Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 7, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. The low-riding waxing crescent Moon of early fall passes Venus, then Antares in the fading afterglow of sunset. Venus is plotted here at its position on October 5th (for North America), when it’s just 0.9° lower left of Alpha Librae, magnitude 2.8. Every day Venus moves […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 2, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher The seriousness of China’s buildup to its first manned Moon mission, perhaps before 2030, was emphasized by three recent revelations: A new Lunar manned spacesuit; a new facility to simulate low gravity lunar landings; and a proposal for “cyclotron” low-cost launch of payloads from the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 29, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 ■ Face south and look high these evenings after dark. The brightest star there is Altair, the southernmost point of the Summer Triangle. The other two are Deneb and Vega more nearly overhead. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 ■ The starry W of Cassiopeia stands high […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 25, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher On Sept. 18 India’s Union Cabinet, or senior executive branch, approved budgets for space programs amounting to $350.9 million (32,771 crore), that will advance India’s ambitions for manned space flight, a new small space station and manned missions to the Moon by 2040. All of […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 22, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 ■ Goodbye to summer — at last! Today is equinox day. Earth passes the September equinox point in its orbit at 8:44 a.m. EDT (12:44 UT). This is when the Sun, in its six-month journey south, crosses the celestial equator — and equivalently, […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September18, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher U.S. Space Force Commander Gen. B. Chance Saltzman used his Sept. 17 keynote address to the 2024 Air, Space, Cyber Symposium of the United States Air Force Association to highlight U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s imperative that the Space Force prepare for “Great Power Competition” […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 9, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 ■ Right after nightfall, the thickening crescent Moon shines low in the southwest. Look almost two fists upper left of it for orange Antares. Two thirds of the way from the Moon to Antares is the near-vertical row of three stars marking the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 4, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher In order to meet the National Air Space Administration’s (NASA) new goal of putting Americans back on the Moon in September 2026 for the Artemis III mission, does the United States need new but simpler space architecture, or should it seek to rationalize elements of […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, September 1, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. The thin waning crescent Moon guides the way to Mercury low in bright dawn on the mornings of August 31st and September 1st. Bring binoculars. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 ■ Look for bright Vega passing the zenith as twilight fades away, if you live in the world’s […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 28, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher An article in the June 2024 issue of the Chinese journal Aerospace China offers a review of China’s growing commercial space sector focusing on space launcher and mega satellite constellation makers, but it offers fewer insights into potential commercial manned space efforts. Ultimately, the Chinese […]
