Outer Space & Universe
Outer Space & Universe
Space, also known as outer space, is the near-vacuum between celestial bodies. It is where everything (all of the planets, stars, galaxies and other objects) is found.
On Earth, space begins at the Kármán line (100 km above sea level). This is where Earth's atmosphere is said to stop and outer space begins. This is not a firm boundary but is a convention used by scientists and diplomats.
Items in space are free to move back and forth; up and down; and left and right. These three dimensions are what make 3D space. Items also move forward through time, which is sometimes called the fourth dimension.
The majority of space contains very little matter and so most of it is a vacuum. Scientists do not know how big space is but we do know that space is extremely big, and is always expanding.
According to the big bang theory, all matter and energy in the Universe was compressed into a very small space. Then it exploded and started expanding. Space is still growing in size today; this means the distance from one galaxy to distant galaxies is getting longer.
Gravity is the force that keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth and the planets in orbit around the Sun. Gravity can stretch and bend space similar to how a heavy ball placed on a stretched sheet of rubber will cause the rubber to stretch. The scientist who discovered that space can bend is named Albert Einstein. How gravity bends space is part of his theory of general relativity.
Astronauts, Cosmonauts, Taikonauts and Spationauts
An astronaut is any person who is trained by NASA to travel and perform tasks in space. Although the space traveler may not necessarily be a United States citizen, each astronaut does go through a rigorous training regiment by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Other space travelers go by other names then astronaut depending on their country of origin.
In the United States, astronaut is derived from the Greek words ástron (star) and nautis (sailor). While, in Russia, a space traveler goes by the name космонавт (English: cosmonaut), which is derived from the Greek words kosmos (universe) and nautis (sailor). Westerners call a space traveler from China a taikonaut, based on the 1998 writings of Chiew Lee Yik and Chen Lan where the term tàikōng (great emptiness), Chinese for “space”. In China, the term yuháng yuán (universe navigator) is used for space traveler.
Only the United States of America (United States), Russia (earlier, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), and the People’s Republic of China (China) have sent manned spacecraft into space. Other countries have assisted these countries by sending their own space travelers on space missions. For instance, a French space traveler is called a spationaut (from the French word spationaute), which is derived from the Latin spatium (space) and Greek nautis (sailor). (plural in Greek nautes = sailors)
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08:10
Rocket Lab launch ends with anomaly after separation, payload lost
Added 59 Views / 0 LikesAn Electron rocket carrying a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft for the California company Capella Space launched from New Zealand on Sept. 19, 2023 at 2:55 a.m. EDT (0655 GMT; 6:55 p.m. local New Zealand time). Full Story: https://www.space.com/r
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11:09
Rocket Lab launches 'Love at First Sight' mission with BlackSky satellites
Added 132 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab's Electron rocket launched a pair of BlackSky Global Earth observation satellites from their Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand on Nov. 17, 2021.Credit: Rocket Lab
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03:43
Rocket Lab Launches 'Running Out of Fingers' Mission
Added 308 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched an artificial-meteor spacecraft and six microsatellites on Dec. 6, 2019. Full Story: Rocket Lab Launches 7 Satellites, Tries Hand at Guiding Booster Down toward Earth: https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-launches-seven-s
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09:43
Rocket Lab launches 2 BlackSky Earth-observing satellites from New Zealand
Added 79 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched two Blacksky Earth-observing satellites from their New Zealand launch site on March 24, 2023. Full Story: https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-launch-booster-recovery-march-2023"The two additional high-resolution, multi-s
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10:17
Rocket Lab launches 2nd Electron mission from US soil with 2 satellites
Added 78 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket Lab Electron booster launched a pair of Capella Space radar-imaging satellites from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia Thursday on March 16, 2023. It was the 2nd flight from US soil for Rocket Lab. Full Story: https://www.space.com/rocket
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16:49
Rocket Lab launches 34 satellites, helicopter catches booster for 1st time!
Added 144 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab's Electron rocket launched 34 satellites for Alba Orbital, Astrix Astronautics, Aurora Propulsion Technologies, E-Space, Spaceflight Inc., and Unseenlabs. The "There and Back Again" mission also included the first ever helicopter catch of the f
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03:28
Rocket Lab launches 7 satellites on 'They Go Up So Fast' mission
Added 223 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched 7 satellites from the company's New Zealand launch site on March 22, 2021 (March 23 local time). Payload included an Earth-observation satellite for the company BlackSky, two "Internet of Things" nanosatellites, one f
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03:53
Rocket Lab launches a pair of Earth-observation satellites from New Zealand
Added 134 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab's "A Data With Destiny" mission launched the 11th and 12th "Gen-2" satellites for a constellation operated by the company BlackSky. The Electron rocket lifted off on Dec. 8, 2021 from the company's New Zealand launch site. Credit: Rocket Lab
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09:20
Rocket Lab launches Earth-watching satellite in return to flight
Added 244 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab's Electron rocket launched the Sequoia Earth-watching satellite from Launch Complex 1 at Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand on Aug. 30, 2020. It was the first launch for the private spaceflight company since their July 4 launch failure. [Full Story](
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03:44
Rocket lab launches from new pad in New Zealand for first time
Added 126 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab's Electon rocket launched the "The Owl's Night Continues," mission from the new Pad B at its New Zealand launch complex on Feb. 28, 2022. The payload was the Strix Earth-observation satellite from Japanese company Synspective.Credit: Rocket Lab
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10:09
Rocket Lab launches Japanese satellite in return to flight
Added 44 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab's Electron rocket launched the Tsukuyomi-1 from New Zealand on Dec. 14, 2023. The "The Moon God Awakens" mission was the first for Rocket Lab since their launch failure in September. Full Story: https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-return-to-flight
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11:14
Rocket Lab launches NASA's CAPSTONE mission to moon
Added 105 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab launched NASA's small CAPSTONE cubesat to the moon from New Zealand on June 28, 2022. The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) is a 55-pound (25 kg) cubesat the size of a microwave ov
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04:11
Rocket Lab launches pair of BlackSky satellites from New Zealand
Added 131 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket Lab Electron vehicle launched two Earth-observing satellites for the American company BlackSky on April 2, 2022 from New Zealand.Credit: Rocket Lab
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03:39
Rocket Lab launches satellite that will track wildlife
Added 85 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab successfully launched a wildlife data-collecting satellite on Oct. 7, 2022. The mission, nicknamed "It Argos Up From Here," flew to space from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on the North Island's Mahia Peninsula at 1:09 p.m. EDT (1709 GMT or 6:0
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18:28
Rocket Lab launches Swedish satellite, helicopter fails to catch booster
Added 94 Views / 0 LikesAn Electron rocket launched a research satellite for the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) on Nov. 4, 2022 from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site. The private spaceflight company attempted to catch the rocket's first stage with a a helicopter but was unsuc
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08:07
Rocket Lab launches US spy satellite from New Zealand
Added 103 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched the NROL-162 satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on July 13, 2022 from the company's New Zealand site. Credit: Rocket Lab
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03:55
Rocket Lab launches US spysat from New Zealand
Added 340 Views / 0 LikesA Rocket lab Electron rocket launched the NROL-151 satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office on Jan. 30, 2019 (Jan. 31 New Zealand time) from the Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand's North Island. -- Full Story: https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-la
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05:45
Rocket Lab loses vehicle after broadcast - Watch it launch!
Added 246 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab's "Pics Or It Didn't Happen" mission ended in failure when there was an anomaly during the second stage burn on July 4, 2020. The Electron rocket was carrying payloads for Planet, Canon Electronics, and In-Space Missions.Credit: Rocket Lab
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03:47
Rocket Lab suffers 'loss of telemetry' after launching 20th mission
Added 167 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab launched two Earth-observation satellites for the company BlackSky on May 15, 2021 from their New Zealand launch site but suffered a loss of telemetry shortly after booster separation. It the 20th time that an Electron rocket has launched.Credi
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09:37
Rocket Lab unveils reusable Neutron rocket's design, with 'Hungy Hippo' fairing
Added 162 Views / 0 LikesRocket Lab CEO Peter Beck unveils the designer's of the the next-generation, carbon composite rocket. Credit: Rocket Lab