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Daily News update on – Science

⋅ May 14, 2024
NEWS
Spaceflight Now

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser preparing for pre-launch journey to the Cape
Spaceflight Now
Sierra Space is getting one step closer to finally seeing its Dream Chaser spaceplane reach the launch pad. The spacecraft completed its environmental testing at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, last week.
Space.com

Jupiter’s mysterious moon Amalthea spied crossing the Great Red Spot (photo)
Space.com
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has spotted the elusive fifth moon of Jupiter transiting the giant planet’s Great Red Spot, giving astronomers a rare view of this small but intriguing natural satellite. Jupiter’s most famous moons are its four Galilean …
Space.com

SpaceX Starship’s next launch ‘probably 3 to 5 weeks’ away, Elon Musk says
Space.com
“Objective is for the ship to get past max heating, or at least further than last time.” … We’re likely still a month or so away from the next launch of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket.
Spaceflight Now

Boeing Starliner launch slips to May 21 to verify helium leak fix
Spaceflight Now
Launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing’s Starliner capsule is slipping another four days, from Friday to next Tuesday, to give engineers time to make sure a helium leak in the crew ship’s propulsion system has been resolved, …
Space.com

Sun unleashes massive X8.7 solar flare, biggest of current cycle, from super-active monster sunspot (video)
Space.com
The sunspot, designated, AR3664, has been crackling with solar flares for days. On May 10, it erupted with an X5.8-class flare, and within the past 12 hours, a trio of X-class flares erupted from the sun measuring at X1.7, X1.3 and a whopping X8.7, the …
CNN

Helium leak delays Boeing’s historic Starliner mission at least another week
CNN
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands on the pad after the delayed launch of two astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test due to technical issues, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Joe Skipper …
Space.com

Big decision! Curiosity rover keeps following possible Mars river remnant
Space.com
The Curiosity team debated taking a detour to explore a rocky ridge but ultimately decided against it. black and white rocky landscape. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech). For the past month, NASA’s Curiosity rover has been shadowing Gediz Vallis, …
The Verge

The mission to retrieve a Mars sample is running into turbulence
The Verge
Hundreds of millions of miles away, on the frigid surface of Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is hard at work, diligently gathering fresh samples of Martian rock, sealing them in pristine tubes, and leaving them on the surface ready for collection.
Space.com

Car-sized asteroid gives Earth a close shave in near-miss flyby (video, photo)
Space.com
A small asteroid flew very close to Earth Tuesday morning (May 14), just two days after it was discovered by astronomers. The asteroid 2024 JN16 is less than 15 feet (4 meters) wide — about the size of a car. It did not hit Earth but came within a mere …
Space.com

Helium leak delays 1st astronaut launch of Boeing’s Starliner to May 21
Space.com
The crewed debut of Boeing’s Starliner capsule has been pushed back an additional four days. Starliner had been scheduled to lift off this Friday (May 17) on Crew Flight Test (CFT), a mission that will send NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch …