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These Ancient ‘War Donkeys’ Were Likely The 1st Human-Bred Hybrid Animals

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Mesopotamians were using hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to pull their war wagons 4,500 years ago – at least 500 years before horses were bred for the purpose, a new study reveals.   The analysis of ancient DNA from animal bones unearthed in northern Syria resolves a long-standing question of just what type of animals … Read more

James Webb Space Telescope has unfolded 1st wing of massive golden mirror

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The iconic golden mirror of NASA’s massive new observatory is taking shape. The James Webb Space Telescope unfolded the panel that carries the three leftmost segments of its hexagonal gold-coated primary mirror on Friday (Jan. 7). Nearly two weeks after the observatory’s launch, the successful maneuver brings the telescope close to its final form. “Webb’s … Read more

SpaceX lofts 49 Starlink internet satellites to orbit in 1st launch of 2022

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched its first Falcon 9 rocket of the year Thursday (Jan. 6), sending a new stack of Starlink satellites into orbit from Florida, before nailing a landing at sea.  The previously flown Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at … Read more

1st orbital test flight of SpaceX’s Starship Mars rocket pushed to March at the earliest

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We’ll have to wait a bit longer for the orbital debut of SpaceX’s Starship Mars rocket. SpaceX had been aiming to launch Starship on its first orbital test flight in January or February, provided that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wrapped up a programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) of the company’s South Texas launch site … Read more

An exclusive 1st look at ‘Star Trek: Discovery – The Book of Grudge’ from Hero Collector

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Those talented folk at Hero Collector — the same people who make all those incredible models (and accompanying books) of sci-fi spacecraft — have launched a truly unique book; an extremely colorful and entertaining work based on Grudge the cat’s enlightening perspective of all things USS Discovery. “Star Trek: Discovery – The Book of Grudge” will be … Read more

NASA clears Axiom crew for 1st private mission to International Space Station

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The astronauts launching with the first private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next year have cleared all their medical evaluations.  NASA and its international partners approved the four-person crew for Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), which is scheduled to launch on Feb. 28, 2022. The Ax-1 crew includes Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Mark … Read more

Stellar Video Shows Comet Leonard as It Zips by Earth For The 1st Time in 80,000 Years

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Since early this year, skywatchers on Earth have been tracking Comet Leonard, a kilometer-wide dirty snowball made of ice, rock, and dust. Now, as it heads towards a close encounter with the Sun on 3 January 2022, several spacecraft – with the distinct advantage of having an unobstructed front-row seat to the action – have … Read more

On This Day in Space! Dec. 9, 2006: 1st Swedish astronaut launches to the space station

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On Nov. 10, 2013, Europe’s GOCE satellite fell to Earth. GOCE is short for Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer. Its mission was to map Earth’s gravitational field. GOCE did this for four years. Then it ran out of fuel.   Controllers weren’t sure where GOCE would fall back to Earth or linger in … Read more