Science News Roundup: China launch of relay satellite Queqiao-2 for lunar probe mission successful; Astronomers unravel the mystery of the 'Dragon's Egg' nebula and more

The test launch of the Angara-A5, Russia's first post-Soviet space rocket, was aimed at underscoring Moscow's ambition to be a major space power and the growing importance of Vostochny, situated in the forests of the Amur region of Russia's Far East. China launch of relay satellite Queqiao-2 for lunar probe mission successful China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Friday its launch of a key signal relay satellite was a "complete success" and it would serve as the communication bridge for its future lunar probe missions for years to come, state media reported.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Delta rockets retired with launch of US reconnaissance satellite

The U.S. Space Force and a Boeing-Lockheed joint venture sent a secret reconnaissance payload to orbit on Tuesday atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket, the last flight of a workhorse launch vehicle brand that has logged nearly 400 missions dating back to 1960. The United Launch Alliance-owned rocket, standing roughly 23 stories tall, blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida around 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT), 12 days after a previous launch attempt was scrubbed at the last minute due to a technical glitch.

Russia launches first Angara-A5 space rocket from Far East cosmodrome

Russia on Thursday test-launched its Angara-A5 space rocket for the first time from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East, successfully putting a test load in low orbit as part of an effort to develop a new post-Soviet launch vehicle. The test launch of the Angara-A5, Russia's first post-Soviet space rocket, was aimed at underscoring Moscow's ambition to be a major space power and the growing importance of Vostochny, situated in the forests of the Amur region of Russia's Far East.

China launch of relay satellite Queqiao-2 for lunar probe mission successful

China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Friday its launch of a key signal relay satellite was a "complete success" and it would serve as the communication bridge for its future lunar probe missions for years to come, state media reported. China launched the satellite Queqiao-2, which was named after a mythological bridge made of magpies, and two miniature satellites, Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2, on March 20.

US bets on climate friendly farming; experts doubt it is climate friendly enough

President Joe Biden's administration is offering farmers money for adopting practices that store carbon in the soil to fight climate change, but Reuters interviews with soil science experts and a review of U.S. Department of Agriculture research indicate doubt that the approach will be effective. Farm practices like planting cover crops and reducing farmland tilling are key to the USDA's plan for slashing agriculture's 10% contribution to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions as the U.S. pursues net-zero by 2050. Ethanol producers also hope those practices will help them secure lucrative tax credits for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) passed in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Space startups see funding surge as government spending remains high, report says

Funding for space startups more than doubled in the first quarter as government spending remained robust setting the stage for the space economy to grow stronger, venture capital firm Space Capital said on Thursday. Geopolitical uncertainties have largely driven the surge in funding, as geospatial data and images collected by satellites are used by government agencies for everything from analyzing weather patterns and agriculture to changes and movements along international borders.

Astronomers unravel the mystery of the 'Dragon's Egg' nebula

Two large stars residing inside a spectacular cloud of gas and dust nicknamed the "Dragon's Egg" nebula have presented a puzzle to astronomers. One of them has a magnetic field, as does our sun. Its companion does not. And such massive stars are not usually associated with nebulae. Researchers now appear to have resolved this mystery while also explaining how the relatively few massive stars that are magnetic got that way. Blame it on stellar fratricide, they said. In this case, the bigger star apparently gobbled up a smaller sibling star, and the mixing of their stellar material during this hostile takeover created a magnetic field.

(With inputs from agencies.)