UCS Satellite Database
Assembled by experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the Satellite Database is a listing of the more than 2000 operational satellites currently in orbit around Earth. Our intent…
How many satellites orbit Earth and why space traffic management is crucial
Have you ever wondered how many satellites orbit the Earth? According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which maintains a database of active satellites in orbit, as of April 1, 2020, there…
Watch NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and two cosmonauts launch into space tonight
Four years after her first flight to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins will return to space today (Oct. 14). Today at 1:45 am EDT (0545 GMT), Expedition 64 astronaut…
A Soyuz capsule just made a record-breaking 3-hour flight to the International Space Station
Three new crewmembers arrived at the International Space Station today (Oct. 14) after a record-breaking speedy flight to the orbiting lab. The Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts…
Dawn Mission: Shedding Light on Asteroids
Dawn was a NASA mission that operated between 2007 and 2018, breaking several records along the way. When it entered orbit around the asteroid Vesta, it became the first spacecraft…
Dwarf Planet Ceres Hosted Near-Surface Water for Millions of Years
This mosaic of the bright spot known as Cerealia Facula inside the dwarf planet Ceres' Occator Crater is based on images obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft during its second extended…
Dwarf Planet Ceres May Be Wrinkling As It Shrinks
This view of Ceres from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows what the dwarf planet would look like to the human eye. Ceres, the closest dwarf planet to Earth, may be wrinkling…
NASA spacecraft gets a look at one of the strangest places in the solar system
An animation stitches together images showing briny deposits, colored in reddish, splaying across Occator Crater on Ceres, as seen by NASA's Dawn mission. For a few months in 2018, as…
Planets more hospitable to life than Earth may already have been discovered
This artist's depiction shows the first validated Earth-size planet to orbit a distant star in the habitable zone identified by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. At least two dozen planets outside…
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
The ambitious International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), being built in Provence in southern France, is set to become the largest fusion experiment in the world. Under the project, the tokamak,…
