Note: Click here to view the webcam.
Ecuador is known for its UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the Galapagos Islands, but you probably didn’t realize this small South American country also boasts a space agency. The Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency (EXA) is a nonprofit, privately funded organization established in 2007 to promote research and education. While it can’t compare to the mega space agencies of the U.S., Russia, Europe, and China, EXA will make some history tonight when it launches the NEE-01 Pegaso, the country’s first satellite.
Designed and built entirely in Ecuador, the small satellite will orbit approximately 400 miles above the planet. Named after the winged horse of Greek mythology, Pegasus, the satellite will be used for scientific research, education, and technology demonstration, as well as to help detect near-Earth objects.
For the rest of us, there’s a visual treat in store. EXA has partnered with EarthCam to mount a live streaming camera on the satellite that users can tap into from the Web. EarthCam is a New Jersey-based company that provides webcam content and services to companies and government agencies for monitoring purposes; their Earthcam.com network of global webcams let you visit sites like Times Square as a virtual tourist, and soon you can add outer space to the list of places (befitting the company’s name). Once the satellite is in orbit, viewers will be able to log on and view the Earth and beyond. (EXA had started an Indiegogo campaign last year to help raise funds for the video-streaming component, but it seems they had raised only $1,125 of the $450,000 goal; we are assuming EarthCam helped fund the rest.)
The satellite’s launch is scheduled for April 26, 12:13 a.m. ET, weather permitting. Viewers will be able to watch the blast-off from Beijing via Earthcam.com and EXA’s website. You can read the original press release about the project here, and view videos about the satellite at the Indiegogo page.
After 13 suborbital test flights and more than $15 billion in development costs, SpaceX's Starship has finally reached orbit. The 407-foot megarocket, the most powerful ever built, lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on Monday and delivered its first real payload on it's 14th attempt. The celebration came with an asterisk, though, since SpaceX had to cut the planned 10-hour mission to roughly three hours.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2104601695711904180
SpaceX is finally ready to give Starship its biggest test yet. The company says the massive rocket's 14th test flight is scheduled for September 22, when it will attempt to put the upper stage into Earth orbit for the first time. The launch is currently pending regulatory approval, with a 75-minute window opening at 7:15 a.m. CT.
Starship has 26 Starlink satellites to deliver
For decades, humanity has looked up at the Moon and wondered what it would be like to live on it. Think sprawling cities, factories, research centers, and permanent human settlements. Unfortunately, there is one fairly fundamental problem with that vision.
A new study published in Frontiers in Space Technologies argues that even the Moon's potentially enormous reserves of frozen water may be nowhere near enough to support city-sized populations sustainably. Researchers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell estimate that the permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles could contain roughly one billion tons of water. It sounds like an extraordinary amount until you put a million thirsty humans next to it.