Tag Archives: orbit

Space missions are getting more complex – lessons from Amazon and FedEx could inform in-orbit satellite and spacecraft management

Historically, most space mission systems have used a single spacecraft designed to complete an entire mission autonomously. Whether a weather satellite or a human-crewed module like Apollo, nearly every spacecraft has deployed and completed a single mission entirely autonomously. But today, space industry organizations are exploring missions that involve many satellites working together. SpaceX’s Starlink… Read More »

A planet with a strange orbit is turning into a hot Jupiter before our eyes

When you buy through links in our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn commission. An illustration of a gas giant exoplanet evolving into a hot Jupiter. | Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva There’s more to a distant gas giant planet than meets the eye. Astronomers have discovered that an extrasolar planet, or “exoplanet,” not… Read More »

Strange planet with backward cucumber-shaped orbit turns into another kind of world

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advances and more. Astronomers have detected an exoplanet with an extremely elongated orbit and drastic temperature changes that could be evolving into another kind of world. The exoplanet, named TIC 241249530 b, orbits a star about 1,100 light-years… Read More »

Approximately 30,000 objects are hurtling in near-Earth orbit. It’s not just a space issue

Gazing at the night sky was once an escape from the man-made chaos on Earth. Not anymore. Nearly 70 years after Sputnik was launched, so many machines are flying through space that astronomers worry their light pollution will soon make it impossible to study other galaxies with terrestrial telescopes. There is also space debris; Nearly… Read More »

Approximately 30,000 objects are hurtling in near-Earth orbit. It’s not just a space issue

Gazing at the night sky was once an escape from the man-made chaos on Earth. Not anymore. Nearly 70 years after Sputnik was launched, so many machines are flying through space that astronomers worry their light pollution will soon make it impossible to study other galaxies with terrestrial telescopes. There is also space debris; Nearly… Read More »

US military’s secret space plane launched for possible high orbit mission

By Joey Roulette and Steve Gorman CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – The U.S. military’s stealthy X-37B robotic spaceplane took off from Florida on Thursday night for its seventh mission; This was the first mission to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which could take it to a higher orbit than ever before. Consisting of… Read More »