Astronomy news

Another reusable rocket? Japan launches, lands RV-X prototype (video)

18-07-2026 16:00 via space.com

Japan has succeeded in the first-ever flight test of its RV-X experimental reusable rocket prototype. The launch — or hop, considering its duration and distance — took place at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Noshiro test facility on July 11 and lasted about 40 seconds. The 24-foot-tall (7.3 meters) test vehicle, powered by a single engine, rose just over 33 feet (10 m) in the air and traveled a horizontal distance of approximately 50 feet (15 m) across the site's con

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 219 — SpaceX Goes to War!

18-07-2026 15:40 via space.com

On Episode 219 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss the space headlines for the past few weeks.It's been busy, and some exciting things are happening! A couple ofcompanies are moving into the space solar power arena — something we'velong advocated — and that's welcome progress. Starship is set to flyStarship test number 13, and a lot is riding on this — the system isoverdue for some proof of concept to keep up with NASA's HLS contract.An exoplanet spotted a d

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'We knew we had a lot to live up to': As 'Aliens' turns 40, we chat to the legendary VFX masters who created the Alien Queen (interview)

18-07-2026 15:00 via space.com

It's almost inconceivable that 40 years have passed since what's been called the greatest sci-fi action film of all time (and not just by us) assaulted theaters with the juiced-up sequel to Ridley Scott's 1979 classic, "Alien." Director James Cameron's propulsive vision for a gung-ho military-style movie would call upon Stan Winston Studio's elite creature effects crew from 1984's "The Terminator" — a team that would later work on "Predator," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Jurassic Park,"

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Beyond the Perseids: 6 meteor showers worth watching this summer

18-07-2026 12:00 via space.com

The Perseids may be the summer meteor shower everyone marks on the calendar, but they are not the only reason to look up this season. From mid-July through late August, Earth plows through several other streams of comet and asteroid debris, triggering a series of lesser-known meteor showers across Northern Hemisphere skies. Most will not deliver the dazzling hourly rates of the Perseids, and moonlight will spoil some peak nights in 2026. But for patient skywatchers under dark skies, these lesser

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Remembering 'Ulysses 31', the '80s cartoon that transported 'The Odyssey' to outer space

18-07-2026 00:00 via space.com

It's not known whether "Ulysses 31" was on Christopher Nolan's radar in his teenage years, but it's intriguing to think it could have influenced the director's decision to take on Homer's "The Odyssey". This animated space opera, a French/Japanese co-production, delivered a crash course in Greek mythology to a generation of kids who grew up in the '80s. And, although it looks more like "Star Wars" than Homer's original tale, it had a decent stab at transferring the Classics to the 31st century (

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