Starlink is a system of satellites designed to provide internet access from space. Instead of relying on cables in the ground, the network sends signals from satellites orbiting Earth down to small dishes on the surface. This makes it possible to connect areas that are far away or difficult to reach, such as rural regions or islands. The system can also be set up quickly, which has made it useful in emergencies and natural disasters. For isolated communities, this technology has improved access to communication, education, and services.

As of late 2025, there were already more than 9,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with most of them actively working. Each satellite stays in space for around five years before being replaced. In the long term, the company hopes to expand the network to tens of thousands of satellites. There are proposals under review to increase that number dramatically, potentially reaching up to one million satellites in the near future. 

For travellers, the most visible impact is in the night sky itself. Starlink satellites orbit relatively close to Earth and can often be seen without special equipment. They sometimes appear as a line or “train” of lights moving together across the sky. In places known for their dark skies, these lights can disrupt the natural view that visitors travel long distances to experience. 

@spacex.vip Starlink satellite flies over the sky #spacex #starlink #elonmusk #space ♬ Cornfield Chase – Hans Zimmer

Stargazing tourism has grown in recent years, with many destinations promoting clear, unpolluted skies. People visit deserts, mountains, and protected parks to see the Milky Way and thousands of stars. However, studies suggest that with tens of thousands of satellites, a noticeable part of the night sky could be filled with artificial objects. In more extreme scenarios, scientists warn that satellites could even outnumber visible stars. This would change the experience of the night sky for travellers around the world.

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Astronomers are also raising concerns about the impact on scientific research. Organisations such as the International Astronomical Union have warned that large satellite constellations can interfere with observations. Bright satellites can leave streaks in telescope images, making it harder to study distant objects in space. Radio signals from satellites may also affect radio astronomy, which relies on very quiet frequencies to detect signals from the universe. These challenges are becoming more frequent as the number of satellites increases.

Beyond astronomy, there are environmental and safety questions. The growing number of satellites increases the risk of collisions in orbit, which could create debris and make space operations more dangerous. When satellites reach the end of their life, they burn up in the atmosphere. Scientists are studying whether this process could affect the atmosphere over time, especially as more satellites are launched and replaced. There are also concerns that increased brightness in the night sky could affect wildlife that depends on natural darkness.

Private companies are playing a larger role in the rapid growth of satellites than ever before, alongside national space agencies. Firms like Blue Origin are also developing new technologies and expanding access to space. At the same time, interest in space tourism is rising, with more people travelling to witness launches or even experience spaceflight. As activity in space increases, so does the number of objects orbiting Earth.

For now, the future of large satellite constellations is still being discussed. Proposals for major expansions are under review by regulators, and scientists are calling for more studies on their impact. Companies have started to test ways to reduce brightness, such as adding visors to satellites. The challenge will be finding a balance between improving global connectivity and protecting the night sky.

L’article Astronomers warn that satellites could soon outnumber stars in the night sky est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Four astronauts, Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and from the Canadian Space Agency, Jeremy Hansen, will be at the point of lunar fly-by at the time of publication, having left Earth at 6:35 pm ET on Wednesday 1 April 2026 for a record-breaking trip that will take them further than any human has ever gone from Earth.

The crew each represent a pioneering moment for human space travel: Glover became the first person of colour, Hansen the first non–US citizen, Koch the first woman, and Wiseman the oldest person to go beyond low Earth orbit and approach the Moon. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described them as “remarkable explorers” undertaking “a true test mission that will carry them farther and faster than any humans in a generation.” 

Crowds of onlookers and well-wishers estimated to number around 400,000 have filled hotels and RV sites, bringing approximately €10 million to the local economy. They gathered on Florida’s so-called Space Coast to witness the spectacle as the most powerful Space Launch System (SLS) ever deployed sent the astronauts on their way.

Meanwhile passengers on board a Southwest Airlines aircraft were treated to a view of the launch from the air, with a clip circulating online showing the spacecraft as a glowing ball rising quickly into the sky, trailed by a column of “smoke” made up of water vapour and boiling cryogenics.

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Videos taken from other vantage points on the commercial aircraft showed the rocket continuing its trajectory into orbit against a blue sky, while passengers can be heard exclaiming.

For Easter, the spacecraft’s pilot Glover sent a special message to everyone following the mission. “You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe,” he said. “Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special, but we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you — just trust me — you are special.”

He continued with a moving call for unity: “In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together,” he said, of planet Earth. “I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together.”

L’article Artemis II launch seen from plane window captures global attention est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The planets will appear to line up along the ecliptic — the path the Sun, Moon and planets trace across the sky — creating the illusion of a coordinated cosmic display shortly after sunset. The rare alignment occurs because of the planets’ orbital geometry. While in reality they won’t form a straight line in space, from Earth they will appear clustered on the same side of the Sun, creating what astronomers call a planetary parade.

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Timing and visibility vary by location, but the best window for seeing the parade begins roughly 30–60 minutes after sunset in most regions. Around that time, low-horizon planets such as Mercury and Venus will be visible just above the western horizon, while Jupiter will be higher in the night sky. 

Several factors affect how many of the six planets can actually be seen with the naked eye. Venus and Jupiter will be the most conspicuous, shining brightly enough to be spotted easily without optical aid. Saturn and Mercury should also be visible to unaided eyes under good conditions, though Mercury’s low position near the horizon makes it a challenge, depending on local light pollution and atmospheric haze. 

The two ice giants — Uranus and Neptune — are much dimmer and typically require binoculars or a small telescope to detect. Uranus will sit higher in the sky in the constellation Taurus, while Neptune, close to Saturn near the horizon, will be a difficult target in twilight without optics. 

Observers in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America and Europe, will have slightly different optimal viewing dates and times. For example, the alignment appears tightest for cities like New York or Athens on Feb. 28, while locations such as London or Berlin may see similar configurations a day or two later. 

Experts caution that clear, unobstructed views and minimal light pollution are key to successfully spotting the planets, especially those near the horizon. Even with perfect conditions, the brief window — particularly for Mercury and Venus — means skywatchers will need to time their viewing carefully. 

To catch the planetary parade, look toward the western horizon about 30–60 minutes after sunset on February 28, 2026, when the planets will be visible in a gentle arc along the ecliptic. Bring binoculars or a small telescope to spot the dimmer planets like Uranus and Neptune, while Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn should be visible to the naked eye under clear skies.

While spectacular, the parade is purely a visual alignment from our vantage point and has no measurable gravitational effects on Earth. Still, it offers a modern-day connection to the skywatching traditions of past generations, when multiple planets in the evening sky were cherished as remarkable celestial events. 

L’article Six-planet ‘parade’ to dazzle night sky on 28 February 2026 – How to see the rare alignment est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

In a press release, the Jeff-Bezos-owned firm said the move “reflects Blue Origin’s commitment to the nation’s goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent, sustained lunar presence.”

The hiatus for New Shepard tourism flights comes amid what Blue Origin called “a multi-year customer backlog,” popular demand attributed to the spaceflight company’s “consistent and reliable performance” and “exceptional customer experience.” That backlog is unlikely to be helped by the pause in flights, with those due to fly this year now having to wait until 2028 before flights resume.

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To date, the New Shepard has become the first reusable vertical-landing system and started taking tourists to space in 2021. Since then, it has grown its reputation by taking 92 humans, including celebrities, journalists, researchers, and tourists, beyond the notional edge of space at the Kármán line. It has also carried 200 scientific payloads from academic institutions, research teams, and NASA.

The NASA relationship includes a contract to land NASA astronauts on the moon a Blue Origin Blue Moon spacecraft. Launch is scheduled for the Artemis V mission in 2029, but before then, Blue Origin intends to send a pathfinder Blue Moon on a demo mission, as early as 2026.

Meanwhile, Artemis II is set to inaugurate crewed Artemis flight with a round-the-moon voyage by March 2026. The Artemis III and Artemis IV, the first crewed Artemis missions to the moon’s surface, are expected to use SpaceX‘s Starship lander, though Blue Origin is reported to be developing a competing lander that could be ready for Artemis III.

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The competition between the two billionaire-run space firms is seen as a positive for the US chances in the space race versus China, as both superpowers vie for a moon shot.

Still, would-be space visitors, who had been buoyed by the announcement in 2025 that Blue Origin was going to increase flights moving to “weekly cadence,” will now be disappointed except for one lucky spacegoer, aboard the New Shepard NS38, which flew mid-January. A Bezos employee stepped in at the last minute to take the place of a sixth customer who was unable to fly due to illness. It may have been one of the last times such a trip will be possible for the next few years.

L’article Blue Origin suspends space tourism flights until 2028 to focus on moon est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

6 February 2026: opening of the launch window for NASA’s Artemis II moon mission

February’s night sky highlights are starting off with something quite special. 6 February marks the opening of the launch window for NASA’s Artemis II moon mission, characterised by the use of NASA’s most powerful rocket ever and by the fact that humans will travel beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in over 50 years. NASA’s Orion crew spacecraft will be traveling around the moon for 10 days straight, thus effectively preparing for a landing on the lunar surface in mid-2027.

While the mission should depart on 6 February, backup dates have been scheduled in the days after in case of delay, and the launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida can be followed online.

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8-9 February 2026: height of the Alpha Centaurids meteor shower

People residing in the Southern Hemisphere – or the southernmost parts of the Northern Hemisphere – will be able to catch an early meteor shower between 30 January and 20 February 2026, peaking on the night of 8 on 9 February. The shower is not the most spectacular one of the year, but up to six meteors an hour can be spotted under dark, clear skies.

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17 February 2026: annular solar eclipse

On 17 February, a so-called ring-of-fire annular eclipse will be visible from Earth. This night sky event happens when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, but is situated too far from Earth to cover the entire Sun’s surface.

While only Antarctica and the Southern Indian Ocean will enjoy a full annular solar eclipse this month, those in the southernmost parts of the Southern Hemisphere will be able to capture a partial one.

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19 February 2026: Mercury’s greatest eastern elongation

Planet Mercury can seldom be spotted from Earth. Most of the time, it stays too close to the sun, meaning it is lost to the eye. However, on 19 February, the planet will be at its furthest elongation from the sun, making it the perfect time to observe an otherwise very shy planet.

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Late February 2026: six planet parade

Speaking of planets: in the days around 28 February, a rare lineup of six of them will be visible across the southwestern evening sky. Sky enthusiasts will be able to spot Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury with the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune will require optical aid.

The best time to spot the parade is soon after sunset, but depending on one’s location, the best date to watch the parade may differ slightly. Once the height of the event is over, Mercury and Venus will be the first to disappear from view, followed by Saturn and Neptune, Uranus, and finally Jupiter.

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End of February 2026: return of the Milky Way core view

The last noteworthy night sky event of the month will take place more or less at the same time as the six planet parade. The Milky Way season in the Northern Hemisphere lasts from March to October, approximately, meaning that outside that period, its core is hidden below the horizon.

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At the end of February, the galactic center gradually starts to reappear in the southeastern horizon, meaning the southernmost parts of the Northern Hemisphere and particularly the regions with the darkest night skies will be able to spot it again in the latest hours of the night. Throughout March, visibility will increase.

Whether looking for meteor showers or planet parades, observing the night sky in all its glory can be considered as a form of art. Not sure how to start? Discover our tips in our ultimate guide to a perfect stargazing experience.

L’article Six night sky highlights not to miss in February est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Cooperation between the Chinese National Space Administration and Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, on the development of the International Lunar Research Station continues. Site reconnaissance is due to be completed in 2026, and construction is slated to start by 2028. Though the station is intended for international science partners, tourist visits are a long way off.

In 2026, humans are set to return to the moon’s neighbourhood for the first time since 1972 on a 10-day mission which is essentially a fly-by using a “free return trajectory” to loop around, testing NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and validating all systems, especially life support, for future Moon landings and Mars missions. NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens posted on X on 2 January 2026 that preparations for the Artemis II mission were advanced. The rocket is moving to the launch pad “in less than two weeks,” she said, for final testing. The launch window is between 6 February and April.

The event is driving a surge in business and leisure travel on the so-called US “space coast” near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Meagan Happel, Space Coast Office of Tourism public relations manager, told FLORIDA TODAY via email that during the previous Artemis I launch, nearby hotels were fully booked by stakeholder companies, out-of-town visitor arrivals, and media. The Office is expecting similar crowds this next time, so anyone interested in attending should act quickly.

Next year, we’re going back to the Moon

Don’t forget to send your name to fly aboard the Orion spacecraft with the Artemis II crew: https://t.co/nVKTEM3wOT pic.twitter.com/Ajpb8iLbbu

— NASA Ames (@NASAAmes) December 26, 2025

However, NASA’s budget continues to shrink and is now smaller than at any time since 1961. This means, as The Guardian points out, that despite a 1960s treaty defining space as a universal commons like the high seas, the private sector is now at the forefront of space exploration, with billionaire-led companies like Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX dominant. Space fans can get in on this action when SpaceX floats on the stock market for €1.5 trillion, a seismic event due to take place at some point in 2026.

But, writing on Medium, space journalist Will Lockett has said Musk should be worried about Blue Origin’s New Glenn ship, which successfully launched and delivered the ESCAPADE probes on their journey to Mars in November and “perfectly landed the first stage, proving New Glenn is a highly competent and economically viable launch vehicle.”

While New Glenn is not intended for tourist flights, Blue Origin successfully launched the 37^th flight of its New Shepard in 2025, marking the first time a wheelchair user (Michaela Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer at the European Space Agency) has flown above the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. Including that crew, New Shepard has now flown 92 people (86 individuals) into space. No announcements on missions and passengers 2026 have yet been made, but Blue Origin is making much of New Shepard’s accessibility, noting the craft’s suitability for travellers who are “wheelchair users, hard of hearing, have limited mobility or limb differences, have low vision, or are legally blind.”

Meanwhile, space is increasingly crowded, filled with orbiting satellites that Interesting Engineering says, “could increase collision risks and complicate future space operations.” In response, Elon Musk’s Starlink will begin lowering the orbit of its satellites in 2026, condensing 4,400 satellites operating at an altitude of 550 km down to 480 km and freeing up room in low Earth orbit. For reference, the International Space Station (ISS) operates at 408 km above Earth. Denis Tito was the first self-funded space tourist to the ISS in 2001, and since then, visits by a range of wealthy individuals have taken place, including Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, in 2009. Tourist trips to the ISS continue, but again, the roster for 2026 has not yet been announced.

L’article What 2026 holds for the space tourism race est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The mission will be another milestone for Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule system, which is designed for short suborbital journeys lasting between ten and twelve minutes. To date, the company has flown eighty-six people into space, representing eighty individual passengers, with several flying more than once. NS 37 will be the sixteenth crewed mission for the programme and the seventh launch of 2025.

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Michi Benthaus to become the first wheelchair user in space

The most significant element of the announcement is the inclusion of Michaela (Michi) Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer at the European Space Agency. Her participation will mark the first time a wheelchair user has reached space, a milestone for accessibility in human spaceflight.

Benthaus has built a career dedicated to scientific collaboration and interplanetary exploration. In 2018, she suffered a spinal cord injury in a mountain biking accident, which affected her ability to walk. Despite this, she has continued to take part in space research and training, including a Zero G research flight in 2022 and a two-week analogue astronaut mission in Poland in 2024. Beyond her scientific work, she is an advocate for increasing participation in space-related activities and remains active in wheelchair tennis.

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A diverse crew with scientific, engineering, and entrepreneurial backgrounds

Blue Origin also introduced five other passengers representing a broad mix of expertise and careers.

Joey Hyde is a physicist and quantitative investor who recently retired from a leading hedge fund. Based in Florida with his family, he holds a doctorate in astrophysics and has been fascinated by spaceflight since witnessing the 1988 launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. He sees NS 37 as a continuation of his long-standing support for science education and exploration.

Hans Koenigsmann, a German American aerospace engineer, is one of the most prominent figures in modern rocket development. He spent nearly two decades at SpaceX, ultimately serving as vice president of build and flight reliability. Koenigsmann remains active in the industry through advisory and board roles and is a licensed pilot and dedicated skier.

Neal Milch is a global business executive who began his career at LaundryLux, a family-owned commercial laundry company. He is now the chair of the Board of Trustees at Jackson Laboratory, an internationally recognised biomedical research institute. Influenced by watching the Gemini and Apollo missions as a child, Milch adopted the Latin phrase In Omnia Paratus, meaning Ready for Anything, as his guiding motto.

Adonis Pouroulis, an entrepreneur and mining engineer, brings more than three decades of experience in the natural resources and energy sector. He is the founder of Pella Resources, co-founder of Energy Revolution Ventures, chairman of Rainbow Rare Earths, and chief executive of Chariot Limited. His career reflects a strong interest in sustainable energy solutions and education, and he describes the upcoming flight as a lifelong dream.

Jason Stansell, a computer scientist from West Texas, completes the crew. A self-described space enthusiast, he has pursued a wide range of scientific and technical hobbies, from scuba diving to aviation and amateur rocketry. He hopes his participation will encourage scientific curiosity and critical thinking. Stansell is dedicating his flight to his brother Kevin, who passed away in 2016 after a battle with brain cancer.

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A short but significant journey above the boundary of space

NS 37 will carry the crew above the Kármán line, roughly one hundred kilometres above Earth, the internationally recognised boundary of space. Although the journey lasts only minutes from launch to touchdown, the mission offers a powerful symbolic and technological step in widening access to space.

Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has not revealed the cost of a seat on New Shepard, but interest in suborbital tourism continues to grow as private companies expand opportunities for civilian spaceflight.

L’article Next Blue Origin tourist launch will fly wheelchair user to space for the first time in historic milestone est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

This time the crew will include just one woman: Deborah Martorell, a Puerto Rican meteorologist and journalist whose environmental and space reporting has won eight Emmy Awards and two Awards of Excellence in Science Reporting from the American Meteorological Society. She has previously participated in a microgravity flight with NASA in 2007 and is also a Solar System Ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Also on the space flight, three businessmen:

• Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal, a real estate investor born in Agra, India, and now a naturalized U.S. citizen who is a lifelong traveller who has apparently exhausted Earth’s offerings having been to every country in the world, the North and South Poles, skydived Mount Everest and the Pyramids of Giza. He holds a private pilot’s license and also flies helicopters. 
• Plus, Türkiye’s Erden Holding board member Gökhan Erdem, described in a press release as a “passionate space enthusiast and an avid photographer.”
• And James (J.D.) Russell, styled in press materials as “a serial entrepreneur and founder of Alpha Funds, a technology-focused venture capital company, and Alpha Aerospace, an aerospace consulting and solutions company.” In memory of his deceased daughter he created a foundation dedicated to children’s education and first responders, which partners Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. He has already been to space with New Shepherd in November 2024.

Alongside them, another philanthropist, Brit Lionel Pitchford, a teacher, translator, and tour guide, and the founder of an orphanage in Kathmandu and a Nepal non-profit dedicated to serving disadvantaged children and girls.

And finally, H.E. Justin Sun – another who has already been to space with New Shepherd. He is the Ambassador and former Permanent Representative of Grenada to the World Trade Organisation, and Prime Minister of Liberland, Founder of blockchain TRON and DAO, recognised by Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in the Consumer Technology category several times. He placed the winning bid for the first seat on New Shepard in 2021, with the $28 million in proceeds donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which selected 19 space-focused nonprofits to each receive a $1 million grant to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEAM and help invent the future of life in space. 

L’article Blue Origin’s next space tourism mission expected in August 2025 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

While the Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in the Kazakh steppe, since 2005 and until 2050, it is being leased by Russia and managed by Roscosmos and the Russian Aerospace Forces. Every year, more than 20 rockets lift off from the site and it is especially important given the fact that it is the only spaceport from where Russian missions to the International Space Station are launched.

However, despite the fact that the Baikonur Cosmodrome continues to be used for launches, fifty decommissioned facilities have so far been handed back over to Kazakhstan. And the country has big plans for the site.

Today, #Baikonur Cosmodrome turns 7⃣0⃣!

The world's first & one of the largest spaceports saw #Sputnik, #Belka & #Strelka & first man in space Yury #Gagarin, as well as other ~150 other cosmonauts & astronauts, venture into space

~5'000 launches were made from its grounds pic.twitter.com/TpjadhgGRb

— Russia (@Russia) June 2, 2025

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is home to historically important locations such as Gagarin’s launchpad – where Yuri Gagarin performed the first human spaceflight on Vostok 1 in 1961. As they are no longer in use and are thus being transferred to Kazakhstan, the government is now signing them over to the national aerospace committee company to prepare a new future: space tourism.

“In the future, the Kazakh side can turn it into a tourist site — a place where visitors can come, explore, and connect with the history of the very launchpad from which the first human journeyed into space, from Kazakh soil,” the Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the Baikonur Complex, Kairat Nurtay, told Euronews.

As of September, the tourism transformation of the Cosmodrome should be approved, paving the way for all kinds of projects, such as hotels, glampings, and immersive activities. A consortium was has already been established between Kazakh Tourism and the state-owned Infracos enterprise in order to facilitate the development of space tourism, astro-tourism, and cultural tourism.

One plan, several parts

Before commencing the development, however, all decommissioned facilities will need to be inspected for safety. Some buildings – including Gagarin’s launchpad and the Assembly and Fueling Complex – will be renovated or rebuilt in order to put together an open air museum where people can get to know the 70-year long history of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

“At the moment, we are developing four areas of ground-based space tourism. The first is educational tours. The second is cultural and discovery-based tours. The third focuses on event-driven tourism. And the fourth includes adventure and active tours — possibly in the form of large-scale road trips like drive forums, and so on. As for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism, there are many exciting event formats around the world that could be brought here,” says said Chief Manager of the Management Board Chairman’s Office at Kazakh Tourism, Leila Baky­tova.

At Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum: computer used by Mission Control during Gagarin's flight in 1961. Old school! pic.twitter.com/NpWxhCjT

— David Saint-Jacques (@Astro_DavidS) July 14, 2012

While the new plans take the tourism side of the Cosmodrome to a whole new level, it is not the first tourist-centred project to take place at the site. In 2024, Kazakhstan already built a yurt, located at a viewing platform near Baikonur’s 31^st launch pad. This allows groups of guests to watch rocket launches up close and in 2025, tourists have already been able to witness three launches. Moreover, the complex already has a museum, which includes the former residences of rocket engineer Sergei Korolev and first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Expanding the scale of the project could mean that the Cosmodrome could welcome up to 50,000 visitors a year by 2029, five times the current visitor number.

“It would be amazing if people could witness a rocket launch with their own eyes — to feel, even for a moment, like Korolev himself, giving the command to launch. Thanks to new technologies, visitors could simulate the experience of launching a rocket from the control centre. Even if it’s on screens or in virtual form, they could still take part — immersed in the soundscape, surrounded by multimedia effects, perhaps even observing astronauts, robots, or mission teams at work. The idea is to make them feel like part of the crew,” museum expert Rinat Kutdussov explained to Euronews.

'Fragment of an Exhibit Hall at the Museum of Soviet Cosmonautics at the Baikonur Cosmodrome'
Saulesh Yessenova, 2017 #Baikonur pic.twitter.com/I75GVNciIR

— Mia Bennett (@cryopolitics) August 29, 2024

As commercial space tourism takes off, Kazakhstan has big ambitions. By 2028, the government wants to commercialise Soyuz rocket launches. According to Baubek Oralmagambetov, Chairman of the Aerospace Committee, the first test flight is scheduled by the end of 2025, with at least two more tests planned before the commercialisation in 2028.

L’article Kazakhstan eyes space tourism market as Baikonur Cosmodrome turns 70 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The 500 kg lander, known as Kosmos 482, was on its way to Venus when a malfunction occurred, preventing it from escaping Earth’s orbit. While most of the mission’s components re-entered the atmosphere and disintegrated within a decade, the landing capsule – a small spherical object of about one metre in diameter – remained stranded in orbit for 53 years, gradually losing altitude. Its long orbital drift may soon end.

Marco Langbroek, a Dutch satellite tracker and scientist at Delft University of Technology predicts the failed Kosmos 482 will re-enter the atmosphere around 10 May, an estimate roughly echoed by the US Aerospace Corporation which also monitors space debris. If the capsule survives re-entry, Langbroek estimates it could crash to Earth at speeds of up to 242 km/h.

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Had it succeeded, Kosmos 482 would have extended the Soviet Union’s pioneering planetary exploration programme, arriving on Venus less than two years after Venera 7 achieved the first successful soft landing on another planet.

The spacecraft’s potential impact zone spans a vast region between 51.7° north and south latitude, ranging from cities like London and Edmonton (Canada) in the north, to South America’s Cape Horn in the south. With over 70% of the Earth’s surface covered by water, Langbroek notes that ‘chances are good it will indeed end up in some ocean’.

He adds that the actual risk to humans is minimal: ‘It’s similar to that of a random meteorite fall, several of which happen each year. You run a bigger risk of getting hit by lightning in your lifetime.’

Indeed, the National Weather Service estimates the lifetime odds of being struck by lightning in the US at about 1 in 15,300, with even lower odds globally.

What might happen on re-entry?

Although the capsule is expected to re-enter this week, it remains uncertain how much of the half-ton structure will survive atmospheric re-entry. Langbroek compares it to ‘crashing your car into a wall at 150 miles an hour’.

Several outcomes are possible:

• Parachute deployment – Highly unlikely: The lander still carries its original parachute system. However, after more than five decades in space, experts doubt it would still function. If it did, it could enable a gentle descent – a surprising tribute to Soviet engineering.
• Heat-shield failure – Most likely, best case: According to Dr Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, if the heat shield fails, the capsule would likely burn up entirely during re-entry.
• Intact fall – Still possible: If the heat shield holds, ‘You have a half-ton metal object falling from the sky,’ warns McDowell. In that case, some fragments may survive splashdown or – less probably – reach land.

While the uncontrolled nature of the re-entry has sparked concern, past incidents are somehow reassuring. In 2022, a large Chinese Long March 5B booster rocket made an uncontrolled re-entry over the Indian Ocean with no reported damage. Similarly, in 2018, the defunct Tiangong-1 space station burned up over the South Pacific, with no debris reaching inhabited areas.

L’article 1972 Venus-bound Soviet spacecraft expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in coming days est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.