Portal:Space

The Space Portal   Main     Featured content     Things you can do     Topics   edit   Introduction Space (or outer space) describes the vast empty regions between and around planets and stars. The study of these, and other, astronomical objects is called astronomy, one of the oldest sciences. It is often said that space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. Then, in an almost unbelievable feat of human achievement, in 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin travelled to the Moon and set foot on the surface during the Apollo 11 mission. Recently, it has become clear that the possibility of space colonization may no longer be exclusively reserved for science-fiction stories, and many controversial issues surrounding space have come to light, including commercial spaceflight, space laws and space weapons. edit   Selected article Black Arrow was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971. Its final flight was the first successful orbital launch to be conducted by the United Kingdom, and placed the Prospero satellite into low Earth orbit. Black Arrow originated from studies by the Royal Aircraft Establishment for carrier rockets based on the Black Knight rocket, with the project being authorized in 1964. It was initially developed by Saunders-Roe, and later Westland Aircraft as the result of a merger. Black Arrow was a three-stage rocket, fueled by RP-1 paraffin and high test peroxide, a concentrated form of hydrogen peroxide. It was retired after only four launches in favor of using American Scout rockets, which the Ministry of Defense calculated to be cheaper than maintaining the Black Arrow programme. edit   Selected picture A panoramic view of Husband Hill, one of the Columbia Hills in Gusev crater, Mars, which are close to the landing site of NASA's Spirit rover. It was named in honor of Rick Husband, the commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia when it disintegrated upon atmospheric reentry. edit   Space news Wikinews Space Portal July 17: Sun's mood swings not so strange after all, say scientists July 14: Astronomers discover smallest known star June 8: Astronomers reveal discovery of the hottest gas giant exoplanet known yet June 4: Curiosity Rover analysis suggests chemically complex lake once graced Mars's Gale crater May 18: Simulations show planet orbiting Proxima Centauri could have liquid water March 27: President Trump tells NASA to aim for Mars January 18: Former NASA astronaut Eugene Cernan dies aged 82 October 3: Twelve-year journey of Rosetta ends; spacecraft crashes into comet July 6: Final panel added to China's FAST radio telescope July 6: NASA's Juno spacecraft enters Jupiter orbit May 9: NASA releases first topographical map of Mercury October 31: NASA releases complete image of Pluto's crescent edit   Upcoming spaceflight launches The next scheduled launch is of the Progress 67P on a Soyuz-2.1a Rocket to resupply the ISS, Launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome is scheduled for 14th of June 2017, 9:20 AM GMT. The next scheduled manned launch is of Soyuz MS-05 on a Soyuz-FG rocket, carrying two Expedition 52 crew members to the International Space Station. Launch from Baikonur Site 1/5 is scheduled for 28 July 2017. For a full launch schedule see 2017 in spaceflight edit   Astronomical events 3 July, 20:12 Earth at aphelion 6 July, 04:18 Moon at apogee 9 July, 04:07 Full moon 10 July Pluto at opposition 13 July, 17:49 Moon occults Neptune 21 July, 17:05 Moon at perigee 23 July, 09:46 New moon 25 July, 08:48 Moon occults Mercury 27 July, 00:57 Mars at conjunction 28 July, 18:00 Southern Delta Aquariids peak 30 July, 04:36 Mercury at greatest eastern elongation Celestial events by month Portals : Astronomy and Space 2017: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2016: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2015: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2014: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2013: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2012: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2011: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2010: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2009: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2008: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2007: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2006: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 2005: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December edit   Space-related portals Astronomy European Space Agency Jupiter Mars Moon Science Solar System Spaceflight Star Cosmology Uranus X-ray astronomy What are portals? 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