Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX's Starship nears end of 15th ​test flight and return-landing attempt

SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft cruised around the ​globe on Saturday nearing the end of ‌its 15th ​test flight and what the company hoped would be an unprecedented pinpoint return landing at the exact spot in Texas from which it launched. Starship's uncrewed upper stage is poised to re-enter Earth's atmosphere ‌after nearly a day in orbit and steer back toward its launch tower, then make an engine-controlled final descent into the embrace of giant mechanical arms designed to catch the vehicle as it hovers over the launchpad.

SpaceX Starship returns to landing pad from orbit, acing test for reusable rockets

SpaceX's ‌Starship spacecraft on Saturday returned from a 22-hour voyage in orbit and descended for the first time into the grasp of giant ‌mechanical arms at the Texas tower it was launched from a day earlier, a catch that is essential to the company's decade-long effort to develop a fully reusable rocket.

The 171-foot-tall (52-meter) Starship fell out of thick clouds over SpaceX's Starbase launch site, reignited engines to flip itself vertical and slowly descended into the tower's "Mechazilla" arms, engines still ⁠roaring. Charred ​from the blazing heat of its ⁠return from space, the ship shut down its engines and hung still after the rocket system's longest mission yet.

NASA's Voyager 1 probe poised to achieve mega-distance milestone

NASA's Voyager 1 ⁠has already traveled farther than any other spacecraft from Earth since its launch in 1977. The probe, which exited our solar system years ago and ​is journeying through interstellar space, is now on the cusp of a remarkable milestone — traversing a light-day, the distance light ⁠travels in 24 hours. A light-day is about 16 billion miles (26 billion km). The US space agency said Voyager 1, flying at almost 38,000 miles per hour (61,000 kph) through the virtual ⁠vacuum ​of space, will reach that distance from Earth on Wednesday at 5:16 a.m. ET (1016 GMT). The robotic spacecraft has the distinction of being the most distant human-made object.

SpaceX launches 15th Starship flight with hopes of achieving first round trip

SpaceX launched the 15th flight of ⁠its Starship spacecraft from Texas on Friday on a mission the company hopes will be the first round-trip rocket voyage into orbit and ⁠back to the very spot where ⁠it left Earth, a key test of Elon Musk's bid to build a fully reusable rocket system. Plans call for Starship's uncrewed upper-stage vessel to re-enter the atmosphere after nearly a day in orbit and ‌return to its launch ‌tower on Saturday for an engine-controlled touchdown assisted by the giant mechanical arms ​of a pioneering catch-landing mechanism.