Sierra Space's Dream Chaser space plane aces key tests | Space Quiz! How fast do X-rays and ultraviolet radiation from solar flares travel through space? | Gargantuan sunspot 15-Earths wide erupts X-class flare
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The private Dream Chaser space plane is closer to reaching the final frontier than ever before, with a completed checklist from its environmental testing phase and preparations underway to send it to Florida for final testing ahead of launch.
(NASA / SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams / helioviewer.org)
AR3664 is no ordinary sunspot. The behemoth dark patch on the sun's surface has ballooned in recent days, becoming one of the largest and most active sunspots seen this solar cycle. AR3664 garnered the attention of scientists earlier this week as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center issued a warning of increased solar flare risk from the solar giant.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has bumped up this weekend's geomagnetic storm watch to a level G4, the second highest on the scale. The change comes as solar activity continues at high levels and at least four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) propel toward Earth.
China launched its first Long March 6C rocket, helping the nation further its goal of launching 100 orbital missions this year. The 131-foot (43-meter) Long March 6C rocket took off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China's mountainous Shanxi province at 11:21 EDT on Monday, May 6 (0321 on May 7). The two-stage, single core Long March 6C is designed to launch small and medium-sized satellites to both low Earth and sun-synchronous orbits. Payload sizes vary depending on desired orbit, but range from 6 to 10 tons.
Black hole week is in full swing, and to celebrate, NASA has explained how its next major astronomical instrument, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, will hunt for tiny black holes that date back to the Big Bang.
SpaceX launched 20 Starlink internet satellites from California early Friday morning (May 10), including 13 with direct-to-cell capability. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Starlink craft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday at 12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 GMT; 9:30 p.m. on May 9 local California time). SpaceX had originally planned to launch the mission on Wednesday night (May 8) but stood down from that attempt.
Elon Musk isn't convinced that aliens have ever visited Earth. The SpaceX CEO and founder sat down for a panel titled "How to save the human race and other light topics" at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference held in Los Angeles on Tuesday (May 7). During the conversation, the institute's chairman, financier Michael Milken, began by asking Musk how he feels about the well-known opening monologue to many "Star Trek" series, in which it is stated that the starship Enterprise's mission is to "seek out new life forms and new civilizations." Musk replied, "Yeah, that's the idea."
