NASA will provide coverage of today’s prelaunch activities for the agency’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft, targeted to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Thursday, Dec. 9, at 1 a.m. EST. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy. Today’s …
The weather outlook for Thursday’s early morning launch of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center bumped up in a positive direction. Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron now predict a 90% chance of favorable conditions for liftoff, increasing by 10% from a day ago. The …
Payloads: Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Ellipsoids (InSPACE-4): A crewmember redistributed the particles in the vial assembly, activated the InSPACE equipment, configure the MSG facility for downlink, and begin InSPACE 4 operations for runs #78 and #79. InSPACE-4 studies the assembly of tiny structures from colloids using magnetic fields. These structures change …
Earth’s Polar Light Show Welcome to the next stop on the solar tour! Auroras are the bright lights seen at Earth’s north and south poles. Energy and particles from the Sun travel to Earth and interact with our planet’s magnetic field. This interaction causes the colorful lights seen in auroras. Meet STEVE People around the …
The Expedition 66 crew is getting ready to welcome three new visitors to the International Space Station on Wednesday. In the meantime, the seven orbital residents have started the work week on human research, space physics, and artificial intelligence. In Kazakhstan, the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship has rolled out from its processing facility and is …
Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions for Thursday’s early morning launch of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft from the Space Coast, with the cumulus cloud rule and thick cloud layer rule serving as the primary weather concerns. IXPE is scheduled …
Editor’s Note, Dec. 8, 2021: This post has been updated with more accurate fueling figures. In preparation for launch later this month, ground teams have successfully completed the delicate operation of loading the James Webb Space Telescope with the propellant it will use to steer itself while in space. In order to make critical course …
On Wednesday, Nov. 17, NASA Headquarters held its final review for the mission prior to launch. A week later, on Nov. 24, a review committee approved Webb’s transition to the next stage in its preparations for launch. This week we’ve asked NASA’s Randy Kimble, Webb’s integration, test, and commissioning project scientist, to tell us how …
Earth’s Interface to Space Welcome to Earth’s upper atmosphere, where things get weird. Home to: Earth’s hottest (4,500 degrees F) AND coldest (-120 degrees F) temperatures 50 tons of incoming meteors, daily Air that is literally electric Satellite communications The ionosphere Lucky for us, the Sun’s most harmful rays don’t reach the ground. Instead they’re …
A Total Solar Eclipse in Antarctica! Early this morning, there was a total solar eclipse across Antarctica! During a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun, creating the illusion of night during the day and a breathtaking sight in our sky. Join NASA Edge at 1:30 p.m. EST on NASA TV to see …
