On Aug. 22, 1963, U.S. Air Force Capt. Joe Walker flew the rocket-powered X-15 to more than 67 miles above Earth, setting an altitude record for a pilot. The flight also made him the first person to reach space twice.
A December 2024 coronal mass ejection was tracked by a record 17 spacecraft across the solar system. Their widely distributed observations showed that the eruption was not one uniform cloud, but a fast Earth-directed lobe alongside a slower, larger component.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has photographed a new lunar crater created when a discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon on Aug. 5. The impact exposed younger material beneath the Moon’s weathered surface and scattered debris across the surrounding terrain.
A $30 million spacecraft launched to raise NASA’s aging Swift Observatory into a safer orbit has been unable to complete its rescue mission. The telescope will probably re-enter Earth’s atmosphere later this year, although the rescue craft may still attempt limited rendezvous operations.
A loose bull kept San Mateo County deputies and California Highway Patrol troopers busy for several hours on Highway 35 near Half Moon Bay. They eventually called a professional rancher, who lassoed the animal twice after his rope broke during the first attempt.