Rocket Lab Electron Launch of Japan's iQPS Earth Observation Satellite QPS-SAR-14

Rocket Lab Electron Launch of Japan's iQPS Earth Observation Satellite QPS-SAR-14

Rocket Lab Corporation successfully launched its 74th Electron mission from its launch complex in New Zealand and deployed the latest satellite to orbit for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS) on November 5, 2025. The mission was Rocket Lab’s sixth dedicated mission for iQPS, making Rocket Lab the most prolific launcher of their Earth-imaging constellation to date.

‘The Nation God Navigates’ mission lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 19:51 UTC on November 5th to deploy a single synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite named QPS-SAR-14 (nicknamed YACHIHOKO-I for the Japanese god of nation-building) to a 575km circular Earth orbit. Electron will launch six more dedicated iQPS missions following the recent signing of an additional multi-launch agreement to build out their constellation in low Earth orbit.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: "Success in the space industry boils down to precision and repeatability. This latest mission for iQPS once again demonstrates the pinpoint accuracy our customers depend on to grow their constellations, and we’re grateful to the iQPS team for trusting us with their launch needs. With six seamless deployments for iQPS in the books, Electron is ready for the next six.”

iQPS CEO, Dr. Shunsuke Onishi, says: “We are pleased to announce the successful deployment of QPS-SAR-14 ‘YACHIHOKO-I’, marking our fifth successful launch this year. This milestone reflects the steady advancement of our technology and the growth of our team. We sincerely thank the Electron team and all our members for their outstanding work. With this success, we move closer to realizing our vision of near real-time Earth observation and delivering greater value to society.”

‘The Nation God Navigates’ was Electron’s 74th launch to date and 16th this year, meeting Rocket Lab’s current record high of yearly launches, which was 16 in 2024. With more Electron missions scheduled throughout the remainder of 2025, Rocket Lab is on track for another record-breaking year of launches, all while the Company prepares for the debut launch of its medium-lift reusable rocket, Neutron.

Rocket Lab:
https://www.rocketlabusa.com

Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS)
https://i-qps.net/en/

Image Credit: Rocket Lab
Image Date: Nov. 5, 2025
Release Date: Nov. 6, 2025

#NASA #Space #Aerospace #Earth #Satellites #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #SAR #LEO #iQPS #QPSSAR #QPSSAR14 #Japan #日本 #RocketLab #ElectronRocket #RocketLaunch #MahiaPeninsula #NewZealand #CommercialSpace #PeterBeck #STEM #Education

Perspectives on Spiral Galaxies: NGC 4302 (left) & NGC 4298 (right) | STScI

Perspectives on Spiral Galaxies: NGC 4302 (left) & NGC 4298 (right) | STScI

Spiral galaxies are pancake-shaped collections of billions of stars, along with vast clouds of gas and dust. This video illustrates how their observed shapes can differ greatly depending upon the angle at which they are observed. The spiral galaxies NGC 4302 (left) and NGC 4298 (right) are visualized in three dimensions and rotated to showcase how they might look if viewed from other perspectives. Each galaxy could be seen as a roughly circular face-on spiral, as a long, thin, edge-on spiral, or as any of the oblong shapes in between.

The galaxy models are based on observations by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, as well as on the statistical properties of galaxies. Because NGC 4302 is seen nearly edge on, and its structure is not well-defined, its model was based upon observations of the spiral galaxy Messier 51.

NGC 4302 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

NGC 4298 is a flocculent spiral galaxy located about 53 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

Channel Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Video Credit: NASA, ESA, F. Summers, J. DePasquale, Z. Levay, and G. Bacon (STScI)
Release Date: Nov. 5, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #NGC4302 #NGC4298 #SpiralGalaxies #ComaBerenices #Constellations #VirgoCluster #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASASpitzer #InfraredAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #3D #Visualization #HD #Video

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon & Messier 12 Star Cluster: View from New Mexico, USA

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon & Messier 12 Star Cluster: View from New Mexico, USA

Comet Lemmon is brightening and moving into morning northern skies. Besides Comet SWAN25B and Comet ATLAS, Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is now the third comet currently visible with binoculars and on long camera exposures. Comet Lemmon was discovered early this year and is still headed into the inner Solar System. The comet will round the Sun on November 8, 2025. It passed nearest to the Earth—about half of the Earth-Sun distance—on October 21.

Messier 12 or M12 (also designated NGC 6218) is a globular cluster in the constellation of Ophiuchus. It was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier on May 30, 1764, who described it as a "nebula without stars". In dark conditions this cluster can be faintly seen with a pair of binoculars

Distance from Earth: approximately 15,700 light-years

New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also borders the state of Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south.

Image Credit: A. Hwang 
Image Details: RASA11, 4x60 sec exposures
Date: Nov. 3, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #Stars #StarsClusters #GlobularStarsClusters #M12 #NGC6218 #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #Astrophotography #AHwang #Astrophotographers #NewMexico #UnitedStates #USA #STEM #Education

The Final Countdown | NASA's ESCAPADE Mars Mission | Rocket Lab

The Final Countdown | NASA's ESCAPADE Mars Mission | Rocket Lab

🚀Rocket Lab's twin spacecraft for NASA and UC Berkeley's ESCAPADE mission are ready for launch! The ESCAPADE spacecraft are expected to begin their journey to Mars no earlier than November 9, 2025 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Stay tuned, the launch is coming!

NASA's two ESCAPADE Mission spacecraft, manufactured by Rocket Lab, have been successfully encapsulated into their Blue Origin New Glenn 7-meter rocket fairing. 

Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket:
https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn

ESCAPADE Spacecraft Contractor: Rocket Lab

https://rocketlabcorp.com/missions/escapade/

The NASA Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) Mars Mission will study the planet's unique hybrid magnetosphere. ESCAPADE will investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape. ESCAPADE is set to launch in Fall 2025 on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. It will take ESCAPADE about 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth orbit.

ESCAPADE is led by the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, which is responsible for mission management, systems engineering, science leadership, navigation, operations, the electron & ion electrostatic analyzers, and science data processing and archiving.

Key partners are Rocket Lab USA (spacecraft), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (magnetometers), Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Langmuir probes), Advanced Space LLC (mission design), and Blue Origin (launch).

Learn more about the two identical spacecraft designed, built, integrated, and tested by Rocket Lab for the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory and NASA's Mars Mission:

https://go.nasa.gov/4ng79L3

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade
https://escapade.ssl.berkeley.edu

Video Credit: Rocket Lab
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 5, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Sun #SpaceWeather #Planets #Mars #Magnetosphere #MartianAtmosphere #Radiation #Astronauts #ESCAPADEMission #ESCAPADESpacecraft #RocketLab #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GSFC #SSL #UCBerkeley #ERAU #AdvancedSpace #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Gibbous Moon Timelapse over Chilean Desert

Gibbous Moon Timelapse over Chilean Desert

A gorgeous gibbous Moon climbs into the sky from the ridge line of Cerro Pachón, the home of four NOIRLab-operated telescopes including NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE/SC); Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by the NSF; and the SOAR Telescope of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.

Petr Horálek, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)

Release Date: Oct. 29, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #GibbousMoon #Sun #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #Astrophotographers #PetrHorálek #Astrophotography #STEM #Education

A Lunar Delight Deep in the Chilean Desert

A Lunar Delight Deep in the Chilean Desert | NOIRLab

A gorgeous gibbous Moon rests above a ridge line near Cerro Pachón, the home of four NOIRLab-operated telescopes including NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE/SC); Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by NSF; and the SOAR Telescope of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.

The particular beauty of the Moon and its features are visible in this delightful image. The dark splotches of ancient, basaltic flats known as maria splatter across our satellite. These features formed when basalt moved from the lunar interior to fill basins on the surface during a time of active volcanism on the Moon. On the left side of the Moon, as seen from this perspective, are the two famous maria: Mare Tranquillitatis (immediately above center left) and Mare Serenitatis (center left). These maria, respectively, were the landing sites for the first and last human visits to the Moon.

On the upper left-hand edge of the Moon, the slopes and edges of the Moon’s other distinct feature, craters, appear starkly against the dark blue sky. One of the most distinct lunar craters, the massive Tycho crater, is in the upper right quadrant of the Moon in this image, flipped almost 180 degrees compared to the view from the northern hemisphere. Craters on the Moon are younger than the maria, and Tycho crater is particularly young, as evident by its sharp appearance.

Petr Horálek, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.

Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
Release Date: Oct. 29, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #GibbousMoon #Sun #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #Astrophotographers #PetrHorálek #Astrophotography #STEM #Education

Supermoonset | International Space Station

Supermoonset | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui: "I took this photo while wondering if everyone in Japan also gazed at the supermoon. Whether you were able to gaze at it or not, please enjoy this video of the moon as seen from space!"

"It feels like a truly miraculous event that the beautiful Earth, with its water and atmosphere, is accompanied by the beautiful moon in addition."

The path the Moon takes as it orbits our planet is not quite a perfect circle. Sometimes the Moon is a little closer to Earth, and appears slightly larger, than average. Sometimes it's a little farther away, and appears slightly smaller.

A “supermoon” occurs when a full Moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point known as perigee. During every 27-day orbit around Earth, the Moon reaches both its perigee, about 226,000 miles (363,300 km) from Earth, and its farthest point, or apogee, about 251,000 miles (405,500 km) from Earth.

Learn more about Supermoons:
https://science.nasa.gov/moon/supermoons/

Follow Expedition 73:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Video Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/Kimiya Yui

Duration: 18 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 5, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ISS #Moon #Supermoon #Moonset #AstronautVideography #Astronauts #KimiyaYui #油井亀美也 #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Haven Demo on Orbit: Extended High-Definition Mission Footage | Vast

Haven Demo on Orbit: Extended High-Definition Mission Footage | Vast

"Haven Demo, our Haven-1 space station technologies test bed is now on orbit and healthy. Watch footage from our onboard cameras . . . [there is] more to come."

With NASA and its international partners set to decommission the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030, the private American space firm, Vast, is racing to launch the first commercial space station that it hopes will ultimately replace the ISS. The company has now completed an important milestone in the production of its first space station.

It launched its pathfinder, Haven Demo, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Bandwagon-4 mission on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Vast is a space station company founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb. 

The Haven Demo satellite has a mass of 515 kilograms and is expected to last for six months in orbit. With its solar array now deployed, the pathfinder will begin gathering crucial data for Vast's planned orbital station.

Haven Demo will "test radiation tolerant computers, power systems, software, sensors, reaction control systems, propulsion, radios, ground stations, and command and control to inform learnings for Haven-1, the world’s first commercial space station."

"Haven Demo achieved mission success after deploying from SpaceX’s Bandwagon-4 flight on Nov 2, 2025. Following nominal separation and stable sun-pointing, the spacecraft captured 4K video of its solar array deployment and is power-positive."

Vast’s first station, Haven-1, is due to launch no earlier than May 2026, also aboard a Falcon 9.

Haven-1 aims to help Vast beat other contenders for NASA Commercial LEO Destinations Phase 2 (CLD) funding. These companies include Axiom Space (Axiom Station) and Voyager Space/Airbus (Starlab), among others.

“Vast is moving forward at speed, building Haven-1 as the world’s first commercial space station. It is the stepping stone to kick off a larger, more capable multi-module space station and prove our technology, team, and facilities in space with crew,” said CEO Max Haot on X.

Vast’s Haven Demo will test out key capabilities, such as Reaction Control Systems (RCS), power systems, and propulsion, in preparation for Haven-1.

"Now is the time to meet NASA's call to transition its low-Earth orbit presence from the International Space Station (ISS) to a lower-cost commercial option. Vast is preparing to deliver for America and our international partners. We are working on the world's first, most affordable, commercial space station. Haven-1 will be Vast's first step toward a long-term commercial presence in orbit."

"Purpose-built for scientific research, in-space manufacturing, and extended human habitation, Haven-1 will ensure humanity’s continuous presence in space. Backed by a world-class team and built with speed, safety, and efficiency at its core, this marks the next era in human space exploration—not just reaching orbit, but staying there."

Vast Space's Haven-1 aims to be the "world's first commercial space station". "The era of commercial space stations begins with Haven-1, launching next year. Whether you are a sovereign nation, space agency, scientist, company, or private astronaut—the time is now. Join our mission and help pioneer the next giant leap in space exploration."

Learn more: https://www.vastspace.com/haven-1

Video Credit: Vast Space
Duration: 2 minutes, 31 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 4, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #VastSpace #Haven1 #Satellites #HavenDemo #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #CommercialSpaceStations #CommercialSpace #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityResearch #PrivateAstronauts #UnitedStates #SpaceAgencies #International #STEM #Education #UHD #HD #Video

Flight Through The Orion Nebula in Visible & Infrared Light | STScI

Flight Through The Orion Nebula in Visible & Infrared Light | STScI

This visualization explores the Orion Nebula using both visible and infrared light. The sequence begins with a wide-field view of the sky showing the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, then zooms down to the scale of the Orion Nebula. The visible light observation (from the Hubble Space Telescope) and the infrared light observation (from the Spitzer Space Telescope) are compared first in two-dimensional images, and then in three-dimensional models.

As the camera flies into the star-forming region, the sequence cross-fades back and forth between the visible and infrared views. The glowing gaseous landscape has been illuminated and carved by the high energy radiation and strong stellar winds from the massive hot stars in the central cluster. The infrared observations generally show cooler temperature gas at a deeper layer of the nebula that extends well beyond the visible image. In addition, the infrared showcases many faint stars that shine primarily at longer wavelengths. The higher resolution visible observations show finer details including the wispy bow shocks and tadpole-shaped proplyds. In this manner, the movie illustrates the contrasting features uncovered by multi-wavelength astronomy.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Video Credit: NASA, ESA, and F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, J. DePasquale, L. Hustak, L. Frattare, M. Robberto (STScI), R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC), M. Kornmesser (ESA), A. Fujii
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 3, 2025

Acknowledgement: R. Gendler

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Nebulae #OrionNebula #Messier42 #M42 #NGC1976 #Orion #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASASpitzer #InfraredAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #3D #Visualization #HD #Video

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Galactic Cosmic Ray Effects—New Research Study

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Galactic Cosmic Ray Effects—New Research Study

This schematic illustration shows the expected stratigraphy of the irradiated nucleus interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Galactic cosmic ray (GCR) irradiation over several circular motions (gyr) alters the outer ∼15–20 m, producing a carbon dioxide CO2-rich crust through CO-to-CO2 conversion, ongoing carbon monoxide CO release from the breakdown of irradiated organics, an organic-rich refractory mantle with a red spectral slope, and compact amorphous ice characterized by low diffusivity and high thermal conductivity. Beneath this layer lies a pristine, unprocessed interior shielded from GCRs, whose composition and structure remain unknown but are expected to differ markedly from the irradiated crust. 

Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third known object from outside our solar system to be discovered passing through our celestial neighborhood. Astronomers have categorized this object as interstellar because of the hyperbolic shape of its orbital path. (It does not follow a closed orbital path about the Sun.) When the orbit of 3I/ATLAS is traced into the past, the comet clearly originates from outside our solar system.

Comet 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth and will remain far away. The closest it approached our planet was about 1.8 astronomical units (about 170 million miles, or 270 million kilometers). 3I/ATLAS and its closest point to the Sun was around Oct. 30, 2025, at a distance of about 1.4 au (130 million miles, or 210 million kilometers) — just inside the orbit of Mars.

The interstellar comet’s size and physical properties are being investigated by astronomers around the world. 3I/ATLAS remained visible to ground-based telescopes through September 2025, after which it will pass too close to the Sun to observe. It will reappear on the other side of the Sun by early December 2025, allowing for renewed observations.

Spectral observations of 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1) with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) near infrared spectrograph (NIRSpec) and spectro-photometer for the history of the universe, epoch of reionization, and ices explorer (SPHEREx) reveal an extreme carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment (CO2/H2O = 7.6+-0.3) that is 4.5 sigma above solar system comet trends and among the highest ever recorded. This unprecedented composition, combined with substantial absolute carbon monoxide (CO) levels (CO/H2O = 1.65+-0.09) and red spectral slopes, provides direct evidence for galactic cosmic ray (GCR) processing of the outer layers of the interstellar comet nucleus.

Laboratory experiments demonstrate that GCR irradiation efficiently converts CO to CO2 while synthesizing organic-rich crusts, suggesting that the outer layers of 3I/ATLAS consist of irradiated material with properties consistent with the observed composition of the 3I/ATLAS coma demonstrating observed spectral reddening.

Estimates of the erosion rate of 3I/ATLAS indicate that current outgassing samples the GCR-processed zone only (depth ~15-20 m), never reaching pristine interior material. Outgassing of pristine material after perihelion remains possible, though it is considered unlikely. This represents a paradigm shift: long-residence interstellar objects primarily reveal GCR-processed material rather than pristine material representative of their primordial formation environments.

Follow-up observations of 3I/ATLAS are critical to confirm the above interpretation and to confirm if GCR processing is a "fundamental evolutionary pathway" for interstellar objects.

Read this new research paper "Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Evidence for Galactic Cosmic Ray Processing": https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.26308

Authors: R. Maggiolo, F. Dhooghe, G. Gronoff, J. de Keyser, G. Cessateur
Release Date: Oct. 31, 2025
Source: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2510.26308

Learn more about Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS:
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-atlas/

Thanks to Cornell University and Astrobiology[dot]com

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #InterstellarObjects #Astrobiology #Astrochemistry #Astrogeology #Astrophysics #InterstellarComet3IATLAS #Stratigraphy #Irradiation #GalacticCosmicRays #GCR #SolarSystem #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #SPHEREx #Illustrations #SchematicDiagrams #Infographics #STEM #Education

European Sentinel-1D Earth Observation Satellite Launch on Ariane 6 Rocket | ESA

European Sentinel-1D Earth Observation Satellite Launch on Ariane 6 Rocket | ESA

Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket launch of European Space Agency Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite in Kourou, French Guiana

European Space Agency Sentinel-1 Earth satellite series mission emblem

🚀✨ An Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket lifted off from Europe’s Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana 🌍on Mission VA265, November 4, 2025, at 6:02 p.m. local time, carrying the 🛰 Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite. Part of the European Union's Copernicus Program, Sentinel-1D will deliver all-weather, Earth day & night radar imagery.

With Ariane 6, Arianespace successfully placed into orbit Sentinel-1D, a Copernicus satellite for the European Commission within the scope of a contract signed with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Sentinel-1D satellite has an advanced radar instrument to provide all-weather day-and-night imagery of the Earth's surface.

The VA265 mission represents the third commercial flight for Europe's heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6

With this successful launch, Arianespace supports a major environmental mission, while also carrying out its commitment to provide Europe with independent access to space.

With this third commercial flight, Ariane 6, the European heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, successfully placed Sentinel-1D into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 693 km. Spacecraft separation occurred 34 minutes after lift-off.

Learn more about the Sentinel-1D Satellite:
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Sentinel-1_mission_did_you_know

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Image Date: Nov. 4, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Science #Satellites #Sentinel1D #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Arianespace #Ariane6 #Ariane6Rocket #HeavyLiftRocket #RocketLaunch #MissionVA265 #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #Kourou #FrenchGuiana #SouthAmerica #France #CNES #ArianeGroup #Europe #STEM #Education

European Ariane 6 Rocket Launch of Sentinel-1D Earth Observation Satellite

European Ariane 6 Rocket Launch of Sentinel-1D Earth Observation Satellite

Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket launch with European Space Agency Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite in Kourou, French Guiana

 Sentinel-1D satellite safe inside the Ariane 6 rocket's fairing. The blue tiles inside the fairing serve as acoustic protection, dampening noise created during launch. 

European Space Agency Sentinel-1 Earth satellite series mission emblem

🚀✨ An Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket lifted off from Europe’s Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana 🌍on Mission VA265, November 4, 2025, at 6:02 p.m. local time, carrying the 🛰 Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite. Part of the European Union's Copernicus Program, Sentinel-1D will deliver all-weather, Earth day & night radar imagery.

With Ariane 6, Arianespace successfully placed into orbit Sentinel-1D, a Copernicus satellite for the European Commission within the scope of a contract signed with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Sentinel-1D satellite has an advanced radar instrument to provide all-weather day-and-night imagery of the Earth's surface.

The VA265 mission represents the third commercial flight for Europe's heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6

With this successful launch, Arianespace supports a major environmental mission, while also carrying out its commitment to provide Europe with independent access to space.

With this third commercial flight, Ariane 6, the European heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, successfully placed Sentinel-1D into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 693 km. Spacecraft separation occurred 34 minutes after lift-off.

Learn more about the Sentinel-1D Satellite:
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Sentinel-1_mission_did_you_know

Credit: Arianespace

Image Dates: Nov. 3-4, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Science #Satellites #Sentinel1D #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Arianespace #Ariane6 #Ariane6Rocket #HeavyLiftRocket #RocketLaunch #MissionVA265 #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #Kourou #FrenchGuiana #SouthAmerica #France #CNES #ArianeGroup #Europe #STEM #Education

Liftoff: European Ariane 6 Rocket Launch of Sentinel-1D Earth Observation Satellite

Liftoff: European Ariane 6 Rocket Launch of Sentinel-1D Earth Observation Satellite

🚀✨ Watch a replay of an Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket lifting off from Europe’s Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana 🌍on Mission VA265, November 4, 2025, at 6:02 p.m. local time, carrying the 🛰 Sentinel-1D Earth observation satellite. Part of the European Union's Copernicus Program, Sentinel-1D will deliver all-weather, Earth day & night radar imagery.

With Ariane 6, Arianespace successfully placed into orbit Sentinel-1D, a Copernicus satellite for the European Commission within the scope of a contract signed with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Sentinel-1D satellite has an advanced radar instrument to provide all-weather day-and-night imagery of thwe Earth's surface.

The VA265 mission represents the third commercial flight for Europe's heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6

With this successful launch, Arianespace supports a major environmental mission, while also carrying out its commitment to provide Europe with independent access to space.

With this third commercial flight, Ariane 6, the European heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, successfully placed Sentinel-1D into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 693 km. Spacecraft separation occurred 34 minutes after lift-off.

Video Credit: Arianespace

Duration: 34 seconds

Date: Nov. 4, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Science #Satellites #Sentinel1D #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #Arianespace #Ariane6 #Ariane6Rocket #HeavyLiftRocket #RocketLaunch #MissionVA265 #GuianaSpaceCentre #KourouSpaceport #Kourou #FrenchGuiana #SouthAmerica #France #CNES #ArianeGroup #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) Meets Star Queen & Omega Nebulae

Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) Meets Star Queen & Omega Nebulae

Astrophotographer Alessandro Carrozzi: "On the evening of October 18, 2025, Comet SWAN (C/2025 R2)—Comet Lemmon's "little sister" – crossed a stunning star field in the heart of the Milky Way, framed by the iconic Eagle (M16/Star Queen) and Omega (M17) nebulae. A beautiful yet challenging image to process, given the crowded and nebulous field."

The Star Queen Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611, and also known as the Eagle Nebula) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745–46.

The Omega Nebula is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745.

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares land borders with France to the west; Switzerland and Austria to the north; Slovenia to the east; and the two enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino.

Image Credit:  Alessandro Carrozzi

Image Details: - 88 × 45s @ f/4 – Canon 6D + Nikon 180mm f/2.8 on Star Adventurer (base composition) - 35 × 120s @ f/4 – ASI 2600MC Duo + Nikon 400mm f/2.8 on AM5 (combined with the previous for the comet stack) - 30 × 120s @ f/3.5 H-Alpha – Samyang 135mm f/2 + ZWO ASI 2600MM, Total integration: 3h 16m

Alessandro's website: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/151655471@N07/
Capture Location: Monchio, Italy
Image Date: Oct. 18, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #C2025R2SWAN #CometSWAN25B #Comets #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #StarQueenNebula #EagleNebula #Messier16 #M16 #Serpens #OmegaNebula #Sagittarius #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #Astrophotography #AlessandroCarrozzi #Astrophotographers #Monchio #Italy #Italia #Europe #STEM #Education

North Africa, Mediterranean & Eastern Europe Flyover | International Space Station

North Africa, Mediterranean & Eastern Europe Flyover | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui: ". . . So far, I've mostly introduced time-lapses from Japan, but for the second half of the mission, I thought it might be nice to show you various places around the Earth, so you can feel like you're traveling the world.

"When you consider locations, astronomical phenomena, weather, and so on, there are countless combinations, and I think it would be enjoyable."

Follow Expedition 73:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/Kimiya Yui

Duration: 55 seconds

Release Date: Nov. 2, 2025

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Shenzhou-20 & Shenzhou-21 Crews: In-Orbit Handover | China Space Station

Shenzhou-20 & Shenzhou-21 Crews: In-Orbit Handover | International Space Station    

At the handover ceremony at the Tianhe core module of the Chinese Space Station on November 4, 2025, all six astronauts from the two teams signed confirmation forms.

Chen Dong, commander of the Shenzhou-20 crew, handed over the symbolic key to the space station to Zhang Lu, commander of the Shenzhou-21 crew.

"After several days of work handover, the Shenzhou-21 crew have quickly settled into their roles, adapted to the environment, and become familiar with the work rhythm, making a good start. We are about to return to Earth, and now I hand over the hatch key, symbolizing our responsibility for the Chinese space station, to you. I hope that in the next six months, you will work efficiently and live healthily. And as you said at the media briefing, I hope you will demonstrate the romance of astronauts, build and maintain our space home, and fulfill your promises with concrete actions," Chen said.

"Please rest assured that we will take up the responsibility and safeguard our space home. We will build and manage the Chinese space station well, and make it the most suitable paradise in the universe," Zhang said.

The Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft was launched into space on Friday, October 31, 2025, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket.

As of now, the three Shenzhou-20 astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie—have completed all scheduled tasks at China's Tiangong space station, and are set to land at the Dongfeng landing site aboard the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft.

Currently, the landing site and all participating systems are making final preparations to welcome the trio back.

China's Shenzhou-20 crew on November 4, 2025, completed their in-orbit handover with the Shenzhou-21 crew and will return to Earth on November 5, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - Second spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞) Flight Engineer - First spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - First spaceflight

Shenzhou-20 Crew

Chen Dong (陈冬) - Commander - Third spaceflight

Chen Zhong Rui (陈中瑞) - Operator - First spaceflight

Wang Jie (王杰) - Flight Engineer - First spaceflight

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 1 minute, 38 seconds

Release Date: Nov. 4, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Earth #Docking #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #Shenzhou20 ##神舟二十号 #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video