August 28, 2024 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Blue Origin touts the assembly of New Glenn’s first flight first stage
The tweet does not say when this was accomplished, but considering the scheduled launch date is only a little more than six weeks away, it seems they are cutting things close indeed. It is clear they are getting close to that first launch, but it is also unclear they can meet the launch window required for their payload, two Mars orbiters.
- Rocket Lab’s CEO shows off two completed engines intended for its new Neutron rocket
The company hopes to do the rocket’s first test launch next year, and as it seems they are now producing engines quickly, that target seems realistic.
- New data precludes the existence of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPS), one of many proposed explanations for dark matter
The experiment is not yet complete, but the data after 280 days (out of a thousand) says WIMPs don’t exist.
- NASA touts the status of its Lunar Gateway space station with a few pictures
With decidedly mixed feelings I look forward to the day that Starship docks with this boondoggle, as it will make the station look puny in comparison, despite the fact that Gateway’s cost will be far higher.
- On this day in 1962 Mariner 2 was launched to fly past Venus
This was the first planetary probe to reach another planet and send back data. Its data proved that Venus is a hellish place, with a surface temperature exceeding 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Blue Origin touts the assembly of New Glenn’s first flight first stage
The tweet does not say when this was accomplished, but considering the scheduled launch date is only a little more than six weeks away, it seems they are cutting things close indeed. It is clear they are getting close to that first launch, but it is also unclear they can meet the launch window required for their payload, two Mars orbiters.
- Rocket Lab’s CEO shows off two completed engines intended for its new Neutron rocket
The company hopes to do the rocket’s first test launch next year, and as it seems they are now producing engines quickly, that target seems realistic.
- New data precludes the existence of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPS), one of many proposed explanations for dark matter
The experiment is not yet complete, but the data after 280 days (out of a thousand) says WIMPs don’t exist.
- NASA touts the status of its Lunar Gateway space station with a few pictures
With decidedly mixed feelings I look forward to the day that Starship docks with this boondoggle, as it will make the station look puny in comparison, despite the fact that Gateway’s cost will be far higher.
- On this day in 1962 Mariner 2 was launched to fly past Venus
This was the first planetary probe to reach another planet and send back data. Its data proved that Venus is a hellish place, with a surface temperature exceeding 800 degrees Fahrenheit.