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The first attempt to launch an orbital rocket from European soil has been postponed due to high winds. Isar Aerospace, a Germany-based private space company, had planned to launch its Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport in Norway on March 24. The three-hour launch window was set between 7:30 a.m. EST and 10:30 a.m. EDT. Strong winds at the launch site, however, led to the cancellation of the attempt. No damage or technical issues were reported with the rocket or the launch infrastructure. The company has stated that a new launch window is being determined in coordination with the spaceport.

Mission Details and Technical Aspects

According to reports, Spectrum is a two-stage launch vehicle developed entirely by Isar Aerospace. Standing 28 metres tall, the rocket is designed to carry payloads of up to 1,000 kilograms into low-Earth orbit. Its main stage is powered by nine turbopump liquid oxygen/propane engines, while a single Aquila engine is used for orbital manoeuvres. The launch site at Andøya Spaceport, which was built specifically to support Spectrum, has been operational since 2023. The maiden flight does not include customer payloads, as the company aims to collect flight data for future missions.

Commercial Contracts and Future Plans

Isar Aerospace has secured a contract with the Norwegian Space Agency for the launch of Arctic Ocean Surveillance satellites by 2028. Christian Hauglie-Hanssen, Director General of the Norwegian Space Agency, stated in an official release that the upcoming launches would be a significant step for Norwegian space initiatives. Despite the current delay, the company remains focused on achieving key mission milestones. A revised launch schedule is expected to be announced soon.

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Shukla’s ISS Farewell Celebrates India’s Pride, Science, and Space Legacy

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July 14, 2025

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Shukla’s ISS Farewell Celebrates India’s Pride, Science, and Space Legacy

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s farewell address from the ISS capped India’s historic Axiom-4 mission. In his brief speech before returning to Earth, Shukla struck a note of national pride and scientific accomplishment. He marvelled that from orbit “India looks full of ambition, fearless, confident and full of pride”, even echoing Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 words that Bharat (India) still appears “saare jahan se accha” (the best in the world). His remarks highlighted how far India’s space effort has come, framing this private mission as a continuation of a proud space legacy.

A Vision of India from Orbit

Shukla’s words in his farewell speech painted a vivid picture of India as seen from space, as per an NDTV report. By invoking Rakesh Sharma’s famous phrase, he connected the first Indian in space to this new achievement. He stressed that today’s India, like the one Sharma described, projects ambition and confidence on the global stage.

This proud vision from orbit underscored the mission’s role in inspiring public enthusiasm. It also served as a reminder that India’s human spaceflight journey is now firmly under way: as Shukla put it, the challenging path of space exploration “has truly begun” for his country. In these remarks, Shukla celebrated India’s progress while encouraging citizens to embrace the long road ahead.

Science and Collaboration on Axiom-4

Beyond national pride, Shukla emphasized the mission’s scientific legacy. He noted that the 18-day trip aboard ISS surpassed his expectations, yielding “fond memories and learnings”. Along with crewmates from the US, Poland and Hungary, Shukla carried out dozens of experiments in microgravity – over 60 in all, including seven India-led studies on topics like plant growth and muscle loss.

These experiments represent a leap in space science for India, as ISRO confirmed they will provide “critical knowledge” for future efforts like India’s Gaganyaan flight programme and its proposed space station.

Shukla also praised the team effort aboard the ISS, saying the biggest takeaway was realizing “what humanity can achieve when we work with a common goal”. In other words, the mission demonstrated both scientific progress and international cooperation.

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Meteorite From Outer Solar System Challenges Planet Formation Timeline in Early Solar System

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July 12, 2025

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Meteorite From Outer Solar System Challenges Planet Formation Timeline in Early Solar System

A minuscule meteorite seems to be rewriting the history of our solar system. The 50-gram Northwest Africa 12264 has brought a new understanding of when and how rocky worlds came together. Inner planets such as Earth and Mars were thought to have formed earlier than their more distant siblings, given temperatures and composition. But a new study of this meteorite, which originates from beyond the asteroid belt, suggests that the birth of planets throughout the solar system occurred tens of millions of years earlier than previously believed, narrowing the gap in time between the solar system’s inner and outer surfaces.

Outer Solar System Meteorite Reveals Rocky Planets Likely Formed Simultaneously Across the Galaxy

As per a study led by Dr Ben Rider-Stokes of The Open University and published in Communications Earth & Environment, the meteorite’s chemical makeup offers critical evidence. Its chromium and oxygen isotope ratios place its origin in the outer solar system. Most strikingly, lead isotope dating determined its age to be about 4.564 billion years, almost identical to basalt samples from the inner solar system that represent early planetary crusts.

These findings directly challenge the previous assumption that rocky planets beyond Jupiter formed two to three million years later due to their water-rich composition. Ice and water were thought to slow differentiation, the internal layering of planetary bodies. But this meteorite, with its outer solar birth and inner solar age, points to a far more synchronised process of rocky planet formation.

Scientists note that the discovery is also consistent with observations of exoplanetary systems. Based on this and past observations of disks of dust and gas around other stars, the evidence of planetesimals forming quickly and over large orbital separations adds to the argument that early solar system evolution may have been more universal than thought.

As trivial as the time difference might be in the context of a universe, the question is huge. A new timeline of planet formation is not only a retelling of Earth’s history but may also help determine how astronomers think about how planets form in the galaxy more generally, providing new hints about where and how in the galaxy Earth-like planets could take shape.

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NASA’s Hubble and Webb Discover Bursting Star Formation in Small Magellanic Cloud



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NASA’s Hubble and Webb Discover Bursting Star Formation in Small Magellanic Cloud

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July 12, 2025

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NASA’s Hubble and Webb Discover Bursting Star Formation in Small Magellanic Cloud

Scientists from NASA observed the bursting expansion of gas, stars, and dust from the glittering territory of the dual star clusters using Hubble and Webb space telescopes. NGC 460 and NGC 456 stay in the Small Magellanic Cloud, which are open clusters, with dwarf galaxies and orbit the Milky Way. These clusters are part of the extensive star complex clusters and nebulae that are most likely to be linked to each other. Stars are born upon the collapse of clouds.

Hubble and Webb Reveal Explosive Star Births in Small Magellanic Cloud

As per a report from NASA, the open clusters are from anywhere from a few dozen to many young stars, which are loosely bound by gravity. The images captured by Hubble capture the glowing and ionised gas, which comes from stellar radiation and blows bubbles in the form of gas and dust, which is blue in colour. The infrared of Webb shows the clumps and delicate filament-like structures and dust, which is red in colour.

NGC 460 and NGC 456: A Window into Early Universe Star Formation

Hubble shows the images of dust in the form of a silhouette against the blocking light; however, in the images of Webb, the dust is warmed by starlight and glows with infrared waves. The blend of gas and dust between the stars of the universe is called the interstellar medium. The region holding these clusters is known as the N83-84-85 complex and is home to multiple, rare O-type stars. These are hot and extremely massive stars that burn hydrogen like the Sun.

Such a state mimics the condition in the early universe; therefore, the Small Magellanic Cloud gives a nearby lab to find out the theories regarding star formation and the interstellar medium of the cosmos’s early stage.

With these observations, the researchers tend to study the gas flow from convergence to divergence, which helps in refining the difference between the Small Magellanic Cloud and its dwarf galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud. Further, it helps in knowing the interstellar medium and gravitational interactions between the galaxies.

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