Cosmic Chicago
Chicago's Independent Space News Outlet
Category: News
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NASA Ready to Explore the Trojan Asteroids: How to Watch the NASA Lucy Mission
NASA is ready to launch a 12 year mission to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids in order to learn more about the formation of our Solar System. The Lucy spacecraft is set to launch on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 16th, 2021 at 4:34 a.m. CDT.…
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Chicago's Nearby Palos Preserves Named World's Largest Urban Night Sky Place
There is a new urban dark sky place, one of only three total, and it’s the largest in the world. Palos Preserves is just outside the city limits of Chicago, but still Cook County, and officially earned the designation in late August from the International Dark Sky Association (IDA). The IDA recognizes dark sky places…
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SpaceX Inspiration4 Mission Completes Successful Trip to Space
After a beautiful launch to orbit and an exciting splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, the crew of SpaceX’s Inspiration4 has successfully completed the first all civilian mission to space. SpaceX sent the crew of Inspiration4 on a three day mission orbiting the Earth, without any professional astronauts to command the mission or pilot the Dragon…
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How to See Inspiration4 Fly Over Chicago at Night
When you know where to look and what to look for, you can easily see the spacecraft of Inspiration4 fly over Chicago at night. Despite the presence of bright city lights, the current streak of clear night skies and Dragon’s orbital path means you have a couple chances to spot the spacecraft each night. Inspiration4’s…
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What's Happening This Week in Space: August 30th 2021
School is back in session for Chicago students, fall is just around the corner, and there is plenty happening in space this week. From sky shows to a spacewalk, this is what’s happening this week in space. Cosmic Sky Show, Adler Planetarium, September 4th & 5th, 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:15 pm, and 1:15 pm…
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Live Blog: Northrop Grumman CRS-16 Mission
5:30 PM CT Update: Cygnus solar panels will deploy very soon. All systems still nominal. Join us early Thursday morning as Cygnus reaches the International Space Station for rendezvous and docking coverage! 5:10 PM CT Update: Everything performing well. All systems nominal. Spacecraft separation confirmed and confirmation of successful Cygnus orbital insertion. 5:01 PM CT…
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LIVE Blog: Boeing Starliner OFT-2 Launch
Today’s Atlas V launch with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has been scrubbed. New launch date: TBD This blog will be updated as more information comes in. 9:00 pm CT UPDATE: NASA and Boeing have decided not to proceed with a new launch attempt August 4th. ULA will roll the Atlas V rocket back to the Vehicle…
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Bezos and Crew Head to Space: How to Watch the Blue Origin Launch
Tomorrow, July 20th, Jeff Bezos and crew are headed to space on the first human flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. Blue Origin will live stream pre-launch, launch, and post launch events from Launch Site One, the spaceflight company’s West Texas facility. Billionaire and founder Jeff Bezos announced earlier this month that he would…
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‘I am not nervous at all’ Inspiration4 Crew Member Hayley Arceneaux Talks to Chicago’s WGN News About Upcoming Mission
Hayley Arceneaux, the youngest crew member of Inspiration4, and youngest astronaut to go to space, spoke to WGN News about her upcoming mission this morning. Arceneaux is a cancer survivor, physician’s assistant, and current astronaut in training after being named to the Inspiration4 crew earlier this year. The fundraising launch for St. Jude was organized…
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Virgin Galactic Launches Richard Branson to Space
Virgin Galactic did what it set out to do from the beginning and launched its first crew to space, carrying founder Richard Branson himself as part of the Unity 22 crew. After just three previous flights to space, Unity made the successful flight early Sunday morning in front of a huge crowd that assembled at…
