It’s not just the number of rocket launches, but how much stuff they’re carrying into orbit. CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida—Another Falcon 9 rocket fired off its launch pad here on Monday night, taking with it another 29 Starlink Internet satellites to orbit. This was the 94th orbital launch from Florida’s…
“NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve.” CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida—The second flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket was postponed again Wednesday as a supercharged wave of magnetized plasma from the Sun enveloped the Earth, triggering colorful auroral displays and concerns over possible impacts to communications, navigation,…
IBM follows through on its June promises, plus more trapped ion news. The end of the year is usually a busy time in the quantum computing arena, as companies often try to announce that they’ve reached major milestones before the year wraps up. This year has been no exception.…
A recent die-off in Florida puts the spotlight on corals’ survival strategies. Scientists have found that the 2023 marine heat wave caused “functional extinction” of two Acropora reef-building coral species living in the Florida Reef, which stretches from the Dry Tortugas National Park to Miami. “At this point, we…
Early superdense star clusters may have planted seeds for monster black holes. A new simulation could help solve one of astronomy’s longstanding mysteries—how supermassive black holes formed so rapidly—along with a new one: What are the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) “little red dots?” Invisible leviathans lurk at the…
Blue Origin is getting ready to launch its second New Glenn rocket. Blue Origin scrubbed Sunday’s launch attempt due to poor weather, a cruise ship in restricted waters near the launch site, and ground system issues. The company says the next available launch opportunity is Wednesday, November 12, with…
His work was celebrated, but he was ostracized for racist, sexist comments. James Dewey Watson, who helped reveal DNA’s double-helix structure, kicked off the Human Genome Project, and became infamous for his racist, sexist, and otherwise offensive statements, has died. He was 97. His death was confirmed to The…
“The FAA is concerned with the system’s ability to maintain the current volume of operations.” The federal government shutdown, now in its 38th day, prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a temporary emergency order Thursday prohibiting commercial rocket launches from occurring during “peak hours” of air traffic. The…
This technological tradition lasted longer than Homo sapiens have even been a species. At a site in Kenya, archaeologists recently unearthed layer upon layer of stone stools from deposits that span 300,000 years, and include a period of intense environmental upheaval. The oldest tools at the site date back…
Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket gave an environmental monitoring satellite a perfect ride to space. Welcome to Edition 8.18 of the Rocket Report! NASA is getting a heck of a deal from Blue Origin for launching the agency’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars. Blue Origin is charging NASA about $20 million…
