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USA Today
3 days ago
- Science
- USA Today
What are sounding rockets? NASA launch from New Mexico studies sun's mysterious chromosphere
States like Florida, Texas and California are no strangers to rocket launches, but spaceflights in New Mexico may often be overlooked. Here's what's happening in the desert. States like Florida, Texas and California are no strangers to routine rocket launches − but New Mexico? Spacecraft also sometimes get off the ground from the state. Space news coverage may be headlined by crewed missions to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral or SpaceX's latest test of its enormous Starship spacecraft from the Lonestar State. But in the oft-overlooked state of New Mexico, smaller rockets often get off the ground from a NASA test site in the remote desert. The latest of the spacecraft, known as sounding rockets, most recently made a successful quick trip to space to study one of the most complex regions of the sun's atmosphere following a New Mexico launch. Here's everything to know about sounding rockets and the latest NASA mission from New Mexico near the Texas border. NASA launches sun-studying mission from White Sands, New Mexico The latest sounding rocket mission in New Mexico got off the ground around 3 p.m. local time Friday, July 18, at NASA's White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, located near the border of Texas about 60 miles north of El Paso. Residents in the local area around White Sands may have been able to spot the sounding rocket and its contrail when it launched, a NASA spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY. The mission was expected to last no more than about 15 minutes, NASA said in a press release. After launching, the sounding rocket took about 90 seconds to reach space and point toward the sun, another eight minutes to conduct the experiment on the chromosphere, and no more than five minutes to return to Earth's surface. Upon landing, the rocket was expected to drift between 70 to 80 miles from the launchpad so mission operators on the ground could ensure it would land safely in the large, empty desert, according to NASA. What are sounding rockets? NASA's sounding rocket program has for more than 40 years carried out missions to launch scientific instruments into space. Sounding rockets are much smaller than an average spacecraft that may launch on an orbital flight from major spaceports like the Kennedy Space Center in Florida or the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California. NASA's fleet of sounding rockets range anywhere in height from about 16 feet tall to about 70 feet tall. The Black Brant IX, the sounding rocket selected for the most recent launch from New Mexico, stands nearly 60 feet tall. For comparison, SpaceX's famous two-stage Falcon 9 rocket – one of the world's most active for both human and cargo missions alike – stands at 230 feet tall when fully stacked. And the commercial spaceflight company's Starship megarocket, which is still in development, stands at an imposing 400-feet tall when both the crew capsule and Super Heavy rocket booster are integrated. Because of their diminutive stature, NASA says soundings rockets are ideal for quick trips at lower speeds to regions of space that are too low for satellites and other spacecraft to conduct observations. And because sounding rockets don't require expensive boosters, missions costs also tend to be substantially less than other orbiter missions, according to the space agency. Where does NASA launch sounding rockets? Missions occur in Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico Of the approximately 20 sounding rocket missions scheduled in the U.S. in 2025, most get off the ground from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. Occasionally, though, a sounding rocket will launch from a missile range at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Prior to July 18, the most recent mission at White Sands came Nov. 23, 2024, when NASA launched a Black Brant IX sounding rocket to test a spacecraft's performance in Earth's low-density magnetosphere. The next sounding rocket mission is scheduled for Aug. 12 from Wallops Island in Virginia, according to NASA. Spacecraft studied solar chromosphere For the latest mission from White Sands, a Black Brant IX sounding rocket carried new technology to study the sun's mysterious chromosphere, located between the sun's visible surface, known as the photosphere, and its outer layer, the corona. The corona, which became widely visible from Earth in April 2024 during a total solar eclipse, is a region where powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections can erupt to cause space weather that can disrupt Earthly technologies. NASA's SNIFS mission aimed to learn more about these events by observing how energy is converted and moves through the chromosphere to power such explosions. The mission was the first to carry technology combining a standard imager to capture photos and videos with a spectrograph, which dissects light into its various wavelengths, according to NASA. This reveals which elements are present in the imaged light source. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Elon Musk confirms next SpaceX Starship test flight coming soon after recent setbacks
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company plans to launch the next test flight of its massive Starship rocket in 'about three weeks.' The announcement came via a post on X (formerly Twitter) on July 14, 2025. If the timeline holds, it would mark the 10th test flight of Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, and its fourth mission this year. The flight follows a string of technical setbacks, including the explosion of a Ship upper stage during a test and the loss of control in previous flights. Despite these hurdles, SpaceX remains committed to advancing Starship's goal of enabling interplanetary travel and rapid, reusable orbital missions. SpaceX Starship's recent failures The upcoming launch follows a bumpy path for SpaceX's Starship program. On June 18, the upper stage (referred to as "Ship") originally slated for Flight 10 exploded on a test stand at the company's Starbase facility in South Texas. Investigations pointed to a failed pressurized nitrogen tank in the vehicle's nosecone. SpaceX has since begun preparing a replacement Ship vehicle for the mission. This incident adds to previous in-flight failures: Flights 7, 8, and 9—all launched in 2025—ended with the vehicle being lost during or after ascent. Super heavy booster shows promise by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why seniors are rushing to get this Internet box – here's why! Techno Mag Learn More Undo While the ship has encountered repeated issues, the Super Heavy booster—the rocket's massive first stage—has delivered more consistent performance. During Flights 7 and 8, the booster successfully returned to Starbase and was even caught by the launch tower's mechanical 'chopstick' arms. Flight 9 also featured the first-ever reuse of a Super Heavy booster. However, during reentry, that reused booster broke apart over the Gulf of Mexico shortly after initiating its landing burn. What's next for Starship Flight 10 Flight 10 will be the 10th fully integrated launch of the Starship-Super Heavy system. If successful, it will help SpaceX demonstrate improved reusability and system reliability, key to the company's ambitions of using Starship for lunar missions, space station resupply, and eventually Mars colonization . SpaceX has not yet disclosed a specific target date, but if preparations go as planned, the launch could occur by early August 2025. Long-term vision: Moon, Mars, and beyond SpaceX's ultimate goal for Starship is to serve as a fully reusable transport system for large payloads and humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The rocket stands nearly 400 feet tall when fully stacked and is powered by Raptor engines fueled by liquid methane and liquid oxygen. With each launch, the company collects valuable data to refine the vehicle's design and operations. Despite recent failures, Musk has reiterated that iterative testing and rapid development are central to SpaceX's approach. Starbase, SpaceX's sprawling launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, continues to be a key hub for Starship development. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is closely monitoring the program and will need to approve the upcoming launch. Local and international space enthusiasts are watching closely, eager to see if Starship can deliver on its promise of revolutionizing space travel.
Digital Trends
17-07-2025
- Science
- Digital Trends
Elon Musk reveals target date for next Starship launch
Everything went quiet following the dramatic explosion last month that destroyed SpaceX's Starship spacecraft during ground-based preparations for the vehicle's 10th flight test. But SpaceX chief Elon Musk has now revealed that his team expects to fly the Starship — comprising the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft — in about three weeks' time. Recommended Videos The huge explosion at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, took everyone by surprise, and fortunately no one was killed or injured in the massive fireball. A few days after it happened, SpaceX said the explosion occurred as the team was loading cryogenic propellant onto the spacecraft in preparation for a six-engine static fire test 'when a sudden energetic event resulted in the complete loss of Starship and damage to the immediate area surrounding the stand.' SpaceX said that its preliminary investigation indicated 'the potential failure of a pressurized tank known as a COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, containing gaseous nitrogen in Starship's nosecone area,' though it has yet to publish a full data review, which should contain more details about what actually happened. The Starship program is certainly no stranger to large explosions and disintegrations, but they usually occur in midair, well after the rocket has left the launchpad. The first Starship flight test took place in April 2023. During the early part of the ascent, multiple Raptor engines failed on the Super Heavy booster. When stage separation failed to occur, the vehicle began to spin and was intentionally destroyed by the flight termination system about four minutes after launch at an altitude of 24.2 miles (39 km). The following eight flights have produced mixed results — while the team has managed to land the Super Heavy back at base in what is an extraordinary maneuver, the upper-stage spacecraft has suffered some rougher rides in recent flights. Still, SpaceX seems pretty happy with the flight tests overall, and is using the data gathered from each one to try to improve the design and performance of the vehicle. Once fully operational, the Starship will be used for crew and cargo missions to the lunar surface, with crewed missions to Mars also on the cards.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Elon Musk shares SpaceX video, says 'Starship will take humanity to Mars'; gives a 'timeline' too
Tesla CEO Elon Musk SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reignited excitement around his company's plan to start interplanetary travel . Musk has once again captivated the global imagination by sharing a new video showcasing the Starship launch system. Elon Musk shared a video on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) in which Musk can been seen showcasing the launch system to Starship and said, 'Starship will take humanity to Mars'. Elon Musk shares timeline for Mars travel The video of Starship shared by Elon Musk is filled at SpaceX's Starbase facility and it highlights the progress in the production and testing of Starship. Musk has also emphasised in the past that each launch is a step toward building a self-sustaining civilization on Mars, a goal he described as essential for the long-term survival of humanity. In the same video an X User named Sanket asked Musk, 'Hopefully in our lifetime we see humans settle on Mars'. To this Elon Musk gave a one-word reply 'Yes'. This means that the SpaceX is working really hard to make the travel to Mars a reality soon. SpaceX aims to launch around 1,000 to 2,000 Starships every two year. The company plans to transport people and cargo in order to establish a permanent settlement on the planet. Musk also believes that Mars is a backup for civilisation in case a catastrophic events on Earth. SpaceX created history SpaceX created history last year with towering almost 400 feet (121 meters), the empty Starship blasted off at 7:25 am CT (4:55 IST) from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities. In the second stage, the Super Heavy booster separated from the Starship at an altitude of roughly 70 km to begin its return to land. The rocket's Super Heavy booster re-lit three of its 33 Raptor engines to slow its speedy descent back to the launch site, as it targeted the launch pad and tower it had blasted off from. The 233 foot (71 metres)-tall Super Heavy booster fell into the launch tower's enclosing arms, hooking itself in place by tiny, protruding bars under the four forward grid fins. Company employees erupted in joy, jumping and pumping their fists into the air as the stainless steel booster slowly descended into the launch tower's arms. NASA also joined in the celebration, with Administrator Bill Nelson extending his congratulations. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
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First Post
09-07-2025
- Science
- First Post
US Air Force halts SpaceX rocket programme over reason Musk once swore off omelettes
Biologists and conservationists earlier raised concerns that rocket landings could severely disrupt nesting grounds for 14 tropical seabird species, including red-tailed tropicbirds, white terns, and boobies, on Johnston Atoll read more SpaceX's Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket booster lifts off on its sixth integrated test flight at the Starbase launchpad near Brownsville, Texas, on November 19, 2024. (Photo: Reuters) The US Air Force has reportedly scrapped a proposed hypersonic rocket cargo delivery programme with Elon Musk-owned SpaceX following concerns that it might hurt vital seabird sanctuary at Johnston Atoll - a 2.5 square km uninhabited island located about 1,300 km from Hawaii. reported that the programme involved testing the use of commercial rockets to deliver up to 100 tonnes of military cargo anywhere in the world within 90 minutes. This project was being managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory under the Rocket Cargo programme. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Environmental concerns Biologists and conservationists earlier raised concerns that rocket landings could severely disrupt nesting grounds for 14 tropical seabird species, including red-tailed tropicbirds, white terns, and boobies, on the critical island refuge. The atoll, one of the last safe havens for these birds, risks losing entire breeding cycles due to disturbances. Following a Reuters report highlighting scientists' warnings, the Air Force halted the planned tests amid heightened scrutiny. Though SpaceX was not officially confirmed as a partner, its rockets were likely candidates for the programme. The company has faced prior criticism for environmental impacts, notably in April 2023, when a Starship launch in Boca Chica, Texas, caused a blast that destroyed nesting sites and eggs of the endangered piping plover, prompting backlash from environmentalists and regulators, with coverage in The New York Times. Musk's controversial response In response to the controversy on X, Elon Musk jokingly remarked, 'To make up for this heinous crime, I will refrain from having omelette for a week.' Conservation groups have criticised SpaceX for environmental harm, filing a lawsuit against the FAA in May over its approval of expanded rocket launches in South Texas without additional environmental studies, despite the site's proximity to a national wildlife refuge.
