Space Highlights for the week ending Wednesday 5/15/24.
This week SpaceX launched their 50th mission of 2024 and the sun gave us a spectacular light show. Test flights continue to tease, with Boeing’s Starliner getting pushed to a May 21st launch date, and SpaceX Starship getting stacked on its booster for a June test.
What launched this week?
- 5/9/24 SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink Group 8-2 internet satellites launched and landed in California.
- 5/11/24 CASC Long March 4C Shiyan 23 launched a space environment detection satellite from China. The red exhaust is always exotic to me. Glad I’m not nearby, as it is poisonous for humans to breathe.
- 5/12/24 SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink Group 6-58 internet satellites launched in Florida and landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.
- 5/14/24 SpaceX launched its 50th mission of this year (wow!) on a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink 6-58 internet satellites. This mission launched and landed in California.
What’s in the Sky?
- Humans in Space: There are currently 10 humans in Space.
- Our Moon: The moon is 58% illuminated. It’s orbit is passing behind the Earth, and in about a week’s time it will be a full moon, mirroring the sun with full luminosity.
- Stargazing: Wake up early right before the sunrise, look East, and watch for Mercury, Mars, and Saturn ascending up from the horizon.
Other Fun Space Things:
- Auroras, Auroras, Everywhere: did you catch the surreal hues of blue, purple, green, and red lighting up the night sky? The images of auroras from around the world are really amazing. The auroras, commonly called the northern lights and southern lights, are typically seen in latitudes closest to the poles. This weekend, they extended almost halfway to the equator! These far-reaching lights are caused by very large solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun. I am thankful for the Earth’s magnetic fields that protect us, and am lucky to have witnessed the beauty of the auroras.
- Starship Stack: SpaceX is readying for upcoming test flight 4 in a few weeks. Check out the Starship lifting up onto its booster. I’m excited for another Starship Launch Viewing Party. I have my heat-shield coffee mug ready this time, cheers to @EverydayAstronaut.
Thanks for reading my highlights from Space for this week. Stay tuned for upcoming launches and discoveries!
Remember to look up, and keep reaching to the stars.
References
- YouTube Video clips: @SciNewsRo, @VideoFromSpace, @NASASpacePlace, @SkyNews
- Starlink Map – https://www.starlinkmap.org/
- Who is in Space – live updates. (2023, April 15). Who Is in Space? – How Many Astronauts Are on the Space Station. https://whoisinspace.com/
- Rocket launch schedule. (n.d.). https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/
- NASA Image and Video Library. (n.d.). NASA Image and Video Library. https://images.nasa.gov/details/ACS3_SolarSailSunrise
Leave a Reply