered a bizarre setback. Key propellant tanks required for its last flight were found damaged in a landfill, jeopardizing the scheduled 2024 launch. It’s common for wallets to go missing. Same for car keys and mobile phones. It happens. But for two propellant tanks…
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Then and Now: Our Earliest Close-Ups of the Planets Compared to Today’s Best Shots
For centuries, astronomers were limited to ground-based observations of the planets, but now we use spacecraft to capture close-up views of our neighboring worlds. Excitingly, our views of solar system planets have been getting progressively better over the decades, as these images attest. The dawn of the Space Age finally made it possible for humankind…
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NASA’s Dragonfly Mission to Titan Faces Further Delays Amid Budget Uncertainties
NASA has announced a delay in its ambitious Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan, moving the launch date to July 2028. This decision, driven by budget uncertainties, comes despite the mission successfully passing key design reviews. Worryingly, the space agency is delaying formal confirmation of the mission until a budget review in mid-2024. The ambitious…
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Elon Musk Unveils Plans for Starship Version Two
Moving swiftly and learning through failure, SpaceX says it’s already looking ahead to version 2 of the Starship upper stage. In a tweet posted on November 24, company CEO Elon Musk shared a photo showing four Starship upper stages standing vertically at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in south Texas, and saying the quartet will be…