Category: Space
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“Try SCE to AUX”: three words to save a Moon mission
It’s one of engineering’s great anti-climaxes: no swelling music, no heroic speech—just three unglamorous syllables uttered on an open loop that turned chaos into “carry on.” Scene: November 14, 1969. Apollo 12 climbs into a gloomy Florida sky. Thirty-six seconds after liftoff: zap. Consoles in Mission Control fill with numeric gibberish. The crew’s caution panel…
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Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry: Implications and Global Context
In August 2025, the White House issued a Presidential Executive Order “Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry”. Its objective is clear: remove regulatory bottlenecks, accelerate innovation, and strengthen the United States’ position as the leading commercial space power. The order addresses longstanding industry complaints about slow environmental reviews, outdated licensing rules, and unclear pathways…
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Landing on Mars: No Chopsticks, No Problem! How Starship Will Stick the Landing Without a Red Carpet
Hey there, space enthusiasts and armchair astronauts! If you’ve ever watched a Falcon 9 rocket gracefully pirouette back to Earth and land on a drone ship like it’s no big deal, you might be scratching your head about SpaceX’s grander ambitions. I mean, the Starship— that gleaming stainless-steel behemoth designed to haul humanity to Mars—…
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Rubin Observatory’s Eye on the Sky: Halos, Spikes, and Asteroid Trails in a Cosmic Light Show
Space nerds, rejoice – a groundbreaking new telescope has taken the stage, and it’s not just delivering jaw-dropping cosmic images but also a few quirky visual effects. The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has opened its giant eye on the universe, armed with the largest digital camera ever built, to create nothing less…