Orbit

VIDEO—NASA’s Satellite Space Fleet Path Patterns Revealed

While it may be a groggy Monday morning, after most of the world lost an hour this weekend in the readjustment of our clocks, a new animation from NASA reveals that you may be luckier than their satellites who are on the clock 24 hours a day. While you may know that many of the satellites like Aqua, Aura and CloudSat pass overhead everyday at 1:30pm, no matter where you are, you may not have given their movements much thought or ever fully realized exactly how many satellites are working for the space agency. But in celebration of NASA’s newest achievement in having their Dawn satellite reach the dwarf planet Ceres, their giving us a new view of what orbiters do here at home.

How Many Times Did the International Space Station Crew Ring in the New Year? Can You Guess?

While their families and colleagues must undoubtedly think about them 24 hours a day, it seems that most residents of Earth never find themselves pondering what life must be like for the elite six astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) just outside our atmosphere. Orbiting the Earth in a giant space-bound laboratory, life can get pretty interesting. And something even as innocuous as the ball drop of a new year can turn into something entirely note-worthy.

Should Mysterious Russian Satellite Be Cause for Concern?

Nearly 50 years ago, the world was in a similar climate as it is today. International affairs were rocky at best, and former enemies on the global stage took to space as they would a battlefield. Nations like the U.S. and Soviet Russia engaged in a war of attrition, one that luckily never led to actual battle; but rather led to a space race the United States won first.

ESA Ready to Give Rosetta’s Philae the Green Light

It’s been a mission ten years in the making, and after a final green light from mission control tonight, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta Mission will deploy its handy little lander named “Philae” onto the surface of the far off Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko it met up with earlier this summer.

Antares Rocket Launches on East Coast Tonight: Viewing and Live Stream Info

The launch of the Antares rocket carrying supplies and scientific equipment to the International Space Station was rescheduled from Monday evening to Tuesday evening due to a wayward sailboat entered the restricted zone underneath the rocket's flight path. The launch is now scheduled to 6:22 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.

Google Exec Ascends to 136K Feet, Skydives to World Record [Video]

Google Senior Vice President Alan Eustice just completed a feat for the record books. Eustice broke Felix Baumgartner's world skydiving altitude record this week when he rode a balloon to a height of over 135,000 feet and then safely made the harrowing journey back to Earth.

Why is Saturn's Moon Titan Glowing? [Video]

NASA has reported that its most recent images of Saturn's moon Titan show a strange phenomenon occurring: gases within the atmosphere near both its north and south poles are glowing. The images were taken by a research team attempting to learn more about what Titan's atmosphere is made of.

Orionid Meteor Shower: Best Viewing Times and Live Stream Info

It's time for another one of Earth's annual meteor shower events, the Orionid meteor shower. Those who are willing to wake up early enough to catch a glimpse of the pre-dawn sky over the next week should be able to spot a few meteors are they streak across the morning sky.

Video: X-37B Space Plane Lands After 2 Years in Orbit

The U.S. Air Force's mysterious X-37B space plane landed this week after a record of nearly two years in orbit, yet government officials still haven't commented as to the nature of its mission. The 'orbital test vehicle' is the third such OTV mission, and orbited the Earth for 674 days.
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