Holy Shit Tech

Spaceflight

SpaceflightScore 60

China Launches Four Pathfinder Satellites to Rehearse Listening for the Universe's Dark Ages From Behind the Moon ↗

At 19:41 Beijing time on Nov. 11, a Long March 2D rocket launched four Pathfinder satellites for China's Tanyuan space science program. Satellite A carries five instruments, while three others fly in formation to test low-frequency interferometric imaging for future missions such as Hongmeng and Kuafu-2. The Chinese Academy of Sciences plans four science missions over the next three to five years.

SpaceflightScore 80

No need to wait for Mars' launch window: NASA's twin probes 'waited' near Earth for a year, then used Earth to slingshot toward Mars ↗

Going to Mars has usually meant waiting for Earth and Mars to line up, a launch window that comes around roughly every two years. NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes tried something different: launch in November 2025, park near Earth, then swing back past Earth, using its gravity plus their own engine burns to fling themselves toward Mars. On November 9, NASA said both had completed these 'powered Earth flybys' within two days, the first time NASA has sent spacecraft to Mars this way. They are due to enter Mars orbit in September 2027 and begin studying how the solar wind strips away Mars' atmosphere in June 2028.