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Space Exploration

Space trackers and trailblazers reunite to celebrate Australia's starring role in lunar history

It's been six decades since NASA first touched down in outback WA, and it's given current and former residents of Carnarvon plenty of reasons to celebrate.
A large rocket and satellite dish point upwards into the evening sky.

NASA thanks the Carnarvon trackers

Director of NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCAN) Program Kevin Coggins wishes well the former staff at the Carnarvon tracking station as it celebrates 60 years.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 45 seconds

Chinese Space Pioneer's Sky Dragon 3 rocket detonates following accidental launch

What began as a static test of a new "Sky Dragon 3" rocket by a private Chinese space company ended in a fiery explosion following the rocket's accidental launch. 
A plume of smoke and fire rises from a hillside where a rocket fell and detonated.

Two astronauts are waiting on the International Space Station. Here's why NASA can't say when they're going home

It's now three weeks in space and counting for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, as NASA and Boeing troubleshoot problems with their space capsule. Three potential landing dates have so far been called off, and their flight home is now on hold.
A spacecraft is blasting off from a launchpad with loads of smoke underneath

NASA pilots' return to earth indefinitely delayed due to Starliner failure

The Australian National University's Anna Moore says the Boeing Starliner's mission control is being 'very cautious'.
Updated
Stuck in Space, Boeing Starliner: Two astronauts in blue flight suits walking alongside each other.
Duration: 6 minutes 52 seconds

Mechanical failures postpone Boeing Starliner's return to Earth, with no date set for astronauts' flight home

The space capsule's first crewed flight has experienced five failures of its 28 manoeuvring thrusters, five leaks of helium and a slow-moving propellant valve that signal unfixed issues from past flights.
Updated
A conical capsule space capsule above the Earth approaches the camera.

Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders dies in plane crash aged 90

The 90-year-old was piloting the plane when it crashed in Washington state.
Three men in space suits, crouch down while smiling.

Much-loved outback astronomer Greg 'Space Gandalf' Quicke dead at 62

A legend in the Kimberley with his distinctive white beard — Greg Quicke introduced generations of visitors and locals to the wonders of the universe through his "astro tours" in the town of Broome
Updated
A man with a beard and headset mic smiles

SpaceX successfully launches Starship rocket to space on fourth test flight, survives re-entry which blew up last flight

SpaceX's Starship rocket, designed to eventually send astronauts to the Moon and beyond, has undergone its fourth flight test.
Smoke plumes coming out from underneath a rocket.

Boeing successfully launches space taxi Starliner

Boeing's first-ever crewed flight to the International Space Station has made it the second space taxi operator after Elon Musk's SpaceX.
ABC News Current
Duration: 6 minutes 55 seconds

Boeing launches NASA astronauts to space aboard its Starliner capsule after years of delays

A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule for the International Space Station, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for the US space agency.
Updated
A rocket is launched to space in a big cloud of smoke from a location with palm trees and blue skies

Moment Boeing Starliner lifts off on first crewed flight

The CST-100 Starliner blasts off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off on its first crewed flight from a Space Force launching platform
Duration: 59 seconds

Footage shows China's spacecraft landing on far side of the Moon

Footage of China's uncrewed spacecraft landing on the far side of the Moon has been released by Chinese media. 
Grainy footage of the lunar surface with Chinese news graphics overlayed on it.

China lands spacecraft on far side of Moon

The Chinese lander will use a mechanical arm and a drill to gather up to 2 kilograms of surface and underground material from the Moon to send back to Earth.
A large spacecraft in between four large telephone poles.

Chinese astronauts beat their record for longest spacewalk

Chinese astronauts have completed 16 spacewalks since 2008, the Chinese manned spaced agency says. 
Two astronauts float in the atmosphere with earth seen below.

'There's something going on': Why this astronomer is convinced Planet Nine exists

In 2016, astronomers published a study suggesting a ninth planet could be hiding on the edge of our Solar System. Eight years later, they're still looking for it. So what will it take to find it?
The sun rises over a blue planet

Ed Dwight, first African American candidate for space travel, takes off 60 years later

Ed Dwight was in the same class as Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, but NASA did not select black astronauts until 1978. On Sunday, aged 90, he finally experienced zero gravity.
A man in a blue flightsuit emerges from a space capsule with his arms raised.

Will the next big conflict be fought in space? This is how the world is preparing for star wars

Satellites are under threat like never before and more countries are preparing for wars in space. So, what exactly is going on above the atmosphere? And should we be worried?
Satellite floating in space.

Critics question Victoria’s $2 billion venture capital fund 'Breakthrough Victoria' as state debt levels grow

The priorities of Victoria have been called into question after tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were invested in a private US company determined to send humans into space.
Updated
ABC News Current
Duration: 9 minutes

Victoria launches $37 million gamble on space tourism as critics lament debt balloon

Critics line up as Australia's most in-debt state takes its largest venture capitalist gamble yet, betting on a US satellite imagery and space tourism company.
Updated
An illustration of a white balloon floating in front of clouds in the sky.

Thick atmosphere discovered around super-Earth in nearby solar system

The so-called super-Earth is among the few rocky planets outside our solar system with a significant atmosphere.
A white and purple planet across from the sun.

Boeing's Starliner capsule faces lengthy delays as technical issues postpone flight by at least 10 days

Boeing badly needs a space win for its Starliner venture, a years-delayed program with more than $US1 billion in cost overruns.
Updated
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for the flight. 

Video of the Sun's surface shows its 'ever-changing' landscape

The video also showed spires of gas on the Sun's solar horizon, which can reach to a height of 10,000 kilometres.
A golden hair-like structure.

One of the best meteor showers in the Southern Hemisphere is about to peak. Here's how to spot it

The Eta Aquariids are one of two meteor showers caused by leftover debris from Halley's comet, and this year could be a cracker — experts predict up to 21 meteors an hour. 
Updated
A green streak of light across a sky

NASA fixes Voyager probe from 24 billion kilometres away

The Voyager 1 probe has resumed transmitting usable data after months of spouting gibberish.
Updated
Voyager 1 fixed: NASA 'relief'. An image of a spacecraft with a large satellite dish, in space.
Duration: 3 minutes 35 seconds