NASA

The Dragon cargo spacecraft departing the International Space Station to end its CRS-24 mission (Image NASA)

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Yesterday, in the American afternoon, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ended its CRS-24 (Cargo Resupply Service 24) mission for NASA splashing down smoothly in the Gulf of Mexico, near Panama City. The Dragon left the International Space Station last Sunday. For SpaceX, this was the 4th mission of the 2nd contract with NASA to transport supplies to the Station with the new version of the Dragon cargo spacecraft, which splashes down near the East coast of the USA instead of the Pacific Ocean.

Shortly after the splashdown, SpaceX’s “Go Searcher” recovery ship went to retrieve the Dragon to transport it to the coast. The cargo brought back to Earth will be delivered to NASA within a few hours. The Dragon spacecraft reached the International Space Station on December 22, 2021.

Illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope (Image NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez)

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Yesterday, NASA confirmed the successful completion of the deployment of all components of the James Webb Space Telescope. Launched on December 25, 2021, this next-generation space telescope required several days of complex operations to deploy the various structures that make it up to reach its final configuration. This was a crucial phase that also included risks in the event that one of the systems didn’t work properly. Now the new phase opens with the calibration of the instruments, task-intensive to the point that it will take months before the James Webb can finally begin its scientific mission.

The James Webb Space Telescope blasting off atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Kourou base, French Guiana. After about 27 minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and began its journey to the area known as L2, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. During the journey, its structure will be deployed and instrument tests and calibrations will begin. That’s a long preparation phase that will continue even after the telescope has reached its destination. The launch has put a strain on the possibilities of one of the most powerful and reliable rockets available but was only the first in a series of critical steps required to begin the work of this extremely sophisticated instrument.

The IXPE space telescope blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Photo NASA/Joel Kowsky)

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A few hours ago, the NASA and Italian Space Agency IXPE space telescope was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral base. After just over 33 minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and made the necessary maneuvers to enter an equatorial orbit at an altitude of about 600 kilometers. There, after having extended its structure and after the test phase, it will begin its scientific mission to measure the polarization of cosmic X-rays, the first instrument of this type.