AkaSci 📡

@NASAJPL You may want to clarify whether Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) will be visible before sunrise or after sunset - through the end of April. And a bit about the declining elevation angle.

Can’t catch it tomorrow? It will be visible (just a bit dimmer) through the end of April.

Tomorrow morning is your best chance to see comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS)! Grab your binoculars and look for a bright streak near the eastern horizon in the constellation Pegasus about 90 minutes before sunrise.

@planet4589 @RocketLab How does RocketLab's Hall thruster differ from similar thrusters used in other missions? What's new and novel? SpaceX also uses Hall thrusters (with less expensive Argon), manufactured at scale, for its satellites. Also, SpaceX provided numbers. x.com/SpaceX/status/…

@RocketLab Hmm "details" with absolutely no numbers (thrust, Isp, etc)

Meet Gauss: Our new in-house designed and built electric propulsion system. Electric propulsion satellite thrusters have historically proven extremely difficult to produce in high volumes, causing supply chain fragility for national security and commercial constellation operators alike. We’ve already established the Gauss production line, designed to produce more than 200 thrusters per year, ensuring we can supply thrusters on demand in large quantities.

@amsatdl @planet4589 @DJSnM Was the statement yesterday - "Maven is currently in command lock with DSN in Madrid" - also an error?

UPDATE: #MRO and #MAVEN downlink frequencies are 6 MHz apart, so they should normally not interfere with each other. However, the events we saw yesterday and today as of timings and frequency doppler agree with Horizons/MRO exactly. In the attached screenshots we can see “spurious” and “harmonics”. The spurious signals are local interference, but the harmonics are obviously from MRO and very close to the expected Maven frequency. What was thought to be “Maven” is in fact MRO. Proof test by off-pointing our 20m antenna from Mars, but also acid tested when MRO disappeared behind Mars (LOS) – same effect. On December 15th NASA wrote in the Maven blog: “Although no spacecraft telemetry has been received since Dec. 4, the team recovered a brief fragment of tracking data from Dec. 6 as part of an ongoing radio science campaign. Analysis of that signal suggests that the MAVEN spacecraft was rotating in an unexpected manner when it emerged from behind Mars. Further, the frequency of the tracking signal suggests MAVEN’s orbit trajectory may have changed”. So, they might have seen those harmonics from MRO as well as they have not received telemetry from Maven since December 4th and it might well be that Maven is still in its nominal orbit, but having some sort of electrical power outage. So hopefully they will be able to "reboot" Maven soon...

@a320cat @Airbus Thanks for all the good well-presented info! Also, check out @AkaSci/115633328403425537" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/115633…

Així s’ha solucionat el problema dels @airbus aquesta nit!

@eastdakota @Cloudflare Should "Don't Panic" be a requirement for all mission-critical apps?

We let the Internet down today. Here’s our technical post mortem on what happened. On behalf of the entire @Cloudflare team, I’m sorry. blog.cloudflare.com/18-november-20…

@NASASolarSystem @NASAJPL @SwRI Was the damaged voltage regulator located in the JunoCAM camera head or the Junocam Digital Electronics Assembly JDEA which is located within the avionics radiation vault? The vault, we know, provides much better radiation shielding.

How to fix a camera from 370 million miles away. 📸📡 An experimental technique rescued a camera aboard our #JunoMission spacecraft, offering lessons that will benefit other systems dealing with high radiation in space. Details: missionjuno.swri.edu/news/nasa-shar…

@NASA_Langley @fireflyspace This post is confusing. The first line refers to the lunar sunset and yet the 2nd sentence about the images refers to Blue Ghost descent and landing, which was during lunar morning 14 days ago.

Our SCALPSS cameras captured a lunar sunset! These images captured during @fireflyspace's Blue Ghost descent and landing were taken every 10 minutes, the bright light moving along the top right is light reflecting off the lander onto the ground. 🌘✨: go.nasa.gov/4hjitCj

@NASA What will SPHEREx do that JWST or EUCLID cannot? #AskNASA

How will SPHEREx help scientists answer big-picture questions about the origins of our universe, galaxies, key ingredients for life in our galaxy? What will PUNCH teach us about solar weather? Use #AskNASA to ask your questions, and they may be answered live on air during our launch broadcast!

LIVE: Two missions - one launch! Watch with us as PUNCH and SPHEREx share a ride to space. They’re set to lift off from California’s @SLDelta30 at 11:10pm ET (0310 UTC March 12). twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@NASA How many GigaBytes of data will SPHEREx generate on average in one day? #AskNASA

@Astro_Jonny @astroforge IM-2 is OK. investors.intuitivemachines.com/news-releases/…

Still unclear on the status of @AstroForge's Odin spacecraft but does seem there might be a signal...

@nascom1 Downlink rates at DSN Canberra - IM-2 : 1.256 kb/s NASA Lunar Trailblazer : 16 kb/s eyes.nasa.gov/apps/dsn-now/d… More on the mission at @AkaSci/114069756922920812" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/114069…

@DJSnM Is it possible that the Flexjet 560 pilot after hearing the instructions "cross 31 left hold short 31 center" believed that he was crossing 31 Left when he was in fact crossing 31 Center? @flightradar24

The small jet was taxiing on a runway when it crossed the active runway. When runways cross there's not the usual hold short markings that mark where a taxiway joins a runway, just a white line. Also missing from this is where they make the plane sit still for a long time and move all the other traffic around them/

@kpheider @AsteroidWatch Do check out this thread at @AkaSci/114041414602822799" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/114041… for some graphics and explanations of the Impact probability and risk/uncertainty corridor of asteroid 2024 YR4 on Dec 22, 2032.

@akaschs @AsteroidWatch The nominal orbit veered notably outward as the observation arc expanded from 45 days to 57 days after the full moon quit interfering with observations.

New observations of 2024 YR4 have enabled planetary defense experts to refine the asteroid's chance of impact in 2032. As nightly observations continue, the impact probability will continue to be updated. Learn more: go.nasa.gov/3I0ZA7K

@YBeletsky I posted most of your images in a thread on comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) at @AkaSci/113885072314111319" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/113885… With due credit and links of course. Check it out.

@akaschs Thanks so much 😃

🚨‼️Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) sets beside the dome of the 6.5-m Magellan Telescope at Carnegie's Las Campanas Observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile. I captured this image on January, 22 during late twilight and I used Planit to plan the composition. A remarkable farewell to astronomers! As the comet grows fainter, its final display is simply stunning ! 🤩 Canon R6 + 70-200/2.8, 10 x 20 sec #comet #c2024g3 #atlas #chile #twilight #astronomy #astrophotography #canon #planitpro

@YBeletsky Bravo once again! Have you submitted your images to NASA APOD? apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsub… It might also be beneficial to join and post on Bluesky and Mastodon. @AkaSci/113869560995195625" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/113869…

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) - A View from an Observatory 😃 I took this image at the ESO Paranal Observatory on January, 19. The comet is setting in the twilight next to one of the auxiliary telescopes (AT). This time, I used a 70mm lens to capture the whole scene. I hope you enjoy the view! 👍 #comet #c2024g3 #atlas #paranal #eso #chile #twilight #astronomy #astrophotography #canon #planitpro

@coreyspowell @JfkWhitlam Voyager (1) power was in stable operation at 225 We in November 2023. Voyager 2's power was in stable operation at 225 We in April 2024. We = Watt electrical science.nasa.gov/planetary-scie…

@akaschs @JfkWhitlam Interesting -- I just reached the same conclusion by comparing original & current Voyager power output (470 watts then, ~249 watts now). Hardier thermocouples would have bought more years, even decades maybe, but that Pu-238 half-life is an unbreakable limit.

Voyager 2 has been in space so long that its radioactive power supply is decaying away, reducing power & forcing NASA to turn off one of its instruments. But the spacecraft is still alive & active at age 47, now 12.8 billion miles from home.

@coreyspowell @JfkWhitlam Voyager's power drop is both from Pu-238 decay and thermocouple degradation. Here is my estimate of the contribution of the two. Each contributes about an equal amount, hence power has dropped by 50% in 44 years instead of 87.7. More at @AkaSci/113237526908254541" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/113237…

@JfkWhitlam The limiting factor is the Pu-238 that heats the power-generating RTGs. It has a half-life of 87.7 years, and the available power has been steadily dropping as it decays. science.nasa.gov/planetary-scie…

@DMOPalmer @planet4589 My rough estimate of the location of the breakup of the ATLAS 5 CENTAUR Rocket Body based on TLE info from NORAD. Note that the orbit is 9.4° inclined from the equatorial plane. Orbital period is around 12.7 hours. More at @AkaSci/113092672374157247" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/113092…