International Space Station will plummet to a watery grave in 2030

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Admin

Nasa confirmed the ISS will plunge into the Pacific ocean to join other decommissioned space stations, satellites and space debris

The International Space Station (ISS) will continue its operations until 2030 before heading for a watery grave at the most remote point in the Pacific, Nasa confirmed in a new transition plan this week.

More than 30 years after its 1998 launch, the ISS will be “de-orbited” in January 2031, according to the space agency’s budget estimates. Once out of orbit the space station will make a dramatic descent before splash landing in Point Nemo, which is about 2,700km from any land and has become known as the space cemetery, a final resting place for decommissioned space stations, old satellites, and other human space debris.

The tech billionaire space race: who is Jeff Bezos up against?

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Admin

As Amazon founder prepares to jet off in his Blue Origin vessel, can he compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX?

Jeff Bezos to go into space on first crewed flight of New Shepard rocket

Every billionaire needs something to spend their fortunes on. For Howard Hughes, it was the Spruce Goose; for Roman Abramovich, it’s Chelsea FC. And for the current crop of tech moguls, it’s space.

Jeff Bezos has led the charge. He founded his company, Blue Origin, in 2000, after a conversation with his friend, the science fiction author Neal Stephenson. And in July, 21 years later, the investment will pay off: Bezos will blast himself, his brother, and a third fee-paying guest 100km up in the company’s New Shepard rocket, brushing the edge of space until he comes back down to earth three minutes later.

Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the moon returns safely

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Admin

Unmanned Chang’e-5 probe returns to Earth after first mission in four decades to collect lunar samples

An unmanned Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the moon returned safely to Earth early on Thursday (local time) in the first mission in four decades to collect lunar samples, the Xinhua news agency said.

The capsule carrying the samples collected by the Chang’e-5 space probe landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, Xinhua said, quoting the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The director of CNSA, Zhang Kejian, declared the mission a success, Xinhua added.

India’s moon landing suffers last-minute communications loss

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Admin

Prime minister Narendra Modi consoles scientists distraught as complex mission goes awry

India’s attempt to land an unmanned craft on the moon’s uncharted south polar region appears to have gone awry, when communication with the landing vehicle was lost moments before touchdown.

“Communications from lander to ground station was lost,” said Kailasavadivoo Sivan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation early on Saturday. Data was still being analysed, he told a room full of distraught scientists at the agency’s tracking centre in Bengaluru.