Asteroids, Rockets, and Stars: A Glimpse Into Our Cosmic Journey

This brief captures current updates in the science world, featuring highlights such as India's Agnikul Cosmos calling off a maiden rocket launch, North Korea's new satellite launch ending in an explosion, NASA's discovery on asteroid Dinkinesh, and China's Galactic Energy achieving rocket launch success. It encompasses accomplishments and setbacks in space exploration.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

India's space startup calls off maiden rocket launch for a fourth time

India's Agnikul Cosmos called off a test flight of its first rocket on Tuesday seconds before it was due to launch - the fourth such cancellation in the last three months. Launches of India's second privately built rocket, and first using a combination of gas and liquid fuel, had been aborted three times before because of technical issues, including one flight that was cancelled about 90 seconds before lift-off.

North Korea says it tried new fuel in satellite launch that ended in fiery explosion

North Korea's latest satellite launch exploded in a fireball before dropping into the Yellow Sea just minutes after lifting off, but analysts say the attempt showcased new strides in the nuclear-armed country's race for space. North Korea said its latest attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite failed in flight on Monday during the rocket's first stage, which featured a new "liquid oxygen and petroleum engine".

NASA's Lucy spacecraft unlocks asteroid Dinkinesh's dynamic history

A little asteroid called Dinkinesh - visited last November by NASA's Lucy spacecraft - has a surprisingly dynamic history, according to scientists, along with its moonlet Selam that is comprised of two bodies that gently melded into one. Dinkinesh and Selam are the smallest asteroids from our solar system's main asteroid belt, located between the planets Mars and Jupiter, ever seen up close by a spacecraft. Lucy observed ridges, trough structures and other characteristics on Dinkinesh that hint at a complicated past for the asteroid and its companion, the researchers said on Wednesday.

China's Galactic Energy launches rocket carrying satellites, state media reports

Chinese company Galactic Energy successfully launched its Ceres-1 rocket carrying satellites into orbit on Wednesday, state media reported, in the latest sign of the growing strength of China's commercial space sector. The Beijing-based company was forced to apologise to its customers last September after a failed launch of a Ceres-1 rocket, which is capable of delivering a 300kg payload to a 500km sun-synchronous orbit.

Indian space startup Agnikul launches country's second privately built rocket

India's Agnikul Cosmos launched its Agnibaan rocket for the first time on Thursday, powered by the only Indian rocket engine to use both gas and liquid fuel in the country's second flight of a privately built rocket. The Agnibaan's first flight had been called off four times in the last two months because of technical issues. The most recent cancellation was Tuesday, when launch was aborted five seconds before lift-off.

Startup Ursa Major advances US hypersonic capabilities with new engine

Ursa Major, a startup rocket motor maker, has successfully test-fired its new Draper engine more than 50 times on the ground, the company said on Thursday, marking a significant advance in U.S. hypersonic and in-space propulsion technologies. Berthoud, Colorado-based Ursa Major's testing is the latest achievement by U.S. companies scrambling to build more advanced engines for missiles and spacecraft that American officials see as crucial deterrents to threats from adversaries such as hypersonic weapons - those that move more than five times the speed of sound - in and beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Venus has more volcanism than previously known, new analysis finds

Venus appears to be more volcanically active than previously known, according to scientists whose new analysis of decades-old radar images has spotted evidence of eruptions at two additional sites on the surface of Earth's inhospitable planetary neighbor. Radar images obtained by NASA's Magellan spacecraft from 1990 to 1992 indicated large lava flows at these two locations in the Venusian northern hemisphere at the time of the observations, the researchers said. These findings, coupled with previous studies, indicate that the planet's volcanic activity is comparable to Earth's, they added.

Italy's Vega-C rocket a step closer to returning to flight after successful engine test

Italy's Vega-C rocket is closer to flying again after a successful test of its engines carried out at the end of May, its manufacturer Avio said on Tuesday. Vega-C launchers are expected to return to flight in late 2024 after implementing fixes recommended by an independent panel of the European Space Agency (ESA) following a failed satellite launch.