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    NASA Schedules First Super Pressure Balloon Launch Attempt

    The SuperBIT payload hangs from a yellow crane vehicle. The payload is made up of multiple solar panels, a bar across the top with various instrumentation, and many electronic components make up the main body of the payload. The sky in the background clear and virtually cloudless.

    WĀNAKA, New Zealand — NASA is targeting Sunday, April 16 (Saturday, April 15 in the United States), to conduct a super pressure balloon (SPB) test flight launching from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, to further test and qualify the technology, which can offer cost savings compared to space missions. This first launch will also carry the …

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    Webb Shows Areas of New Star Formation and Galactic Evolution

    A rectangular image that appears to be two separate square images separated by a wide black gap. The gap obscures the galaxies present between the two square images. Each square image contains thousands of galaxies with many different colors. Some galaxies are shades of yellow, while others are white, blue, orange and red. Most of these galaxies appear as fuzzy ovals, but others appear thin and long. A few galaxies with distinct spiral arms are spread throughout.

    Editor's Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process. On Oct. 11, 2022, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope spent over 20 hours observing the long-studied Hubble Ultra Deep Field for the first time. The general observer program (GO 1963) focused on analyzing the field …

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    EZIE Passes Critical Design Review

    This conceptual illustration shows the three EZIE small satellite missions flying in formation above a beautiful aurora on Earth.

    On March 23, 2023, NASA's Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) successfully passed its critical design review, marking a major milestone for the project and keeping it on pace for a scheduled launch next year.

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    Signal Acquired

    The team has received signal from Intelsat 40e satellite. Commissioning activities for TEMPO will begin in late May or early June. Researchers expect the first public data to be available in October. TEMPO will observe the air quality over North America during daylight hours, providing critical insights into air pollution in North America.

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    Intelsat 40e Separates from Second Stage

    The Falcon 9 rocket's second stage has reached the point of payload separation and its engine has been cut off. Intelsat 40e and the TEMPO instrument will separate from the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage, deploying the spacecraft, which will continue on to its geostationary orbit.

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    Falcon 9 First Stage Lands!

    The Falcon 9 rocket's first stage has landed on a SpaceX drone ship. Coming up next, Intelsat 40e, along with the TEMPO instrument, will separate from the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage and begin settling into orbit.

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    Main Engine Cutoff; First Stage Separates

    The Falcon 9 rocket's first-stage engines have finished their burn, and the first stage has separated from the vehicle. As the second stage continues its journey with Intelsat 40e and the TEMPO instrument, the first stage will aim for landing on a SpaceX drone ship. The second stage Merlin engine has ignited to begin boosting …

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    We’ve Got Liftoff! The Falcon 9 Begins its Journey

    This is an image of the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it lifted off the pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

    Liftoff! At 12:30 a.m. EDT, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off the pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, beginning its approximately hour-long journey to deliver the Intelsat 40e, along with NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument, into orbit. Coming up at about two minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff, the …

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    It’s Time for TEMPO! TEMPO Launches Early Tomorrow Morning Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket on Intelsat 40e

    Hello from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida! A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Intelsat 40e and NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument aboard, stands ready for liftoff at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Complex 40. TEMPO will be the first satellite instrument to make hourly daytime observations of air quality over …

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