Space

Dec 4, 2017, 2:46 PM

UW team wins NASA’s nod for small satellites with magnetic braking systems

NASA says it’ll provide resources for a University of Washington research team that’s working on a concept to put small… Read More

Dec 3, 2017, 4:30 PM

Breakthrough Prize ceremony shines glitzy scientific spotlight on cosmic mappers

This year’s Breakthrough Prizes, cast as the “Oscars of Science,” are going to genetic engineers, disease fighters, math whizzes — and… Read More

Dec 2, 2017, 2:57 PM

Yes, Elon Musk will launch Tesla Roadster to Mars orbit on SpaceX Falcon Heavy

Update: After a bit of back and forth, SpaceX is confirming that the Roadster to Mars is a real payload, and that it… Read More

Dec 2, 2017, 10:00 AM

‘Tis the season … for a holiday supermoon

Supermoon Sunday is at hand, and although some may scoff, the supermoon concept provides a good excuse to take a… Read More

Dec 1, 2017, 5:57 PM

Science fiction authors Andy Weir and Neal Stephenson look at life after ‘The Martian’

What could be better than hearing a science fiction writer talk about how to create whole new worlds? How about… Read More

Dec 1, 2017, 3:32 PM

NASA turns to Voyager’s dormant thrusters for first time in 37 years – and they work!

Imagine you had a car sitting in storage since 1980, and suddenly you needed to start it up. Now imagine… Read More

Nov 30, 2017, 4:10 PM

Andromeda Galaxy gets photobombed by a couple of monster black holes farther out

It turns out that even galaxies can be photobombed. Imagery from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based telescopes reveal what… Read More

Nov 28, 2017, 2:38 PM

SpaceX raises $100M more in investment, bringing valuation estimate to $21.5 billion

Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket venture has filled out its latest funding round by attracting another $100 million in investments since… Read More

Nov 28, 2017, 10:27 AM

19 spacecraft go missing after Russian weather satellite launch goes awry

Russia’s Meteor-M 2-1 weather satellite and 18 nanosatellites went missing today after their launch aboard a Soyuz rocket from the… Read More

Nov 22, 2017, 10:49 AM

Thanksgiving on the space station: Just another day at the office, but with turkey

Thanksgiving Day is a workday on the International Space Station, but it’s still a special day for the station’s six… Read More

Nov 21, 2017, 1:56 PM

Why net neutrality’s peril raises the stakes for future satellite broadband options

The Federal Communication Commission’s plan to start rolling back regulations on net neutrality comes as bad news for streaming video… Read More

Nov 20, 2017, 7:40 PM

Trickles of water on Mars? Scientists say they’re more likely to be trickles of sand

Scientists have long been intrigued by what seem to be wet streaks that appear on the slopes of Martian craters… Read More

Nov 20, 2017, 1:45 PM

Aloha, ‘Oumuamua! Scientists confirm that interstellar asteroid is a cosmic oddball

Update: Scientists say the interstellar asteroid known as ‘Oumuamua is like nothing that’s been seen in the solar system before,… Read More

Nov 18, 2017, 10:11 AM

Night launch sends next-gen JPSS-1 weather satellite (and more) into orbit

The first in a series of four next-generation weather satellites, known as the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 or JPSS-1, is… Read More

Nov 17, 2017, 2:42 PM

LIGO gravitational-wave hunters get lucky and find smallest black hole merger

It took months to figure it out, but the scientists in charge of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO,… Read More

GJ273 star system with radio transmission

Nov 16, 2017, 3:00 AM

‘Sónar Calling’ campaign broadcasts music and messages to an alien super-Earth

Scientists and artists have banded together to beam coded radio transmissions toward a star that has a potentially habitable planet,… Read More

Nov 15, 2017, 7:03 PM

Ross 128 redux: Red dwarf sparks interest as a potentially not-so-weird locale for life

A red dwarf star that was previously thought to be the source of a weird signal from aliens turns out… Read More

Nov 15, 2017, 5:50 PM

Life, liberty and the pursuit of spaceflight? Jeff Bezos links Blue Origin to saving Earth

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ vision for his Blue Origin rocket venture is to have millions of people living and working… Read More

Nov 15, 2017, 1:10 PM

Get a double dose of ‘Year in Space’ lore from astronaut (and author) Scott Kelly

Space fans are used to seeing double when they’re keeping track of twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, but this… Read More

Nov 15, 2017, 10:17 AM

Elon Musk frets about love life (and sheds a few tears) in Rolling Stone interview

Elon Musk may know how to get to Mars with SpaceX, and how to revolutionize the transportation industry with Tesla… Read More

Nov 14, 2017, 9:00 AM

Super-wide-angle Zwicky Transient Facility celebrates ‘first light’ with help from UW

A sky survey that draws upon the data-crunching skills of researchers at the University of Washington has reached a milestone… Read More

Nov 13, 2017, 8:54 PM

Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 prototype imaging satellite has left the building

Planetary Resources has been working on its Arkyd-6 imaging satellite for years, and today the company reported that the printer-sized… Read More

Nov 13, 2017, 6:51 PM

SNC shows off video of what could be Dream Chaser space plane’s last test flight

Last weekend’s drop test of a prototype Dream Chaser space plane went so well that the next flight might be… Read More

News Brief

Nov 13, 2017, 2:32 PM