diff --git "a/raw_rss_feeds/https___www_space_com_feeds_all.xml" "b/raw_rss_feeds/https___www_space_com_feeds_all.xml" --- "a/raw_rss_feeds/https___www_space_com_feeds_all.xml" +++ "b/raw_rss_feeds/https___www_space_com_feeds_all.xml" @@ -10,8 +10,98 @@ <![CDATA[ Latest from Space.com ]]> https://www.space.com - Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000 + Wed, 10 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000 en + + <![CDATA[ An industrial project in Chile threatens Earth's darkest sky. 28 leading astronomers signed an open letter urging to move it ]]> + German Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Reinhard Genzel has penned a letter urging the government of Chile to halt the development of a green hydrogen plant in the vicinity of one of the world's top astronomical observatories.

In the letter, Genzel and 30 other world-leading astronomers urge Chilean leaders to protect the pristine, unpolluted night sky above Cerro Paranal, an 8,740-foot-high (2,664-meter) peak in the Atacama Desert that is home to the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) most valuable astronomical observatories including the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which when built will be the world's largest telescope.

The astronomers believe that the Paranal Observatory, currently considered among the least light-polluted astronomical sites in the world, will suffer if a planned clean hydrogen plant gets a go-ahead. "As currently conceived, the project represents an imminent threat to some of the most advanced astronomical facilities on Earth, operating under one of the world's last pristine dark skies," the scientists wrote in the letter, criticizing the placement of the clean hydrogen plant, called INNA, just a few miles from the summit of Cerro Paranal. "Earlier this year, an in-depth, data-driven technical analysis by ESO revealed that INNA would cause an increase of up to 35% in light pollution above Cerro Paranal."

It's not just light pollution that poses a threat, however. the letter continues. The signing scientists write that the same analysis "also revealed other impacts of the project, from creating micro-vibrations that will negatively affect and possibly impede the operation of some of the most cutting-edge astronomical facilities, to increasing turbulence that blurs our view of the universe."

The Paranal Observatory is home to the Very Large Telescope (VLT), which is actually a quartet of telescopes with 27-foot-wide (8.2 meters) mirrors that can work in concert as a so-called interferometer to maximize the facility's sky-observing abilities.

Genzel, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research of the Sagittarius A* black hole at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, used VLT to observe the movements of stars close to the galaxy's center to determine the black hole's properties.

Cerro Paranal is also home to the Cherenkov Telescope Array, the world's most powerful observatory for research of high-energy gamma rays, extremely energetic radiation emitted from black holes and released in supernova explosions. According to the ESO analysis, the Cherenkov array could suffer an up to 50% light pollution increase from the proposed plant, being located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) away from the prospected site.

The astronomers think that interference from the hydrogen plant might degrade Paranal from being the world's premium astronomy site to a merely mediocre one.

"We might lose the ability to observe about 30% of the faintest galaxies," Xavier Barcons, ESO's Director General, told Space.com in an earlier interview. "We are at the point of starting to be able to see details of exoplanet atmospheres, but if the sky gets brighter, we may not be able to see those details anymore."

The unspoiled nature of the Paranal sky, together with the world's most favorable weather conditions for astronomy, prompted ESO to choose the neighboring Cerro Armazones as a site of the next-generation ELT. ELT, currently under construction, will be fitted with a single 130-foot-wide (39.3m) mirror and will become the world's largest telescope capable of studying the universe in visible light.

The $1.4-billion observer should enable astronomers to directly image exoplanets orbiting nearby stars and observe the most distant galaxies. The presence of INNA, however, is likely to increase the brightness of the sky above ELT by 5%, reducing the telescope's scientific potential.

The $10 billion INNA renewable hydrogen plant, developed by the U.S.-headquartered energy company AES, will spread across 7,500 acres (3,021 hectares) of land and consist of three solar farms, three wind farms, a battery energy storage system and facilities for the production of hydrogen.

AES submitted its environmental assessment for the development a year ago and is awaiting a decision by local authorities. The astronomers call for the plant's relocation away from Atacama's precious observatories.

"While we recognize the need, both in Chile and globally, to develop green energy facilities, the proximity and extent of the infrastructure associated with the INNA project pose a grave threat, which cannot be mitigated given the closeness of the planned installation to the observatory," the scientists wrote in the letter. "We are convinced that economic development and scientific progress can and must coexist to the benefit of all people in Chile, but not at the irreversible expense of one of Earth's unique and irreplaceable windows to the universe."

AES previously told Space.com that the site's impact on the Paranal night sky would be negligible.

]]> + https://www.space.com/astronomy/an-industrial-project-in-chile-threatens-earths-darkest-sky-28-leading-astronomers-signed-an-open-letter-urging-to-move-it + + + + FCvHqRXw4g2xKDsuYaCRhA + + Wed, 10 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000 + + + + + + + + + <![CDATA[ Hear dust devils on Mars crackle with electricity in new NASA Perseverance rover video ]]> +

NASA just released striking new video and audio that reveal the sounds of dust storms on Mars crackling with tiny lightning-like sparks.

The footage, which NASA released on Dec. 3, was captured by the Perseverance rover inside Jezero Crater on Sept. 6, as Martian dust devils swept across the surface. Meanwhile, the rover's SuperCam microphone also picked up the sounds of faint crackles and mini-sonic booms, marking the first clear recording of electrical discharge inside a Martian dust storm, according to a statement from NASA.

For decades, researchers suspected that wind-blown dust on Mars could build up enough static charge to spark, but that idea long remained mostly theoretical. Mars' thin atmosphere lowers the threshold for electrical discharge, allowing even small swirls of dust to generate sparks that would never form in Earth's denser air.

Electrified dust devils swirl across Jezero Crater, producing faint crackles and mini-sonic booms recorded by NASA's Perseverance rover. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI)

Perseverance has now confirmed those theories — not just in raw sensor data, but in sound you can actually hear. While the discovery was first detailed in a study published Nov. 26 in the journal Nature, NASA has now released, for the first time, a striking GIF and audio clip showcasing the electrified dust devils in action.

"We got some good ones where you can clearly hear the 'snap' sound of the spark," Ralph Lorenz, co-author of the study and a Perseverance scientist, said in the statement.

Dust devils on Mars form when air near the warm surface heats up and rises through cooler surrounding air, causing nearby air to rush in and start rotating. As this spinning air column accelerates, it lifts dust from the ground, creating a swirling dust devil.

Electrical sparks then form when dust particles in the swirling column rub and collide, building up static electricity. When the charge gets strong enough, it discharges as a tiny spark — a process called the triboelectric effect, which is similar to the static shock a person may experience from walking on a carpet and touching a metal doorknob.

These sparks aren't dramatic lightning bolts like on Earth — they're tiny, localized and only centimeters long. Studying them helps researchers better understand Mars' atmospheric chemistry, climate and habitability, and could guide the design of future robotic and human missions to the Red Planet.

While exploring Mars, Perseverance has logged dozens of these electrical events, and at least one passed directly over the rover, letting its microphone capture the crackling walls of dust as grains collided and discharged.

"In the Sol 215 dust devil recording, you can hear not only the electrical sound, but also the wall of the dust devil moving over the rover," Lorenz said in the statement. (A sol, or Martian day, is about 40 minutes longer than a day here on Earth.) "And in the Sol 1,296 dust devil, you hear all that plus some of the particles impacting the microphone."

The new audio and visual data from Perseverance provide a fresh look at Mars, capturing the sparks and crackles in the swirling dust storms that rage across the planet's surface.

]]> + https://www.space.com/astronomy/mars/hear-dust-devils-on-mars-crackle-with-electricity-in-new-nasa-perseverance-rover-video + + + + qiDN674nQRVT8Cb9xTeKdL + + Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000 + + + + + + + + + + + <![CDATA[ China breaks record with 3 Long March rocket launches in 19-hour stretch (video) ]]> +

China continues to make big advances in the final frontier.

The nation just launched three Long March rockets in less than 19 hours, setting a new national mark for liftoff cadence.

In addition, the trio pushed China's orbital-launch tally for 2025 to 83, extending another record. The previous yearly high for the country, set last year, was 68. (Eighty-three is not a global record, however; SpaceX has launched 159 orbital missions in 2025 so far by itself.)

overhead drone photo of a white rocket launching from a concrete pad with a blue and gray launch tower

A Chinese Long March 4B rocket launches the Yaogan 47 satellite to space from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Dec. 9, 2025. (Image credit: CCTV)

The flurry began Monday (Dec. 8) at 5:11 p.m. EST (2211 GMT), when a Long March 6A rocket lifted off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China. That mission successfully sent a batch of broadband satellites to low Earth orbit for the Guowang ("national network") megaconstellation.

Then, at 10:41 p.m. EST on Monday (0341 GMT on Tuesday, Dec. 9), the mysterious Yaogan 47 spacecraft took flight atop a Long March 4B from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. Yaogan 47 is a classified satellite that will be used by the Chinese military.

The tripleheader wrapped up on Tuesday at 10:08 a.m. EST (1508 GMT) with the launch of another classified satellite, known as TJSW-22, on a Long March 3B from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in western China.

All three of these launches took place on Tuesday Beijing time, as noted by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the state-owned entity that operates the Long March family of rockets.

"This was the third successful launch of China's Long March rockets today, setting a new record of three launches in one day," CASC officials said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to the TJSW-22 liftoff (in Mandarin; translation by Google).

A total of five orbital launches have now occurred in the 24-hour stretch beginning with Monday's Guowang liftoff. The other two were SpaceX Falcon 9 missions — a Monday evening flight lofted a batch of the company's Starlink satellites and the NROL-77 launch for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office happened on Tuesday afternoon.

That's not a 24-hour record, however: Between April 28-29 of this year, six different rockets launched toward orbit in a span of just 18 hours — a Long March 5B, two Falcon 9s, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V, an Arianespace Vega C and Alpha, a vehicle built and operated by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace. All but Alpha were successful.

]]> + https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/china-breaks-record-with-3-long-march-rocket-launches-in-19-hour-stretch-video + + + + JmPrkQuaa4AyfXYj2sARS + + Tue, 09 Dec 2025 23:00:00 +0000 + + + + + + + + + + <![CDATA[ The James Webb Space Telescope just found the oldest supernova ever seen ]]> + The light of the oldest supernova ever seen, dating back 13 billion years to just 730 million years after the Big Bang, has been captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The supernova was accompanied by a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB), signifying the destruction of a massive star and possibly the birth of a stellar-mass black hole.

"There are only a handful of gamma-ray bursts in the last 50 years that have been detected in the first billion years of the universe," said Andrew Levan, of Radboud University in the Netherlands and the University of Warwick in the U.K., in a statement. "This particular event is very rare and very exciting."

The story begins on March 14, when the French–Chinese SVOM (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor) satellite detected a blast of gamma rays from somewhere in deep space. Ninety minutes later, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory detected the same event but in X-rays, enabling astronomers to pinpoint where on the sky the GRB, designated GRB 250314A, had occurred.

Eleven hours after Swift's detection, the Nordic Optical Telescope, which is 2.6-meter (8.5 feet) telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands, detected the faint glimmer of light from the GRB's afterglow as material ejected by the dying star smashed into circumstellar gas. Finally, four hours after that, the Very Large Telescope in Chile got in on the act and confirmed the redshift of the GRB afterglow to be a huge 7.3, meaning that we are seeing an event that happened 13 billion years ago.

Yet the expansion of space that redshifted the afterglow also creates the illusion of slowing down processes. Rather than the supernova reaching peak brightness in a matter of days or a few weeks, from our point of view, relative to this distant stellar explosion that detonated so long ago only for its light to be traveling through space all this time, it would reach peak brightness three-and-a-half months later.

Armed with this knowledge, Levan led a team to request what's known as Director's discretionary time on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). With that granted, they were ready for July 1, when JWST used its Near-Infrared Camera to detect the light of the supernova that accompanied the GRB.

"Only Webb could directly show that this light is from a supernova — a collapsing massive star," said Levan. "This observation also demonstrates that we can use Webb to find individual stars when the universe was only 5% of its current age."

The JWST was even able to detect the supernova's host galaxy. Despite that galaxy appearing smudged over just a handful of pixels, astronomers are still able to discern something about the supernova’s galactic environment.

Artist impressions of the initial GRB (left) and then the supernova that was seen 3.5 months later. (Image credit: Artwork: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Leah Hustak (STScI))

"Webb's observations indicate that this distant galaxy is similar to other galaxies that existed at the same time," said Emeric Le Floc'h at CEA Paris-Saclay in France, who is a member of Levan's team.

The supernova's spectrum also looks remarkably similar to modern-day supernova explosions, and that the mass of the star that exploded was not atypical of massive stars today. However, upon closer inspection it is likely that there will be differences, given that the supernova exploded in an era where there was a much lower abundance of heavy elements. More data will be needed to tease these details out of the supernova’s spectrum.

Nevertheless, the supernova is a record breaker — the most distant supernova ever seen, and one of only a few GRB detected (without anyone seeing their supernova explosion) from that first billion years. Previously, the oldest supernova seen (also by the JWST) blew up 1.8 billion years after the Big Bang. It's safe to say that this new redshift 7.3 supernova has well and truly smashed that record.

The findings were published in December in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

]]> + https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/the-james-webb-space-telescope-just-found-the-oldest-supernova-ever-seen + + + + Xt2uvgV7p67ru8Kzeuaam7 + + Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:16:08 +0000 + + + + + + + + + + <![CDATA[ This 7-hour cosmic explosion is the longest gamma-ray burst ever seen. Could it be from an elusive class of black hole? ]]> + Astronomers have spotted the longest gamma-ray burst ever seen, a cosmic explosion that lasted seven hours — and they determined it could be the work of a black hole destroying a star.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are considered to be the most powerful cosmic explosions since the Big Bang, but when GRB 250702B was first detected on July 2, 2025 by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, it quickly stood out among the around 15,000 GRBs detected thus far. The blast could be the result of an elusive intermediate-mass black hole devouring a star.

The record-breaking GRB is the longest ever seen, with none of its contemporaries even coming close to its seven-hour duration. Not only that, but GRB 250702B also exhibited repeating explosive bursts, stretching its duration over days. Because most GRBs last for just a few minutes, this meant GRB 250702B offered astronomers a unique opportunity to study such an event. They also believe this is an entirely new form of cosmic explosion.

"The initial wave of gamma rays lasted at least 7 hours, nearly twice the duration of the longest GRB seen previously, and we detected other unusual properties," team member Eliza Neights of George Washington University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement. "This is certainly an outburst unlike any other we've seen in the past 50 years."

Following up on Fermi's initial detection, astronomers turned to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. This revealed the location from which the GRB erupted, a galaxy billions of light-years away from the Milky Way.

Investigating the afterglow of GRB 250702B with three of the world's most powerful ground-based telescopes, the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope and the twin 8.1-meter International Gemini Observatory telescopes, a team of researchers led by Jonathan Carney, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found clues as to what caused this record-breaking explosion.

"The ability to rapidly point the Blanco and Gemini telescopes on short notice is crucial to capturing transient events such as gamma-ray bursts," Carney said in a statement. "Without this ability, we would be limited in our understanding of distant events in the dynamic night sky."

What caused the longest gamma-ray burst ever recorded?

This research suggested that the initial gamma-ray signal from GRB 250702B emerged from a narrow, near-light-speed jet of plasma slamming into surrounding gas and dust. This indicates that the galaxy that is home to this event is packed with a vast amount of dust around the point of emission. The team also found that the host galaxy of GRB 250702B is more massive than those of other GRBs.

One current theory about the creation of GRBs suggests they happen when massive blue supergiant stars collapse at the end of their lives, when an extreme neutron star called a magnetar is born, or when a black hole rips apart a star in a so-called "tidal disruption event" (TDE). However, GRB 250702B doesn't seem to completely fall in line with any of these scenarios.

Left: The stellar field around the host galaxy of GRB 250702B — the longest gamma-ray burst that astronomers have ever observed. It comprises observations from the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, mounted on the NSF Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.Right: Close-up view of the host galaxy taken with the Gemini North telescope. This image is the result of over two hours of observation, yet the host galaxy appears extremely faint due to the large amount of dust surrounding it. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURAImage processing: J. Miller (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab))

Researchers currently have three ideas of what event could have launched this record-breaking GRB. The first would involve a black hole colliding with a star that has had its outer layers of hydrogen stripped and is now composed mostly of helium.

The second scenario suggests a star or a smaller stellar body like a brown dwarf or even a planet could have encountered the immense gravitational influence of a black hole or a neutron star, resulting in a smaller, less powerful TDE-type event called a micro-tidal disruption event.

The third potential launch mechanism for GRB 250702B involves an elusive class of black hole called an "intermediate mass black hole," with a mass ranging from 100 times that of the sun, to 100,000 times the mass of our star. Despite the fact that scientists believe the cosmos is packed with these middle-of-the-road black holes, they are rarely detected. If this scenario is the right fit for GRB 250702B, this would represent the first time astronomers have spotted an intermediate-mass black hole producing a plasma jet after ripping up a star.

"This work presents a fascinating cosmic archaeology problem in which we're reconstructing the details of an event that occurred billions of light-years away," Carney said. "The uncovering of these cosmic mysteries demonstrates how much we are still learning about the universe's most extreme events and reminds us to keep imagining what might be happening out there."

The team's research was published in November in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

]]> + https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/this-7-hour-cosmic-explosion-is-the-longest-gamma-ray-burst-ever-seen-could-it-be-from-an-elusive-class-of-black-hole + + + + UYjZVq4t3XRZfNhSWpNDUn + + Tue, 09 Dec 2025 21:00:00 +0000 + + + + + + + + <![CDATA[ Chinese astronauts inspect damaged Shenzhou 20 spacecraft during 8-hour spacewalk (video) ]]>

Chinese astronauts just got an up-close look at the damage that space junk can cause.

Two astronauts of the three-person Shenzhou 21 mission conducted an extravehicular activity (EVA) outside China's Tiangong space station on Tuesday (Dec. 9). They were very busy on the eight-hour spacewalk, which wrapped up around 5:45 a.m. EST (1045 GMT; 6:45 p.m. Beijing time).

The duo "fully utilized their active role as first responders outside the spacecraft, successfully completing tasks including inspecting and photographing the Shenzhou 20 return capsule's windows, installing the space station's space debris protection system, and replacing the multi-layered cover of the temperature control adapter," officials with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement on Tuesday (in Mandarin; translation by Google).

an astronaut in a white spacesuit works outside a space station with earth in the background

A Shenzhou 21 astronaut conducts a spacewalk outside China's Tiangong space station on Dec. 9, 2025. (Image credit: CCTV)

The Shenzhou 20 vehicle arrived at Tiangong in late April, carrying three astronauts for a regular six-month rotation aboard the station. That trio was supposed to head back to Earth on Nov. 5, but inspections revealed cracks in Shenzhou 20's windows — the apparent result of a space junk strike, Chinese space officials said.

After some deliberation, the Shenzhou 20 capsule was deemed unsafe to carry astronauts down through Earth's atmosphere. So the mission's three crewmembers ended up returning home on Nov. 14 aboard the Shenzhou 21 vehicle, which had just arrived at Tiangong on Halloween night.

On Nov. 24, China launched the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft with nobody on board, to give the Shenzhou 21 taikonauts a safe ride back to Earth when their mission is over.

Chinese space officials have said that they plan to bring the Shenzhou 20 vehicle home, crewless, at some point in the future. And they likely now have a better understanding of its condition, thanks to Tuesday's spacewalk.

The EVA was the first for the Shenzhou 21 mission, which consists of commander Zhang Lu, 48, who also flew on the Shenzhou 15 flight in 2022; rookie Wu Fei, 32, and rookie Zhang Hongzhang, 39.

Wu Fei is the youngest member of China's astronaut corps, and on Tuesday he became the youngest person from his country ever to perform a spacewalk. Zhang Lu also ventured outside the three-module Tiangong, while Zhang Hongzhang assisted from inside the station.

Tuesday's EVA was not the first to beef up Tiangong's debris shielding; a number of previous spacewalks have done so recently as well. And that appears to be a wise move, considering what happened to Shenzhou 20.

]]> @@ -139,22 +229,22 @@ - <![CDATA[ Watch SpaceX launch mystery mission for the US military today ]]> -

SpaceX will launch a secret payload for the U.S. military today (Dec. 9), and you can watch the action live.

A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 2:16 p.m. EDT (1916 GMT) on a flight for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

SpaceX will stream coverage of the mission, called NROL-77, on its website and X account, and Space.com will carry the company's feed above and on our homepage. Coverage will begin about 10 minutes before launch.

a mission patch showing an illustration of a flying squirrel in mid-glide

The patch for the National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-77 mission. (Image credit: NRO)

The NRO, which is part of the Department of Defense, operates the United States' fleet of spy satellites.

Those spacecraft and their missions tend to be classified, and NROL-77 is no exception. The NRO's press kit, which you can find here, says the mission "carries a national security payload designed, built and operated by NRO."

There are no details, though the kit does reveal that the mission patch features a flying squirrel, along with the words "Another One Gone — Today, Tomorrow and Beyond'."

"The flying squirrel is a symbol of hard work and endurance — always active gathering foundational knowledge from the space domain for the nation and its allies," NRO officials wrote in the press kit. "Every mission counts, every decision matters, and every advancement propels us further. 'Another One Gone — Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond' embodies the relentless pursuit of excellence."

Previous Booster 1096 missions

KF-01 | IMAP | 1 Starlink mission

NROL-77 will be the third mission SpaceX launches this year for the NRO and U.S. Space Systems Command, according to the company. However, it will be the seventh Falcon 9 flight of 2025 that carries the "NROL-" prefix. The others — NROL-153, NROL-57, NROL-69, NROL-192, NROL-145 and NROL-48 — launched between January and September.

If all goes to plan today, the Falcon 9's first stage will make a landing back at Cape Canaveral about 8.5 minutes after launch. It will be the fourth mission for this particular booster, which is designated 1096.

We don't know when and where the Falcon 9's upper stage will deploy NROL-77's payload(s). SpaceX's mission description doesn't provide that information, and, if history is any guide, the company will likely cut its webcast off after booster landing.

]]> + <![CDATA[ SpaceX launches mysterious NROL-77 mission for the US military (video) ]]> +

SpaceX just launched a secret payload for the U.S. military.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off into cloudy skies from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today (Dec. 9) at 2:16 p.m. EDT (1916 GMT) on a mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-77.

The NRO, which is part of the Department of Defense, operates the United States' fleet of spy satellites.

a mission patch showing an illustration of a flying squirrel in mid-glide

The patch for the National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-77 mission. (Image credit: NRO)

Those spacecraft and their missions tend to be classified, and NROL-77 is no exception. The NRO's press kit, which you can find here, says the mission "carries a national security payload designed, built and operated by NRO."

There are no details, though the kit does reveal that the mission patch features a flying squirrel, along with the words "Another One Gone — Today, Tomorrow and Beyond'."

"The flying squirrel is a symbol of hard work and endurance — always active gathering foundational knowledge from the space domain for the nation and its allies," NRO officials wrote in the press kit. "Every mission counts, every decision matters, and every advancement propels us further. 'Another One Gone — Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond' embodies the relentless pursuit of excellence."

Previous Booster 1096 missions

KF-01 | IMAP | 1 Starlink mission

closeup photo of a black and white rocket descending through earth's atmosphere with fire spewing from several of its engines

The Falcon 9's first stage comes down for a landing at Cape Canaveral on Dec. 9, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

NROL-77 was the third mission that SpaceX has launched this year for the NRO and U.S. Space Systems Command, according to the company. However, it was the seventh Falcon 9 flight of 2025 carrying the "NROL-" prefix. The others — NROL-153, NROL-57, NROL-69, NROL-192, NROL-145 and NROL-48 — launched between January and September.

The Falcon 9's first stage successfully landed back at Cape Canaveral 8.5 minutes after launch today as planned. It was the fourth mission for this particular booster, which is designated 1096.

We don't know when and where the Falcon 9's upper stage will deploy the NROL-77 payload. SpaceX's mission description doesn't provide that information, and the company cut its webcast off shortly after booster landing at the request of the NRO.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:28 p.m. ET on Dec. 9 with news of successful launch and booster landing.

]]> https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-launch-spy-satellite-mission-nrol-77-nro - + ZJtgGS9q2wDmoiijGXwSDD - + Tue, 09 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000 - + - - + + - + <![CDATA[ Russian Soyuz capsule lands on Earth to return crew of 3 home after months on International Space Station (video) ]]> @@ -318,8 +408,8 @@ - <![CDATA[ Northern lights may be visible in 15 states tonight ]]> - The northern lights could put on a show across the U.S. tonight as a coronal mass ejection (CME) is forecast to hit Earth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center.

The full-halo CME was released during an M8.1 solar flare on Dec. 6 and is expected to impact Earth today (Dec. 9), potentially causing periods of strong (G3) geomagnetic storming.

This is great news for aurora chasers as it increases the chance of seeing the northern lights at both high and mid-latitudes tonight.

Where can I see the northern lights tonight?

Aurora forecast map for today courtesy of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. (Image credit: Map: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, background aurora: Daisy Dobrijevic. Graphic created in Canva Pro)

States that could see auroras tonight

Based on the latest NOAA aurora forecast map, the following 15 states appear fully or partially above the aurora view line:

  1. Alaska
  2. North Dakota
  3. Minnesota
  4. Montana
  5. Wisconsin
  6. South Dakota
  7. Michigan
  8. Idaho
  9. Washington
  10. Maine
  11. Vermont
  12. New Hampshire
  13. Iowa
  14. Wyoming
  15. New York

The list ranks states from most likely to least likely to see auroras based on proximity to and coverage within the auroral zone.

But remember, auroras can be fickle creatures. The list is based on current forecast data, but if conditions strengthen and skies are clear, auroras could reach farther south than expected. Then again, if conditions don't align, we might end up with a "nothing burger" and no auroras at all! We shall have to wait patiently and see.

Northern hemisphere aurora forecast courtesy of the U.K. Met Office

What time should I look for the northern lights tonight?

The northern lights may be seen from 15 U.S. states tonight (Dec. 9-10) as soon as it gets dark, so it's worth keeping an eye on the sky throughout the evening.

According to NOAA's 3-day forecast, geomagnetic storm activity is expected to be best at the following times:

How can I see the northern lights from where I live?

If you live in one of the 15 U.S. states forecasted to catch a glimpse of the northern lights tonight, there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best chance of seeing them.

Find a north-facing vantage point with a clear view of the northern horizon, as far from light pollution as possible.

Use your phone camera to scan the sky, as a phone camera is great at picking up faint auroras before your eyes spot them. This will give you a good idea of which direction to focus your attention.

Try and let your eyes adapt to the dark for at least 30 minutes; this will help your night vision develop.

Wear warm clothing! Part of the fun of aurora hunting is the chase. Be prepared to sit or stand for hours if conditions are looking promising, as you won't want to miss the show when it starts!

We recommend downloading a space weather app that provides aurora forecasts based on your location. One option I use is "My Aurora Forecast & Alerts," available for both iOS and Android. However, any similar app should work well. I also use the "Space Weather Live" app, which is available on iOS and Android, to get a deeper understanding of whether the current space weather conditions are favorable for aurora sightings. Want to capture the perfect photo? Our how to photograph auroras guide can help.

]]> + <![CDATA[ Northern lights may be visible in 15 states Dec. 9 ]]> + Editor's note: The CME forecasted to hit Dec. 9 failed to deliver. According to space weather forecasters at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.K. Met Office, the anticipated CME either missed Earth or only brushed our planet weakly, resulting in no significant response.

Geomagnetic conditions are expected to stay quiet through Dec. 11, with only a slight chance of brief enhancements if any of the recent small, non-direct CMEs happen to glance Earth.

The northern lights could put on a show across the U.S. tonight as a coronal mass ejection (CME) is forecast to hit Earth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center.

The full-halo CME was released during an M8.1 solar flare on Dec. 6 and is expected to impact Earth today (Dec. 9), potentially causing periods of strong (G3) geomagnetic storming.

This is great news for aurora chasers as it increases the chance of seeing the northern lights at both high and mid-latitudes tonight.

Where can I see the northern lights tonight?

Aurora forecast map for today courtesy of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. (Image credit: Map: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, background aurora: Daisy Dobrijevic. Graphic created in Canva Pro)

States that could see auroras tonight

Based on the latest NOAA aurora forecast map, the following 15 states appear fully or partially above the aurora view line:

  1. Alaska
  2. North Dakota
  3. Minnesota
  4. Montana
  5. Wisconsin
  6. South Dakota
  7. Michigan
  8. Idaho
  9. Washington
  10. Maine
  11. Vermont
  12. New Hampshire
  13. Iowa
  14. Wyoming
  15. New York

The list ranks states from most likely to least likely to see auroras based on proximity to and coverage within the auroral zone.

But remember, auroras can be fickle creatures. The list is based on current forecast data, but if conditions strengthen and skies are clear, auroras could reach farther south than expected. Then again, if conditions don't align, we might end up with a "nothing burger" and no auroras at all! We shall have to wait patiently and see.

Northern hemisphere aurora forecast courtesy of the U.K. Met Office

What time should I look for the northern lights tonight?

The northern lights may be seen from 15 U.S. states tonight (Dec. 9-10) as soon as it gets dark, so it's worth keeping an eye on the sky throughout the evening.

According to NOAA's 3-day forecast, geomagnetic storm activity is expected to be best at the following times:

How can I see the northern lights from where I live?

If you live in one of the 15 U.S. states forecasted to catch a glimpse of the northern lights tonight, there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best chance of seeing them.

Find a north-facing vantage point with a clear view of the northern horizon, as far from light pollution as possible.

Use your phone camera to scan the sky, as a phone camera is great at picking up faint auroras before your eyes spot them. This will give you a good idea of which direction to focus your attention.

Try and let your eyes adapt to the dark for at least 30 minutes; this will help your night vision develop.

Wear warm clothing! Part of the fun of aurora hunting is the chase. Be prepared to sit or stand for hours if conditions are looking promising, as you won't want to miss the show when it starts!

We recommend downloading a space weather app that provides aurora forecasts based on your location. One option I use is "My Aurora Forecast & Alerts," available for both iOS and Android. However, any similar app should work well. I also use the "Space Weather Live" app, which is available on iOS and Android, to get a deeper understanding of whether the current space weather conditions are favorable for aurora sightings. Want to capture the perfect photo? Our how to photograph auroras guide can help.

]]> https://www.space.com/stargazing/auroras/northern-lights-may-be-visible-in-17-states-and-maybe-more-dec-8-9-2025 @@ -820,94 +910,5 @@ - - <![CDATA[ December's 'Cold Moon' rises: See breathtaking images of the final full moon of 2025 ]]> - The final full moon of 2025 treated stargazers to a high-flying lunar spectacle as the "Cold Moon" glowed among the stars of the constellation Taurus on Dec. 4.

December's full moon was the third in a string of "Supermoons" — full moons that occur when the moon reaches its closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit. Around this time, it can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than the smallest moon of the year, sometimes known as a "micromoon".

Photographers across the world leapt into action to capture the "Cold Moon" — named for the plummeting early-winter temperatures — as it rose above the eastern horizon on Dec. 4 before soaring high into the Autumn sky. As such, we have indelible proof that the last full moon of the year provided a dazzling closing act to both the lunar calendar and 2025 as a whole.

Read on to enjoy a selection of the best images of the full "Cold Moon", as captured through the lens of the global astrophotography community. If you're inspired to try shooting the night sky yourself, be sure to check out our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography, along with our guide to imaging the moon.

The full "Cold Supermoon" of December 2025 — in pictures

Our first lunar portrait comes courtesy of Space.com's own Daisy Dobrijevic, who captured a gorgeous view of the moon with an iPhone 16 Pro from the Teide National Park on the island of Tenerife on Dec. 3 — the evening before the moon turned full — while on an expedition with New Scientist Discovery Tours exploring the volcanoes and astronomy of the Canary Islands. "Even though the near full moon thwarted some sky watching efforts, it sure knew how to light up a stunning landscape," Dobrijevic told Space.com in an email.

The moon rises above the island of Tenerife on Dec. 3 (Image credit: Daisy Dobrijevic)

Kwong Liew was also able to create a spectacular composite, time-lapse image of the "Cold Moon" rising behind the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco on the night of Dec. 4, as the city itself shone in the soft evening light.

A composite image capturing moonrise over San Francisco. (Image credit: Kwong Liew)

Photographer Daniel Cardenas managed to capture this well-timed view of the moon's fully-lit disk as it rose between the wings of the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City on the night of Dec. 4, as lunar seas darkened its ancient surface.

The "Cold Moon" rises over Mexico City. (Image credit: Photo by Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

This crisp view of the moon shining in a deep blue sky was captured in the skies over the city of Lisbon in Portugal by Henrique Casinhas, revealing streaks of reflective material emanating away from major impact craters scarring the face of Earth's natural satellite.

A full moon is pictured shining silver against a dark blue sky, as dark patches called lunar seas mark its surface.

December's full moon glows above Lisbon in Portugal. (Image credit: Photo by Henrique Casinhas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Photographer Gary Hershorn captured this striking image of an orange full moon rising between the skyscrapers that dominate the New York skyline in the period following sunset on Dec. 4.

The moon rises between the Empire State Building and the One Vanderbilt skyscraper. (Image credit: Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Patrick T. Fallon snapped an almost spectral view of the moon shining out from behind a thin veil of cloud as a cross formed from two converging airplane contrails drifted across its disk as it glowed in the sky over Los Angeles.

December's full "Cold Moon" shines from behind converging jet trails over Los Angeles on Dec. 4 (Image credit: Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

This artfully positioned shot of the "Cold Moon" shining in the palm of an LED fairy was taken by Rasid Necati Aslim in London, U.K., on Dec. 4, as the Earth-facing lunar surface bathed in the light of the sun.

A fairy holds the moon in its palm as it shines in the sky over London, UK. (Image credit: Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Thousands of miles away on the same night, photographer Yan Dongliang captured the lunar disk as it shone next to a carved stone rooftop in the Liaoning Province of China.

The full moon glows close to a carved stone roof in China. (Image credit: Photo by Yan Dongliang/VCG via Getty Images)

Photographer Tiziana Fabi was able to capture a spectacular view of a murmuration of starlings as they passed in front of the moon's disk in the skies above Rome on the night of Dec. 4

Starlings flock in front of the full "Cold Moon" in the skies over Rome, Italy in December 2025 (Image credit: Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images)

Hakan Akgun snapped a moody view of a deep orange moon wreathed in cloud as it rose above Istanbul, Turkey, on Dec. 4, as the illuminated form of the Blue Mosque cast a beautiful reflection in the foreground body of water.

The full moon lurks behind the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. (Image credit: Photo by Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Next, we have a striking view of the "Cold Moon" shining above the dome of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., captured by photographer Celel Gunes, as the Statue of Freedom perched atop it appears to stare out at the glowing lunar disk.

The Statue of Freedom looks out at the full moon from its perch atop the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. (Image credit: Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

This wide-angle view of the moon rising over the San Gabriel Mountains as the city of Los Angeles shines below was taken by Patrick T. Fallon from the Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Area at moonrise on Dec. 4.

The moon rises over Los Angeles on Dec. 4 (Image credit: Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Our last shot is a beautifully lined-up telephoto shot from photographer Huseyin Demirci as the moon rose over Sarikamis in Turkey on Dec. 4, in which an optical illusion gives the impression that a man is carrying the lunar disk in a wheelbarrow.

A man caught carrying the moon through the sky. (Image credit: Photo by Huseyin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images)

If you missed the "Cold Moon" rise on Dec. 4, there's no need to worry. The lunar disk will continue to appear full to the casual observer over the next few nights. As a bonus the final supermoon in the current four-month run of them will rise on Jan. 3, 2026, presenting a spectacular natural light show as it opens up yet another year of dazzling lunar events.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your lunar astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

]]> - https://www.space.com/stargazing/decembers-cold-moon-rises-see-breathtaking-images-of-the-final-full-moon-of-2025 - - - - G3a6WJSDxtnqm4r4whcKWJ - - Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:39:49 +0000 - - - - - - - - - <![CDATA[ Ancient Chinese texts reveal new clues about the 1st recorded solar eclipse ]]> - A team of international researchers say they've uncovered new data on the world's first recorded solar eclipse using a surprising source — ancient Chinese texts. These findings could help us understand more about the progression of the Earth's rotation through the centuries.

The eclipse in question took place on July 17, 709 BCE, according to a chronicle titled "Spring and Autumn Annals." The caveat here is that this record was compiled around two or three centuries after the eclipse happened. The chronicle comes from the court of Lu Duchy, a vassal state that existed during the Zhou dynasty.

"What makes this record special isn't just its age, but also a later addendum in the 'Hanshu' (Book of Han) based on a quote written seven centuries after the eclipse. It describes the eclipsed sun as 'completely yellow above and below," lead author Hisashi Hayakawa, a researcher from Nagoya University in central Japan, said in a statement.

According to Hawakawa, this description has been historically associated with a solar corona — the outermost layer of the sun, which peaks out around the edges of the moon as the moon passes between the Earth and sun during an eclipse. "If this is truly the case, it represents one of the earliest surviving written descriptions of the solar corona," he said.

The team tried verifying the record of the eclipse by modeling the Earth's rotation speed during this time. But they figured out that the eclipse wouldn't be visible from Qufu, the capital city of Lu Duchy, where the chronicle was compiled.

A photograph of a yellowed page of Chinese text with vertical columns of characters, with some highlighted in red and blue boxes

A photograph of the text in question. (Image credit: Image courtesy of the National Archives of Japan)

So, they looked at historical geography and archaeological excavation reports. They found out that previous studies used coordinates that were about 4.79 miles (8 kilometers) away from the ancient capital.

"This correction allowed us to accurately measure the Earth's rotation during the total eclipse, calculate the orientation of the Sun's rotation axis, and simulate the corona's appearance," Hayakawa said.

This newly improved dataset, the researchers say, fixes errors in previous studies that looked at the Earth's rotation. "Additionally, it improves the accuracy of dating and reconstructing historical astronomical events," coauthor Mitsuru Sôma, a researcher from Japan's National Astronomical Observatory, said in a statement.

The one reason why this centuries-old record of an eclipse exists is due to an ancient belief that celestial events carry omens that were related to events of the time. "They believed strange sky phenomena indicated political wrongdoing by emperors, which motivated careful tracking of eclipses, auroras, and other astronomical events," the release states.

The authors say that their work supports solar cycle studies from dating radiocarbon in tree rings that give scientists data on the levels of cosmic rays from this time period.

"Some of our ancestors were very skilled observers," coauthor Dr. Meng Jin, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, said in a statement. "When we combine their careful records with modern computational methods and historical evidence, we can potentially find new information about our planet and our star from thousands of years ago."

The paper was published Dec. 2 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

]]> - https://www.space.com/astronomy/sun/what-can-ancient-chinese-texts-teach-us-about-solar-eclipses-and-earths-rotation - - - - 2t3gDMPdMSP3GpS3yCzmZm - - Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000 - - - - - - - - - - - <![CDATA[ Glowing bridge links dwarf galaxies in stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope ]]> - A spectacular new view of two dwarf galaxies caught in the middle of a cosmic collision reveals a glowing gas bridge, streams of newborn stars and the ongoing gravitational tug-of-war reshaping both galaxies.

Taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the new image captures the dwarf galaxies NGC 4490 and NGC 4485 stretching, tugging and warping one another in a dramatic gravitational dance unfolding 24 million light-years away. Because dwarf galaxies closely resemble the low-mass, gas-rich, metal-poor systems that populated the early universe, their collisions and gas exchanges provide a valuable window into how the first galaxies formed and evolved, according to a statement from the European Space Agency.

The larger galaxy, NGC 4490, sprawls across the frame in a tangle of dust and newborn stars, dominating the left side of the image. Its smaller companion, NGC 4485, glows off to the upper right. Connecting them is a bright bridge of gas and dust embedded with clusters of newborn stars, shining blue against the reddish glow of warm interstellar dust. It is the interaction between the two galaxies that spurred a burst of new stars, according to the statement.

"Aside from the Milky Way's own dwarf companions — the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds — this is the closest known interacting dwarf-dwarf system where astronomers have directly observed both a gas bridge and resolved stellar populations," ESA officials said in the statement.

While the galactic pair, collectively called Arp 269, has been previously studied using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb's infrared vision has revealed the system in unprecedented detail. Using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), scientists now have an up-close view of individual stars and the fine structure of the gas flowing between the galaxies.

The new image from the Webb telescope shows dwarf galaxies NGC 4490 on the left and NGC 4485 glowing at the upper right. (Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo (Stockholm University), G. Bortolini, and the FEAST JWST team)

"By dissecting these galaxies star by star, researchers were able to map out where young, middle-aged, and old stars reside, and trace the timeline of the galaxies' interaction," ESA officials said.

Their analysis suggests the dwarf galaxies swept past each other about 200 million years ago. During that encounter, NGC 4490 siphoned gas from its smaller partner, creating the visible bridge of exchanged material we see today and fueling waves of star formation — some of which kicked off as recently as 30 million years ago.

"By capturing the history of the galactic dancers NGC 4490 and NGC 4485, Webb has revealed new details in how dwarf galaxies interact, giving us a glimpse of how small galaxies near and far grow and evolve," ESA officials said in the statement.

]]> - https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/glowing-bridge-linking-dwarf-galaxies-captured-in-stunning-new-webb-image - - - - MsfV6T7wumJpSUKL8viGVL - - Thu, 04 Dec 2025 23:00:00 +0000 - - - - - - - - - - <![CDATA[ 'Hubble tension' is back again as a new cosmic map deepens the puzzle ]]> - It may be curtains for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), but the final data from its nearly 20 years of observations have laid out a roadmap for the future investigation of the cosmos. The data, in fact, represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the evolution of the universe — confirming a complex disparity in measurements of the "Hubble constant," the speed at which the very fabric of space is expanding.

In a nutshell, here's the disparity: When measured from the local universe using what are known as "Type 1a supernovas" as standardized distance buoys, the Hubble constant equals one number. But when measured from the distant cosmos using a "fossil light" as a measuring stick, it equals a different number. This has become known as the "Hubble tension."

The final data from ACT represent observations of the very distant cosmos, and they indeed confirm that the Hubble tension is a very real problem.

This may sound like it's a step backward for cosmology rather than a significant step forward, but by confirming that the value of the Hubble tension is different at different distances away from the Milky Way, ACT has helped rule out many "extended models" of the universe's evolution. These are alternative models to the so-called "standard model of cosmology," also known as the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model. That means that ACT, which began operations in 2007 and ended observations in 2022, leaves an important and fascinating legacy that will undoubtedly shape cosmology textbooks of the future.

ACT enabled this breakthrough by making precise measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), a cosmic fossil in the form of microwave light that fills the universe and is left over from an event that occurred just after the Big Bang. These CMB polarization maps complement the temperature maps of this fossil light collected by the European Space Agency (ESA) Planck spacecraft between 2009 and 2013. The difference between the two forms of CMB data is that the ACT polarization maps have far higher resolution.

"When we compare them, it’s a bit like cleaning your glasses," Erminia Calabrese, Cardiff University cosmologist and ACT collaboration member, said in a statement.

Planck's primary mission was to measure the temperature of the CMB, with scientists aiming to use this data to better understand tiny variations in the CMB, which could point to the composition of the early universe. However, this data collection left significant gaps, many of which have now been plugged by ACT.

"It's the first time that a new experiment has reached the same level of observational capability as Planck," Thibaut Louis of the Université Paris-Saclay, France, said.

What is especially impressive about this feat is the fact that while Planck exploited its space-based location to investigate the CMB, ACT was based on Earth, albeit 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) above sea level in the dry atmosphere of northern Chile.

"Our new results demonstrate that the Hubble constant inferred from the ACT CMB data agrees with that from Planck — not only from the temperature data, but also from the polarization, making the Hubble discrepancy even more robust," Colin Hill, a cosmologist at Columbia University, said in the statement.

With this information at hand, cosmologists can make progress by accepting that something is missing from the LCDM model while simultaneously eliminating other models that suggest the Hubble constant is the same across the cosmos. In fact, researchers have already pitted this data against some of those main extended models, with a clear and decisive outcome.

"We assessed them completely independently," Calabrese said. We weren't trying to knock them down, only to study them. And the result is clear: The new observations, at new scales and in polarization, have virtually removed the scope for this kind of exercise. It does shrink the theoretical 'playground' a bit."

The team's research is available on the paper repository site arXiv, with two companion papers also published to the site.

]]> - https://www.space.com/astronomy/hubble-tension-is-back-again-as-a-new-cosmic-map-deepens-the-puzzle - - - - 9CDU3kapuZRRQMo3Ybas9i - - Thu, 04 Dec 2025 22:00:00 +0000 - - - - - - - - - <![CDATA[ SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video) ]]> -

SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit on Thursday (Dec. 4), sending 28 of them up from California's central coast.

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 28 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base Thursday at 3:42 p.m. EST (2042 GMT; 12:42 p.m. local California time).

The rocket's first stage came back to Earth 8.5 minutes later, landing in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You." It was the fourth flight for this particular booster, which is designated 1097.

a rocket rests on the deck of a ship at sea

The Falcon 9's first stage landed safely on a ship at sea on Dec. 4, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)
Previous Booster 1097 missions

Sentinel-6B | 2 Starlink flights

The Falcon 9's upper stage continued carrying the 28 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit, where they will be deployed about an hour after liftoff, if all goes to plan.

They'll join a megaconstellation that's by far the largest ever assembled. SpaceX currently operates more than 9,000 Starlink satellites and has launched more than 10,000 of them over the past 6.5 years.

Today's launch was the 156th Falcon 9 liftoff of 2025, extending SpaceX's single-year record. More than 70% of them have been Starlink missions.

]]> - https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-starlink-launch-vandenberg-group-11-25-ocisly - - - - xTjaa59mNWFB2cGzvkvHVS - - Thu, 04 Dec 2025 21:47:39 +0000 - - - - - - - - \ No newline at end of file