Meet crew of Virgin Galactic's 5th commercial spaceflight | Space Quiz! What protects Earth from radiation in the event a solar flare crosses our planet's orbit? | 'Too early' to name UK astronaut for Axiom 3 mission
Created for znamenski.spacecom@blogger.com | Web Version
On pace with its once-a-month flight goal, Virgin Galactic is about to embark on its fifth commercial mission on Nov. 2, and likely its final flight of 2023.
The UK Space Agency signed a pact last week with Houston-based Axiom Space to aim for a commercially sponsored mission with four astronauts on board. Although rumors emerged that U.K. astronaut Tim Peake would come out of retirement to command the mission.
During heightened solar activity, the corona is very active and eagle-eyed observers may be able to see solar prominences - gigantic loops of plasma extending outward from the sun during next year's solar eclipse.
The China Astronaut Research and Training Center has also set up replicas on Earth, allowing researchers to compare results and more accurately analyze divergences in how plants grow in space and on the ground.
China launched the first dedicated quantum communications satellite, named Micius, in 2016, and has been quietly working on followup missions in the years since. The next satellites will be even more challenging.
Japan's planned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft mission involves drilling and sampling Phobos, then rocketing the coveted collectibles back to Earth.
It's the treat that keeps on giving, especially when it's an oversized Dark Horse book injected with sinister stories centered around the doomed armored space stations of the original trilogy.
