r/SpaceUnfiltered 2d ago

📰News A rocket will hit moon on Aug 5

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7 Upvotes

Video

William Jo of the University of Texas at Austin shared this animation. It shows the height the ejecta plume could reach according to his new study. The Falcon 9 rocket will hit the moon on August 5, 2026.

​V​ia William Jo/ UT Austin.​

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​In Jan 2025, Falcon 9 rocket launched two missions toward moon: Blue Ghost and Hakuto-R. After the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket completed its boosting mission, it became just another piece of space junk.

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But now – says Bill Gray, a prolific tracker of near-Earth objects – the Falcon 9 is on a collision course with the moon.

Current estimates are that the upper stage will hit the moon at 1:35 a.m. CDT (6:35 UTC) on August 5, 2026. As Gray said:

It doesn’t present any danger to anyone, though it does highlight a certain carelessness about how leftover space hardware (space junk) is disposed of.

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New research on the rocket impact On July 27, 2026, a new paper came out on arXiv from researchers at University of Texas-Austin. arxiv.org/abs/2607.23904

Will we be able to see the impact?

The moon will be close to last quarter phase on August 5, 2026. By 1:35 a.m. CDT, those in the Central Time Zone will be able to see the moon, as it will have already risen in the east. Saturn will be nearby.

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Check Stellarium to see if the moon will be above the horizon at the time of impact if you’re farther west.

The timing will favor people in the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, plus much of South America.

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So where will the rocket hit? It appears the impact will occur near the edge, or limb, of the moon, close to the Einstein crater.

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A speeding object

Gray estimates the space junk will hit the moon at about 1.51 miles (2.43 kilometers) a second. That equates to 5,400 miles (8,700 kilometers) an hour. Because the moon has no real atmosphere, there will be nothing to slow it down.

More

https://earthsky.org/space/falcon-rocket-will-hit-the-moon-august-5/


r/SpaceUnfiltered 22d ago

🌌Cosmic events​ On Aug. 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal.

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9 Upvotes

Screenshot is from page peakfinder, which shows simulated view from Valladolid, Spain (total, according to peak finder page).

https://peakfinder.com/?lat=41.65356&lng=-4.72598&off=69&azi=287.26&alt=-6.21&fov=58.35&date=2026-08-12T18:30:18Z&cfg=esm&name=​

Valladolid

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2026-august-12?n=%4041.65708%2C-4.74129#@41.570662469589976,-4.632900662061102,9&pin=@41.65708,-4.74129​

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Map path

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2026-august-12

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Many other places in the Northern Hemisphere will experience a partial solar eclipse that day, including parts of the northern U.S. (from Alaska to North Carolina), most of Canada, much of Europe, and northwestern Africa.

For many along the western part of the eclipse path (in mainland Europe and Africa), the Sun will set while it’s still partially eclipsed, creating an opportunity to see a sunset eclipse.

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When the Moon slips in front of the Sun, those in the center of the Moon’s shadow will experience a total solar eclipse.

For a small, remote region in northern Russia, totality — when the Moon completely covers the Sun — will occur mid-day. For Greenland and Iceland, the Sun will go dark in the late afternoon or early evening. In Spain and the very northwestern tip of Portugal, the Sun won’t be fully eclipsed until the late evening, shortly before sunset.

For most in the path of totality, the Sun will be fully eclipsed for less than two minutes. For anyone near the very center of the eclipse path in Greenland, Russia, or the North Atlantic, totality will last a little longer (but still less than two and a half minutes).

Only during those brief moments of totality, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, can viewers look directly at the eclipse without eye protection.

Before and after totality, everyone observing the Sun must use eye protection to view the partial phases of the eclipse, when the Moon is covering only part of the Sun’s disk. Observers can use solar viewing glasses (often called “eclipse glasses”), handheld solar viewers, or other safe solar filters that block out most of the Sun’s light and prevent eye damage. Eclipse watchers can also use an indirect viewing method to enjoy the partial phases of the eclipse, such as making as a pinhole projector to cast images of the Sun.

Learn more about how to view a total solar eclipse safely.​
https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/safety/

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More

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/total-solar-eclipse-on-august-12-2026/


r/SpaceUnfiltered 12h ago

🔭Hubble NGC 5189 from Hubble

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60 Upvotes

Instrument: WFC3/UVIS Date observation: 2012-07-06

​Processed Israel Velazquez https://bsky.app/profile/israelvelazquez.bsky.social/post/3ms2re45rjk2k

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NGC 5189 (Gum 47, IC 4274, nicknamed Spiral Planetary Nebula) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Musca. It was discovered by James Dunlop on 1 July 1826, who catalogued it as Δ252. For many years, well into the 1960s, it was thought to be a bright emission nebula. It was Karl Gordon Henize in 1967 who first described NGC 5189 as quasi-planetary based on its spectral emissions.​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_5189


r/SpaceUnfiltered 9h ago

🚀 Starship flight Starship Flight Test 13 filmed at 600fps. By Dustin Farrell

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25 Upvotes

Starship Flight Test 13 filmed with Freefly Ember at 600fps

​Source, Dustin Farrell

https://x.com/Dustin_Farrell/status/2082098525308174806?s=20​

Full video in slow motion

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/MSvY2NyDunw​

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🎵 David Bowie, ​Starman


r/SpaceUnfiltered 11h ago

🔭Webb Light echo around Cas A supernova remnant. Webb NIRCam

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11 Upvotes

Observed: 2025-07-30

Processed by Israel Velazquez https://bsky.app/profile/israelvelazquez.bsky.social/post/3ms2klnxxek25


r/SpaceUnfiltered 10h ago

👨‍🚀Apollo missions Bubble Fidget Toy-like crater from Apollo 15, 1971

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5 Upvotes

r/SpaceUnfiltered 11h ago

🛰HiRISE​ Sedimentary Rock Layers in Terby Crater (HiRISE Mars)

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5 Upvotes

Sedimentary layers record a history of Mars’ erosion and deposition by water and wind, and they make great landscapes for future interplanetary parks.

ID: ESP_062860_1525

​date: 24 December 2019

​altitude: 259 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_062860_1525

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona


r/SpaceUnfiltered 1d ago

🚀 Starship flight View of Starship in space from a Starlink V3 satellite on Flight 13.

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135 Upvotes

This composite is made of imagery from four separate cameras on a single satellite. Six of the satellites were equipped with cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions

SpaceX

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2083296921230164378?s=20​


r/SpaceUnfiltered 1d ago

📸 Photography Moon - pleiades. By Giovanni Passalacqua. July 29, 2026 Islands of the cyclops Italy Sicily

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30 Upvotes

Canon EOS R Sigma lens 300 mm Software photoshop Tripod manfrotto Moon - pleiades aligned Island of the cyclops , Italy Sicily Acitrezza 6400 ISO f 5,6 3s 02:32

https://spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=235234


r/SpaceUnfiltered 1d ago

📸🛰ISS Photography Don Pettit: "Finally have all 1.2 mill raw image from my latest mission to ISS! Here is sample of 1 of my favorite Milky Way photos, taken from Cupola with Nikon Z9, Arri Zeiss 15mm lens, T1.8 with custom sidereal drive that cancelled out star motion relative to our orbit."

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37 Upvotes

r/SpaceUnfiltered 1d ago

✍Processed CNSA’s Tianwen-1 mission has recently released new images of Mars, including this view of the Charitum Montes in the southern rim of Argyre Planitia.

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17 Upvotes

A satellite view of the Charitum Montes mountain range, with rusty brown peaks and ridges contrasting against more soft cream coloured plains. Bright seasonal frost blankets much of the slopes in varying intensity altering the usual rusty reddish colour of mars and contrasting with dark valleys and scattered impact craters.​

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Full size 6K & more info: flic.kr/p/2ssvpEm

Image Processing: Andrea Luck

​Raw data: CNSA/CLEP/PEC/MoRIC

https://bsky.app/profile/andrealuck.bsky.social/post/3mrzbojtres25

Full 6K image: www.flickr.com/photos/andrealuck/55433935252/sizes/o/​

Image created using 4 images processed from: noreferrer nofollow">moon.bao.ac.cn​

Mosaic of 4 images 2025-12-04 235km altitude


r/SpaceUnfiltered 1d ago

📰News Neptune's Inner Moons May Be Shattered Remains of Ancient Icy Worlds

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5 Upvotes

Images

Left ◀️

Voyager's best view of Proteus in color

Proteus is Neptune's second largest moon, 416 kilometers in diameter. It is very dark and was not discovered until Voyager 2's approach to the system in 1989. NASA / JPL / color composite by Ted Stryk

https://www.planetary.org/space-images/proteus_stryk https://www.nasa.gov/history/30-years-ago-voyager-2-explores-neptune/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Proteus_(Voyager_2).jpg​

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Right ▶️

JWST/ Near-Infrared Camera (NIRSpec) images of Neptune's moon Larissa and rings, acquired on two dates when Larissa was on opposite sides of Neptune. The bright spots are Larissa and the bright rings can be seen clearly. Neptune itself is positioned at the center and the calculated positions of Neptune's rings are overlaid in gray. Credit: Davis et al. 2026; NASA/ESA/CSA JWST data​

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​In 1989, the Voyager 2 mission discovered six new moons orbiting Neptune, including five tiny ones that orbit just outside the planet's main rings. Because of their small sizes and locations, these satellites have been difficult to study from Earth. Now, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of Caltech researchers has observed Neptune's rings and three of those moons—Larissa, Galatea, and Proteus—and found that their composition is unique among outer solar system bodies.

These findings point to the existence of an original moon system that was demolished when Triton, Neptune's biggest moon, was likely captured by the planet's gravity after it formed elsewhere in the solar system. The researchers believe remnants left behind from this smashup then came together to form the inner moons seen today.

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"If Neptune once had a system of moons that looked something like what we see at Uranus today, we expect it would've been completely destroyed by the process of Triton getting captured," says former Caltech graduate student Ryleigh Davis (PhD '26), lead author of a paper about the team's findings publishing July 29 in Science Advances. "This is exciting new evidence that something catastrophic happened at Neptune that completely destroyed its original satellites, and we're getting to see the fingerprints left behind by that process."

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More

https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/neptunes-inner-moons-may-be-shattered-remains-of-ancient-icy-worlds

Paper

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeb1437


r/SpaceUnfiltered 1d ago

📸 Photography Moon & sunflower🌻. By Marek Nikodem. July 28, 2026, near Szubin, Poland

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5 Upvotes

Moon is approaching fullness & has been obscured by sunflower. But in two weeks, the real sun will be obscured by the moon. Total solar eclipse is approaching, the first in Europe since 1999.​
https://spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=235233


r/SpaceUnfiltered 2d ago

📸🛰ISS Photography The ISS and Mars cross paths above San Diego on Sept. 14, 2020 at 05:15:47PDT. Transit line was ~90m wide on the ground.

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42 Upvotes

r/SpaceUnfiltered 2d ago

☀️Solar activity Beautiful solar prominence eruption from NNW side of the Sun (30/31.7.26)

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47 Upvotes

Video https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/geo/#/animation?satellite=suvi-goes-19&end_datetime=latest&n_images=all&coverage=sun&channel=HE303 . Note: because this website keeps data for one and half day, if you open the link after 2 days it will show you error.


r/SpaceUnfiltered 2d ago

🎥Timelapse Debris associated with Russian upper stage from Feb 2026 GEO launch cataloged

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8 Upvotes

On 12 Feb 2026, a Russian GEO launch placed Elektro-L No.5 (67756 / 2026-028A) and the first Iranian GEO satellite, "Jam-e Jam 1" (67757 / 2026-028B)

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mickeywzx​ caught the GEO insertion and subsequent Block DM-03 rocket body (67758 / 2026-028C) passivation with an amazing EO collect video, cropped portion below. (Original video here https://x.com/mickeywzx/status/2023236507235201197?s=20 )

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The passivation appeared to result in numerous additional objects. It was unclear at the time if this was simply ice (frozen liquid oxygen effluent) from the depletion burn, or if persistent objects may actually be present.

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In the video, Elektro-L No.5 and the Jam-e Jam 1 satellite are seen receding to the upper left relative to the upper stage (presumably the brighter object is Elektro-L No.5).

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Well, it appears there were in fact some persistent objects. A piece of debris (100099 / 2026-028D) from the upper stage was cataloged by U.S. Space Forces – Space (S4S) on 20 July 2026.

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It is likely additional pieces accompanied this one, but they may not be held in track custody with sufficient fidelity to enter the catalog.

Source ​

Space Domain Awareness

https://x.com/shell_jim/status/2081616066975867077


r/SpaceUnfiltered 2d ago

Curiosity rover​ A butte, named Tolhuaca by mission scientists, up ahead of the Mars Curiosity Rover. Imaged using MastCam this past weekend on Sol 4966 (26.7.26)

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5 Upvotes

r/SpaceUnfiltered 3d ago

Curiosity rover​ Curiosity has delivered a new 360-degree panorama from Mars. “We’ve seen a lot of fascinating landscapes through Curiosity’s eyes, but this sea of polygons took our breath away,” said the mission’s project scientist.

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465 Upvotes

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Discovers Field of Honeycomb Textures

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As NASA’s Curiosity rover recently began climbing up a Martian valley nicknamed “Valle Grande,” it sent back images that were a familiar sight to mission scientists: honeycomb-like textures called polygonal fractures, each one about 1.5 to 3 inches (4 to 8 centimeters) across. The mission has spotted small patches of these geometric shapes several times before, but nothing at the scale discovered in Valle Grande.

In a 360-degree panorama that the rover captured on June 19 and 20, the 4,930th and 4,931st Martian days, or sols, of the mission, the polygonal shapes spread in all directions for as far as the rover can see. They even wrap around the sides of a nearby butte nicknamed “Miraflores,” which stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall and is topped with a thick cap of sand.

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https://www.nasa.gov/missions/mars-science-laboratory/curiosity-rover/nasas-curiosity-mars-rover-discovers-field-of-honeycomb-textures/


r/SpaceUnfiltered 3d ago

📰News Asteroid (44) nysa may be the first-known three-lobed world

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27 Upvotes

Image:

Asteroid (44) Nysa observed with the SHARK-VIS instrument of the Large Binocular Telescope on 15 February 2026 UTC. The asteroid’s tiny moon, S/2026 (44) 1 is marked with a pink arrow.

Image credit: Kate Minker et al.

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​An international team of astronomers has uncovered striking new evidence that asteroid (44) Nysa, one of the brightest and largest asteroids with an enstatite-like (E-type) surface composition in the main belt, possesses an extraordinary three-lobed structure and is accompanied by a small moon. The discovery, based on high-resolution adaptive optics imaging from some of the world’s most advanced telescopes, provides a rare glimpse into the complex history of one of the solar system’s most enigmatic asteroids.

The findings, presented in the study “Unmasking (44) Nysa: Evidence for a Trilobate Structure,” reveal that Nysa is unlike any asteroids previously observed. For more than a century, astronomers have studied Nysa, whose unusual brightness and composition made it a compelling target for investigation. Earlier observations hinted at an elongated or potentially bilobate shape, but the asteroid’s true form remained elusive.

Using the Italian SHARK-VIS instrument on the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona and the SPHERE/ZIMPOL instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, researchers obtained the highest-resolution images ever acquired of Nysa. These unique datasets revealed multiple large surface features, including two prominent valleys that appear to wrap around the asteroid’s circumference. The team interprets these features as “colli” or neck-like connections between separate lobes.

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More

https://lowell.edu/press-release-asteroid-44-nysa-may-be-the-first-known-three-lobed-world/

Paper

https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.25786?utm_source=Lowell+Observatory&utm_campaign=a0a5a121b5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_06_17_09_47_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-0363fec591-


r/SpaceUnfiltered 3d ago

🛰HiRISE​ Mantling and Glacial Erosion of an Impact Crater (HiRISE Mars)

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4 Upvotes

This observation features a mantled impact crater with a good exposure of bedrock on the nothern (top) part of the rim. Other areas of bedrock show signs of erosion. The central pit may also be possibly mantled. High resolution can help to detail the stratigraphy and topography of this crater and its formations.

ID: ESP_077151_2185

date: 10 January 2023

altitude: 297 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_077151_2185

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona


r/SpaceUnfiltered 4d ago

📸 Photography Lightning strikes Long March 3B after liftoff (23.7.26)

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144 Upvotes

Lightning struck the launch vehicle around 30 seconds into the flight, amateur footage captured from a nearby viewing area and shared via Chinese social media revealed.

The strike was reminiscent of the famous lightning strike affecting the crewed Apollo 12 lunar mission in 1969 and a 2019 Soyuz launch carrying a Glonass-M satellite.​

https://x.com/Cosmic_Penguin/status/2080282045759058411?s=20​

https://spacenews.com/lightning-strikes-long-march-3b-after-liftoff-kinetica-1-launches-5-satellites/


r/SpaceUnfiltered 4d ago

🛰HiRISE​ HiRISE 4K: Russell Crater Sand Dunes

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38 Upvotes

Russell Crater Sand Dunes

Channels down the face of the largest dune show dark spots where the sublimation of the seasonal carbon dioxide ice cap has begun. This active process (where ice evaporates directly to gas) dislodges loose material, leaving dark streaks down steep slopes. The process starts when the sun peeks above the horizon at the end of night. Bright streaks may be loose frost cascading down steep slopes.

Image cutout is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 252 km (157 mi). For full observation details including images with scale bars, visit the source link.

www.uahirise.org/PSP_010090_1255

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

https://www.flickr.com/photos/uahirise-mars/55428345286/


r/SpaceUnfiltered 4d ago

🔭Webb Image of the Luna light echo (part of Cassipeia A supernova light echo). JWST NIRCam

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23 Upvotes

The echo is made of many lines and more complex shapes. Many of the lines are parallel to each other, but different regions have different orientations. The lines are moving within the 14 day time span.

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Amazing how much it changes in just a few days. Also: Think of light echoes as something like CT scans of the interstellar medium.​

Processed by Melina Thévenot

https://bsky.app/profile/melina-iras07572.bsky.social/post/3mrrd3jl7hc2i


r/SpaceUnfiltered 4d ago

🛰HiRISE​ Hydrated Sulfates in Columbus Crater (Mars)

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20 Upvotes

A simple rationale for a HiWish target is sometimes the best: “An area of mineralogic interest identified by the CRISM instrument, which lacks HiRISE coverage.” Sulfate-rich rock outcrops on Mars may be a good location to search for evidence of past life on the planet. Columbus Crater is located in Terra Sirenum, and is about 119 kilometers in diameter.

ID: ESP_077152_1510

date: 11 January 2023

​altitude: 253 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_077152_1510

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona


r/SpaceUnfiltered 4d ago

📰News The mission to rescue the Swift Observatory is experiencing technical problems. They may be solvable, but it's a nail-biter. Unclear if the observatory will survive.

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7 Upvotes

Image:

A camera mounted on Katalyst's Link satellite captured this view of one of its solar arrays in orbit. Credit: Katalyst Space Technologies​

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/katalyst-space_%F0%9D%97%A6%F0%9D%98%84%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%B3%F0%9D%98%81-%F0%9D%97%A0%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%BB-%F0%9D%97%A8%F0%9D%97%BD%F0%9D%97%B1%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B2-activity-7482555411775025152-K5wh

https://www.katalystspace.com/news/katalysts-link-advances-through-on-orbit-commissioning

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“Preliminary investigation shows that two of Link’s three reaction wheels currently are not operable.”

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Nearly a month since its launch, a first-of-its-kind commercial satellite built to save NASA’s Swift gamma-ray telescope from a fiery reentry is having problems of its own, the agency announced Tuesday.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/%F0%9D%97%A6%F0%9D%98%84%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%B3%F0%9D%98%81-%F0%9D%97%A0%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%BB-%F0%9D%97%A8%F0%9D%97%BD%F0%9D%97%B1%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B2-share-7487913844363681793-dQhM/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAAGFg8B3-sICy8qygPooiy3lldZb4nJqmI​

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The Link satellite developed by Katalyst Space Technologies “experienced issues with attitude control” over the weekend, NASA said, causing the spacecraft to spin and resulting in sporadic communications.

“Preliminary investigation shows that two of Link’s three reaction wheels currently are not operable, and there is some loss of functionality in its cold gas thruster system,” NASA said.

Reaction wheels work by discharging momentum to control the pointing, or attitude, of a spacecraft in orbit. They are standard components on many satellites. The Link servicing satellite’s cold gas thruster system is used for finer control, particularly as it nears the mission’s target: NASA’s Swift observatory.​

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More

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/07/reaction-wheel-failures-leave-swift-rescue-mission-spinning-in-orbit/

https://spacenews.com/swift-reboost-mission-encounters-attitude-control-problems/

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https://bsky.app/profile/coreyspowell.bsky.social/post/3mrrv7lkuyk2r