CosmicChronicle

Latest Space Breaking News: What's powering these mysterious, bright blue cosmic flashes? Astronomers find a clue Link: https://phys.org/news/2025-12-powering-mysterious-bright-blue-cosmic.html Summary: Among the more puzzling cosmic phenomena discovered over the past few decades are brief and very bright flashes of blue and ultraviolet light that gradually fade away, leaving behind faint X-ray and radio emissions. With slightly more than a dozen discovered so far, astronomers have debated whether they are produced by an unusual type of supernova or by interstellar gas falling into a black hole.

Latest Space News: NASA's MAVEN spacecraft is still silent at Mars — and apparently is spinning, too Link:

Space

NASA

MAVEN

Summary: NASA still hasn't heard from its MAVEN Mars orbiter, and the spacecraft appears to be spinning in an odd way as well.

🚀 **Upcoming Space Launch** 🚀 🌌 **Mission Name**: Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-99 🗓️ **Launch Date**: 2025-12-17T12:19:00Z 🚀 **Rocket**: Falcon 9 📖 **Details**: A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system. #SpaceLaunch #RocketScience

🚀 **Upcoming Space Launch** 🚀 🌌 **Mission Name**: Ariane 62 | Galileo L14 (FOC FM33 & FM34) 🗓️ **Launch Date**: 2025-12-17T05:01:00Z 🚀 **Rocket**: Ariane 62 📖 **Details**: Payload consists of two satellites for Europe's Galileo navigation system. #SpaceLaunch #RocketScience

🚀 **Upcoming Space Launch** 🚀 🌌 **Mission Name**: H3-22 | Michibiki 5 (QZS-5) 🗓️ **Launch Date**: 2025-12-17T02:10:00Z 🚀 **Rocket**: H3-22 📖 **Details**: QZSS (Quasi Zenith Satellite System) is a Japanese satellite navigation system operating from inclined, elliptical geosynchronous orbits to achieve optimal high-elevation visibility in urban canyons and mountainous areas. The navigation system objective is to broadcast GPS-interoperable and augmentation signals as well as original Japanese (QZSS) signals from a three-spacecraft constellation. The navigation system objective is to broadcast GPS-interoperable and augmentation signals as well as original Japanese (QZSS) signals from a three-spacecraft constellation in inclined, elliptical geosynchronous orbits. #SpaceLaunch #RocketScience

🚀 **Upcoming Space Launch** 🚀 🌌 **Mission Name**: Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo (LA-04) 🗓️ **Launch Date**: 2025-12-16T08:28:00Z 🚀 **Rocket**: Atlas V 551 📖 **Details**: Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, this constellation will be managed by Kuiper Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon. This constellation is planned to be composed of 3,276 satellites. The satellites are projected to be placed in 98 orbital planes in three orbital layers, one at 590 km, 610 km and 630 km altitude. #SpaceLaunch #RocketScience

🚀 **Upcoming Space Launch** 🚀 🌌 **Mission Name**: Long March 4B | Ziyuan-3-04 🗓️ **Launch Date**: 2025-12-16T03:17:00Z 🚀 **Rocket**: Long March 4B 📖 **Details**: The ZY-3 (Ziyuan-3, 'Resource-3') series represents China's first high-resolution, stereoscopic mapping satellites for civilian use. The second satellite is managed by the Satellite Surveying and Mapping Application Center (SASMAC). The imaging payload consists of a three-line camera array and a multispectral imager. The three-line panchromatic camera array to acquire stereoscopic imagery consists of three telescopic cameras with one oriented to the nadir and the other two each offset by 22° forward and backward in flight direction. The stereo mapping camera of ZY-3 has a resolution of 2.1 m for the nadir camera, and 2.6 m for the offset cameras. The swath width is 51 km. The multispectral imager for environmental and vegetation monitoring consists of a three-mirror telescope and a cooled detector system sensitive to four wavelength bands to capture full-color imagery as well as near-infrared data. The ground resolution of this system is 5.8 m. #SpaceLaunch #RocketScience

Latest Space Breaking News: Webb observes pulsar-orbiting planet whose composition defies explanation Link: https://phys.org/news/2025-12-webb-pulsar-orbiting-planet-composition.html Summary: Scientists using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have observed a rare type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, whose atmospheric composition challenges our understanding of how it formed.

Latest Space News: Watch Japanese H3 rocket launch Michibiki 5 navigation satellite tonight Link:

Space

Watch Japanese H3 rocket launch Michibiki 5 navigation satellite tonight

Liftoff is scheduled for 9:10 p.m. ET tonight (Dec. 16).

Summary: A Japanese H3 rocket will launch the Michibiki 5 navigation satellite to orbit tonight (Dec. 16), and you can watch the action live.

🧑‍🚀 **Astronaut Spotlight** 🌟 **Name**: Andrew R. Morgan 🏷️ **Status**: Active 📖 **Bio**: Andrew Richard "Drew" Morgan is a NASA astronaut from the class of 2013. #Astronauts #SpaceHeroes