Space

Astronomers have detected lots of water in the atmosphere of HAT-P-26b, a Neptune-sized exoplanet that is located far outside of our solar system.

Discovered in 2011 and orbiting a sun that is twice as old as our own host star, HAT-P-26b is equivalent in size as Neptune, which has a hydrogen-helium atmosphere. However the exoplanet is warmer than Neptune as it orbits its host star more closely than Neptune does.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is all set to launch a communications satellite for Inmarsat of London from the Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on coming Monday, 15th of May.

The private-sector space firm is targeting a fifty-minute launch window that will open at 7:20 p.m. EDT or 23:20 GMT tomorrow.

NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer floated outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, setting a new milestone by successfully conducting 200th spacewalk.

Whitson and Fischer’s spacewalk was shortened by an equipment water leakage, they the duo managed to replace a faulty electronics box. They wasted no time removing the faulty electronics box, and placing a new unit.

Putting a crew on board the first flight of the Orion capsule atop the super-massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket would not be feasible because of immense safety costs, a NASA working group has concluded.

The first flight of the super-massive rocket, which is being seen as the first step in the United States’ return to human space exploration, has been scheduled to take place sometime in 2019.

NASA usually tests new rockets first without a crew, given numerous safety risks associated with such space vehicles.

NASA has revealed a new plan in which a group of astronauts may spend around a year in orbit around the Moon in the late 2020s as part of its broader plan to send humans to Mars a decade later.

Greg Williams, deputy associate administrator for policy & plans in NASA’s Human Exploration & Operations Mission Directorate, revealed the plan at the Humans to Mars Summit in Washington D.C.

U.S. space agency NASA has released a stunning ‘action cam’ video of a spacewalk on the International Space Station (ISS), showing what exactly takes place after an astronaut steps out of the orbiting lab.

The renowned space agency shared the footage, which was captured by Pesquet on 24th of March, by posting it on Google’s video-sharing service YouTube.

The footage essentially shows two astronauts conducting a spacewalk outside of the orbiting lab. It also presents a breath-taking view of our planet from an altitude of 250 miles.

SpaceX has confirmed that it is working on a plan to establish a global broadband internet constellation and start on-orbit tests for that as soon as later this year.

Nearly a couple of years ago, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk had revealed the company’s intention to create an internet constellation, consisting of thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to provide customers with 1 Gbps broadband.

ESA Astronaut Thomas Pesquet from France voted for the second round of French Presidential elections from the International Space Station. Being at ISS didn’t stop Pesquet from voting for his favorite candidate in the Presidential elections. This year, the voter turnout remained low for presidential elections compared to 2007 and 2012. French voters had to choose between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen during the second round of presidential elections. The results for elections will be announced shortly.

NASA’s spacecraft Cassini has discovered a vast void between the rings of Saturn, American space agency researchers confirmed in a newly released statement.

Jim Green, the director of the Planetary Science Division at Washington-based NASA Headquarters, said that images captured by Cassini revealed that the area in between Saturn’s iconic rings is devoid of even space dust.

As the spacecraft dove through the gap, it came within 1,900 miles of the gaseous planet’s cloud tops and within 200 miles of the rings’ innermost visible edge.

As the technology sector is increasingly investing bigger amounts of money into the aerospace start-ups, California has proposed a noteworthy plan to tax space rocket launches from its coast. Many private companies are working on technology to reduce cost of space missions and make them commercially viable for many organizations planning to launch satellites.

As per the proposed plan, the Golden State’s tax payments will be determined by how rockets fly the 62 miles or 100 kilometers from a launch pad at the state’s coast to the edge of space to transport tourists or goods.