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SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbit on Falcon 9 rocket from California – Spaceflight Now

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SpaceX

SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbit on Falcon 9 rocket from California – Spaceflight Now

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position during sunset at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Image: SpaceX Update July 19, 12:19 a.m. EDT: SpaceX adjusted the launch time. SpaceX launched for a rare launch of its Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites into a polar orbit shortly after sunset on Friday night. The mission, dubbed Starlink 17-3, adds another 24 satellites into the company’s megaconstellation consisting of more than 7,900 satellites on orbit, according to statistics compiled by expert orbital tracker and astronomer, Jonathan McDowell. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 8:52 p.m. PDT (11:52 p.m. EDT / 0352 UTC). The Falcon 9 first stage ...

Laws of quantum physics may rule out a universe that came before ours

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Science

Laws of quantum physics may rule out a universe that came before ours

Did the cosmos arise out of a big bounce from another universe?Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock Could our universe be expanding and shrinking back into a tiny point, reliving a kind of big bang over and over again? Probably not, according to a mathematical analysis that argues that the laws of physic forbid such a cyclic universe. A key moment in the life of a cyclic universe is the big bounce, an alternative to the big bang as the beginning of the known universe. The big bang starts with a singularity – matter and energy packed into a point so dense that gravity becomes strong enough to elude the laws of physics as we understand them – followed by an endless outwards expansion. But if the universe began with a big bounce, we could look beyond what we think of as the b...

Supernova Cinematography: How NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Will Create a Movie of Exploding Stars

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Astronomy

Supernova Cinematography: How NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Will Create a Movie of Exploding Stars

Exploding stars come in different types, and these different types of supernovae show astronomers different things about the cosmos. There's a scientific appetite to find more of them and boost our knowledge about these exotic events. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope should be able to feed that appetite. The Roman is due to launch in about two years, and will make its way to its station at the Sun-Earth L2 orbit. After commissioning, it'll begin operations. One of its three primary surveys is the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey. In that survey, the powerful space telescope will image the same section of sky beyond the Milky Way every five days for two years. The team behind the Roman will stitch these scenes together into one comprehensive movie, a sort of cosmic cinema. T...

This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away: ‘Andor’ at the Emmys, Rian Johnson Reflections, and More

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Star Wars

This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away: ‘Andor’ at the Emmys, Rian Johnson Reflections, and More

Happy Sunday, and welcome to the latest edition of “This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away“. I took last Sunday off for personal reasons, but we’re now back! Despite that, there’s still not a lot going on in Star Wars, other than the Andor Emmy nominations (and a surprise Acolyte cameo!). There will not be another live-action show until Ahsoka Season 2 in 2026 (the show is currently in production) and the next animated series to debut will likely be Star Wars: Visions — Volume 3, on October 29. We are now two months away from Star Wars: Starfighter to start shooting, which means more members of the cast should start getting announced soon. Meanwhile, it seems like Kathleen Kennedy may have to wait even longer for her Taika Waititi Star Wars movie. Could the announcement of Waititi’s Judge...

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SpaceX

SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbit on Falcon 9 rocket from California – Spaceflight Now

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position during sunset at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Image: SpaceX Update July 19, 12:19 a.m. EDT: SpaceX adjusted the launch time. SpaceX launched for a rare launch of its Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites into a polar orbit shortly after sunset on Friday night. The mission, dubbed Starlink 17-3, adds another 24 satellites into the company’s megaconstellation consisting of more than 7,900 satellites on orbit, according to statistics compiled by expert orbital tracker and astronomer, Jonathan McDowell. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 8:52 p.m. PDT (11:52 p.m. EDT / 0352 UTC). The Falcon 9 first stage ...