TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
March 7, 2025
Planetary Nebula Abell 7
Very faint planetary nebula Abell 7 is about 1,800 light-years distant. It lies just south of Orion in planet Earth's skies toward the constellation Lepus, The Hare. Surrounded by Milky Way stars and near the line-of-sight to distant background galaxies its generally simple spherical shape, about 8 light-years in diameter, is revealed in this deep telescopic image. Within the cosmic cloud are beautiful and complex structures though, enhanced by the use of long exposures and narrowband filters that capture emission from hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen atoms. Otherwise Abell 7 would be much too faint to be appreciated by eye. A planetary nebula represents a very brief final phase in stellar evolution that our own Sun will experience 5 billion years hence, as the nebula's central, once sun-like star shrugs off its outer layers. Abell 7 itself is estimated to be 20,000 years old. But its central star, seen here as a fading white dwarf, is some 10 billion years old.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Intuitive Machines Executes Southernmost Lunar Landing and Operates Payloads
March 7, 2025
HOUSTON, TX – Intuitive Machines, Inc. a leading space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, has announced the IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, landed 250 meters from its intended landing site in the Mons Mouton region of the lunar south pole, inside of a crater.
This was the southernmost lunar landing and surface operations ever achieved.
Images downlinked from Athena on the lunar surface confirmed that Athena was on her side.
After landing, mission controllers were able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA’s PRIME-1 suite, before the lander’s batteries depleted.
With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge.
The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission.
This southern pole region is lit by harsh sun angles and limited direct communication with the Earth.
This area has been avoided due to its rugged terrain and Intuitive Machines believes the insights and achievements from IM-2 will open this region for further space exploration.
https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-mMJxIttBc
Hubble Spies a Spiral in the Water Snake
Mar 07, 2025
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of a vibrant spiral galaxy called NGC 5042 resides about 48 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra (the water snake).
The galaxy nicely fills the frame of this Hubble image, while a single, foreground star from the Milky Way shines with cross-shaped diffraction spikes near the galaxy’s edge toward the top, center of the image.
Hubble observed NGC 5042 in six wavelength bands from the ultraviolet to infrared to create this multicolored portrait.
The galaxy’s cream-colored center is packed with ancient stars, and the galaxy’s spiral arms are decorated with patches of young, blue stars.
The elongated yellow-orange objects scattered around the image are background galaxies far more distant than NGC 5042.
Perhaps NGC 5042’s most striking feature is its collection of brilliant pink gas clouds studded throughout its spiral arms.
These flashy clouds are H II (pronounced “H-two” or hydrogen-two) regions, and they get their distinctive color from hydrogen atoms that were ionized by ultraviolet light.
If you look closely at this image, you’ll see that many of these reddish clouds are associated with clumps of blue stars, often appearing to form a shell around the stars.
H II regions arise in expansive clouds of hydrogen gas, and only hot and massive stars produce enough high-energy, ultraviolet light to create a H II region.
Because the stars capable of creating H II regions only live for a few million years — just a blink of an eye in galactic terms — this image represents a fleeting snapshot of this galaxy.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-spies-a-spiral-in-the-water-snake/
Curiosity Mars Rover
Sol 4469: Right Navigation Camera, Cylindrical Projection
March 7, 2025
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took 31 images in Gale Crater using its mast-mounted Right Navigation Camera (Navcam) to create this mosaic. The seam-corrected mosaic provides a 360-degree cylindrical projection panorama of the Martian surface centered at 200 degrees azimuth (measured clockwise from north). Curiosity took the images on March 03, 2025, Sol 4469 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission at drive 2670, site number 113. The local mean solar time for the image exposures was 3 PM. Each Navcam image has a 45 degree field of view.
https://science.nasa.gov/resource/sol-4469-right-navigation-camera-cylindrical-projection/
Sol 4471: Right Navigation Camera, Cylindrical Projection
March 7, 2025
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took 31 images in Gale Crater using its mast-mounted Right Navigation Camera (Navcam) to create this mosaic. The seam-corrected mosaic provides a 360-degree cylindrical projection panorama of the Martian surface centered at 221 degrees azimuth (measured clockwise from north). Curiosity took the images on March 05, 2025, Sol 4471 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission at drive 0, site number 114. The local mean solar time for the image exposures was from 4 PM to 5 PM. Each Navcam image has a 45 degree field of view.
https://science.nasa.gov/resource/sol-4471-right-navigation-camera-cylindrical-projection/
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Scientific Mission on Space Station Concludes
Mar 06, 2025
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission with agency astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is preparing to return to Earth following their science mission aboard the International Space Station.
Hague, Williams, and Wilmore completed more than 900 hours of research between over 150 unique scientific experiments and technology demonstrations during their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during their journey:
Contents
Mighty microalgae
Improving astronaut exercise
Watering the garden
Packing it in
Fueling the flames
Monitoring microbes in space
A hearty workout
On-demand medical devices
Could wood be better
Making microbes in space
A NICER spacewalk
Earth from every angle
An out-of-this-world sunrise
Vital vitamins
Blowing in the solar wind
Can you hear me now?
Exposing materials to space
Sending satellites into space
Robotic relocation
Arms to hold
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/nasas-spacex-crew-9-scientific-mission-on-space-station-concludes/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1795622/
Station Preps for Command Change, Conducts Heart and Bone Research
March 6, 2025
The Expedition 72 crew will change commanders on Friday as four crewmates prepare for their return to Earth.
Meanwhile, the International Space Station residents continued their ongoing human research activities while unpacking supplies from a new cargo craft.
NASA astronaut and station Commander Suni Williams will hand over leadership of the orbital outpost to Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin during a change of command ceremony at 1:55 p.m. EST on Friday.
NASA+ will broadcast the event with all seven crew members as Williams and Ovchinin give remarks before turning their attention to crew swap activities.
Williams will return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft with NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov ending the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
The homebound quartet will leave the space station a few days after the SpaceX Crew-10 mission launches next week.
Ovchinin will stay aboard the station with Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos until mid-April.
The Crew-9 foursome spent the second half of their shift on Thursday continuing preparations for a return to Earth by practicing Dragon undocking and deorbit procedures on a computer.
All four crewmates also called down to Earth and discussed return operations with mission controllers. Williams and Wilmore wrapped up their day familiarizing themselves with Dragon systems.
The SpaceX Crew-10 mission is targeted to launch aboard the Dragon crew spacecraft at 7:48 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 12, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers will command and pilot the Crew-10 mission with Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos serving as Mission Specialists.
Crew-10 is targeted to dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 13.
The orbital residents spent Thursday keeping up their space biology activities filling in researchers with the latest data on how a crew member’s body adapts to weightlessness.
Hague spent the first half of his shift in the Columbus laboratory module module scanning his chest with an ultrasound device as doctors on Earth monitored in real time.
The doctors were examining possible changes in Hague’s arteries and veins to gain insights into an astronaut’s cardiovascular health while living and working in space.
Pettit charged science hardware that monitors space-caused bone loss for a study observing an astronaut’s bone health before, during, and after a space mission.
Ovchinin and Vagner were back on cargo duty unloading more food, fuel, and supplies delivered aboard the Progress 91 cargo craft on March 1.
Vagner also measured his blood pressure for an investigation exploring how microgravity affects a crew member’s blood flow and blood cells.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/03/06/station-preps-for-command-change-conducts-heart-and-bone-research/
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/infrastructure-operators-warned-they-must-develop-severe-space-weather-preparedness-plans-07-03-2025/
https://raeng.org.uk/media/lz2fs5ql/space_weather_full_report_final.pdf
Infrastructure operators warned they must develop severe space weather preparedness plans
07 Mar, 2025
Government, regulators and critical national infrastructure (CNI) operators must “develop space weather preparedness plans” for potential impacts on energy networks, transport and more, according to a new report funded by the government.
What is space weather?
Space weather “is caused by disturbances from active regions of the Sun”, according to the report, which is authored by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Starion Group, know.space and Northumbria University and several others.
It is a normal part of activity within the solar system, and the most visible daily impacts on Earth are the aurora borealis around the North Pole and the aurora australis around the South Pole.
Severe space weather, however, according to the report, “poses a hazard to critical national infrastructure including space-based services such as global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and satellite communications, systems in the atmosphere like aircraft electronics and ground-based systems like power grids and mobile cellular networks”.
In October 2024, Nasa (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the US confirmed that the Sun had “reached its solar maximum period, which could continue for the next year”.
The UK was then hit by multiple instances of elevated space weather over Winter 2024/25, where star gazers as far south as the south coast of England could see aurora.
The Report
The report, Severe space weather impacts on UK critical national infrastructure, was commissioned by the Space Weather Instrumentation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk (SWIMMR) S6 project group, which is one of 11 projects funded by the £19.9M space weather programme funded by the government via UKRI.
SWIMMR programme manager Ian McCrea, writing the foreword on behalf of the SWIMMR programme management board, explained the context of the report.
“In the context of today’s interconnected technological society, the study of vulnerabilities to natural hazards has never been more important,” McCrea said.
“The importance of space weather as a natural hazard has been well recognised in the UK, since its inclusion in the National Risk Register (NRR) in 2011 and the Royal Academy of Engineering’s commissioning of the ‘Cannon report’ on the impacts of extreme space weather on engineered systems in 2013.”
The government’s only mention of space weather in the 2011 version of the National Risk Register (NRR) was in a Summary of the Main Changes to the National Risk Register and it just stated that “severe space weather” had been added.
However, in the 2025 edition of the NRR the awareness and fear of severe space weather had greatly increased. It lists the liklhood as 5-25%, and the impacts as “significant” (just below “catastrophic”), meaning it could involve 201-1,000 fatalities, 400-2,000 casualties and/or billions of pounds in economic costs.
McCrea went on to say: “The creation of the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC) constituted another major step in increasing UK awareness and preparedness to mitigate the hazards of space weather.
“The establishment of the UKRI-led SWIMMR Space Weather Programme, funded by the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund, has exemplified how the expertise of the UK academic community can be mobilised to add capability to MOSWOC in the context of the UK’s Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy.”
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The report “takes a sectoral approach” and focuses on seven areas of UK CNI. The seven areas are the space sector such as satellites, the energy sector, the communications sector and the transport sector, which is split into four. The four transport areas are road, rail, maritime and aviation.
In addition to the seven sectors, it looked at ‘emerging technologies’ such as the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and quantum technologies.
Recommendations to the CNI operators and the government
The report’s authors listed a series of “priority recommendations” organised around cross-sectoral, post-SWIMMR, space, energy and transport.
Their first recommendation is that “government, regulators and CNI operators continue to develop space weather preparedness plans for CNI that address the simultaneous impacts on multiple technologies across multiple CNI sectors in multiple UK regions”.
They also recommended that policymakers must “assess the risk from ground-level enhancement neutrons on systems used for CNI, in particular electricity generation, network operation, mobile communication infrastructure, data centres, spacecraft launch control and road vehicle electronics”.
The report raises concerns that electricity generators could take capacity off the grid due to MOSWOC forecasts of severe space weather, ahead of the National Energy System Operator’s (Neso’s) ability to re-match supply with demand, and could put nuclear power stations at risk because they require constant access to grid electricity.
The authors recommend that “government and other policymakers ensure that safety-critical CNI has a plan for power holdover of upwards of a week of loss of power from electricity transmission and distribution networks”.
“We recommend that policymakers, academics and industry explore opportunities to enhance expert support to CNI decision-makers to develop effective space weather preparedness plans, ensuring that accurate forecasts translate into actionable preparedness and response strategies,” the authors said.
Government plays down likelihood of severe space weather
A Government spokesperson said: “Space weather is an everyday phenomenon that, in the vast majority of cases, causes no effects on Earth.
“The UK has a secure and diverse energy system. We are confident in our plans to protect households and businesses during all space weather events, including through our dedicated Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy.”
NCE will be looking further into the implications of the report, including the recommended actions CNI operations in nuclear and rail should take.
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U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane lands following 434-day orbital mission
March 7, 2025
Announced with the thunder of a sonic boom, the secretive U.S. military X-37B spaceplane made its return from orbit early Friday at 2:22am EST (0722 UTC).
The uncrewed spacecraft touched down on a runway at Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking its first West Coast return since its third flight ended in October 2014.
Known formally as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), this seventh flight for the program began with a Falcon Heavy launch on Dec. 29, 2023, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Its return to Earth closes out a 434-day mission.
Similarly with other such flights of the X-37B, little was disclosed about the OTV-7 mission, also dubbed United States Space Force-52 (USSF-52), heading into the launch.
Shorter, but more dynamic
Following it’s launch, there was much speculation about the orbit that it would be flying within.
On February 9, 2024, Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and expert orbital tracker, stated on X, formerly Twitter, that the spaceplane was believed to be in a 323 by 38,838 km orbit at a 59.1 degree inclination.
In a press release on Oct. 10, 2024, the U.S. Air Force confirmed that the X-37B was operating in a highly elliptical orbit and was demonstrating a series of maneuvers, called aerobraking, to change its orbit.
Boeing’s vice president for space mission systems told Aviation Week that the new maneuvering capabilities were made possible through improvements to the spacecraft’s collision avoidance, fault protection and autonomy systems.
“This novel and efficient series of maneuvers demonstrates the Space Force’s commitment to achieving ground-breaking innovation as it conducts national security missions in space,” then Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said in a statement.
In another first, the U.S. Space Force published a photog captured by the spaceplane while it apparently was quite some distance away from Earth.
Data associated with the image state that it was captured on Feb. 20, 2025, which is the same day it was shared with the public.
The return of the spaceplane, on March 7, also marks the second shortest time on orbit for an X-37B OTV.
The shortest flight was during the OTV-1 mission, which launched on April 22, 2010, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 501 rocket.
It landed at then Vandenberg Air Force Base on Dec. 3, 2010, concluding a more than 224-day operation.
Since then, and up until OTV-7, the Air Force has been flying progressively longer duration missions using its two Boeing-built vehicles.
OTV-6 holds the record with a flight lasting nearly 909 days before landing at the Launch and Landing Facility in Florida.
While the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command hasn’t publicly announced the next mission launch for an X-37B spaceplane, it likely won’t be too far in the future, assuming the program will continue.
Historically there have been between three and 13 months between mission launches, meaning the OTV-8 could very well launch before the end of 2025.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/03/07/u-s-air-forces-x-37b-spaceplane-lands-following-434-day-orbital-mission/
New UK-made space system to help protect military satellites
7 March 2025
The Borealis command, control and data processing system will help the UK military the UK Space Agency to better monitor and protect satellites, through new software which compiles and processes data from multiple sources, more quickly, to monitor space.
The £65 million deal with CGI UK, an IT systems integration specialist, will support around 100 skilled jobs in Leatherhead, Reading and Bristol, boosting the UK’s space capabilities and delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
The new technology will provide UK military with a better understanding of the Space Domain, improving military commanders decision-making process and supporting operations, both at home and overseas.
Under the five-year contract, Borealis will provide software for the National Space Operations Centre, which develops and operates the UK’s space surveillance and protection capabilities.
It will be a unique, UK-made system which support military operations around the world.
Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Rt Hon Maria Eagle MP, said:
This new deal delivers for our national security by enhancing protection for our satellite technology that millions rely on, while boosting jobs and growth at home.
This Government continues to work swiftly to develop the new Defence Industrial Strategy.
This announcement will support hundreds of highly skilled jobs, unlocking defence as an engine for growth and driving forward this government’s Plan for Change.
Borealis will enhance the UK’s ability to monitor and protect crucial space assets, which underpin the UK’s security and prosperity, enabling us to navigate the oceans, keep our military personnel safe, monitor the climate, and forecast the weather.
Other key benefits which Borealis provides includes:
Space Domain Awareness: The ability to understand and analyse what is happening in space around the Earth.
This includes space weather - the environmental conditions in space around Earth - and monitoring objects in space, including space debris and active satellites.
Protection of UK space assets: Borealis will provide a single, bespoke system, which will compile all data related to UK satellites.
This enhanced awareness of what is happening in space will enable UK Space Command to better protect critical UK space systems.
Integrated C2 System: Borealis will provide timely decision-quality information to government and military commanders through an interoperable system, across different tiers of security classification.
Maj Gen Paul Tedman, Commander of UK Space Command, said:
The use of space is crucial for our economy, prosperity, security, and defence, but assured access to space is becoming increasingly contested by adversaries and congested by users and debris.
Therefore, it is imperative that we know what is happening in space.
Borealis is an innovative system that draws together multiple inputs to enhance the UK government’s understanding of the wide-ranging activity on orbit, allowing the UK to protect not just our own space assets, but those of our allies and partners as well.
CGI is one of the world’s leading providers of independent IT services to international defence customers including the UK, Australia, Canada and the USA.
CGI will work alongside a network of partner organisations hand-picked for their expertise to deliver the programme.
Neil Timms, Senior Vice President of Space, Defence & Intelligence UK & Australia at CGI said:
We’re proud to support UK Space Command and the UK Space Agency through delivery of BOREALIS.
We believe this is a strategic step towards establishing a more holistic approach to the UK’s national space data architecture, with BOREALIS and the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) at its heart.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-uk-made-space-system-to-help-protect-military-satellites
Watch fiery SpaceX Starship Flight 8 debris rain down over The Bahamas
March 6, 2025
Starship put on a show for skywatchers yet again — but not the way that SpaceX would have liked.
SpaceX launched the eighth test flight of Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, from its Starbase site in South Texas on Thursday evening (March 6).
Starship's huge first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, came back to Starbase for a launch-tower catch about seven minutes after liftoff as planned.
But the vehicle's 171-foot-tall (52 meters) upper stage — called Starship or just Ship — experienced a serious problem shortly thereafter and ended up exploding over the Atlantic Ocean.
The detonation sent chunks of debris raining down over the area, creating a dazzling artificial meteor shower for people in The Bahamas and Florida's Space Coast, among other locales.
Something very similar happened during Starship's Flight 7, which launched on Jan. 16.
Many folks in the debris-fall zone posted video of the Flight 7 debris fall on X, the social media site owned by SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk — and history repeated itself on Thursday.
One of the people with a front-row seat for the Flight 8 fireworks was Stefanie Waldek, a journalist who also happens to be a Space.com contributor. "I’m on vacation with my family in The Bahamas, specifically in the Exumas.
I had followed online the failure of Starship Flight 8, and within a few minutes, I spotted the debris streaking across the sky," Waldek told Space.com via email.
"I didn’t even think about being beneath the trajectory of the rocket!
Fortunately, I knew exactly what we were looking at following Flight 7’s RUD [rapid unscheduled disassembly], and I quickly explained to those around me that we weren’t under attack, nor was the rocket crewed," she added.
"The light show was completely silent — we didn’t hear anything. But the reflection on the water from the burning debris was quite pretty!"
An X user with the handle GeneDoctorB also recorded the sky show from The Bahamas, posting several videos of the event on X. "How would you like to see this above your #catamaran?" one of them was captioned.
Photographer Trevor Mahlmann, meanwhile, watched Flight 8 from Titusville, on Florida's Space Coast — the home of NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
He captured the moment that Ship exploded and shared it with us on X. "RIP Starship Flight 8, just caught it exploding after a few engines cut off and it losing attitude control, viewed from Titusville, FL," Mahlmann wrote.
SpaceX determined that they Flight 7 mishap was caused by propellant leaks, which led to sustained fires in the Ship upper stage. It's too soon to say what happened on Flight 8, but the company is already investigating.
"During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.
We will review the data from today's flight test to better understand root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability," SpaceX said via X this evening.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-fiery-spacex-starship-flight-8-debris-rain-down-over-the-bahamas-video
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1897803612098900131
https://theaviationist.com/2025/03/07/dutch-f-35as-shoot-down-target-drones-with-aim-9x-sidewinders-over-baltic-sea/
Dutch F-35As Shoot Down Target Drones with AIM-9X Sidewinders Over Baltic Sea
March 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
During an exercise with the Estonian Air Force, two RLAF F-35s employed AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles to shoot down a number of target drones over the Baltic Sea.
In an exceedingly rare exercise, two F-35As of the RNLAF (Royal Netherlands Air Force) shot down an unidentified number of target drones over the Baltic Sea using AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range AAMs (Air-to-Air Missiles), the service announced on Mar. 5, 2025.
The Dutch F-35As are currently based in Estonia, where they deployed to Ämari Air Base in Dec. 2024 for the Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission with a contingent of 90 to 150 airmen and four F-35A.
The service upheld the drill held on Mar. 4 off the coast of Rutja, saying that “for the pilots it was an excellent opportunity to practice shooting down unmanned systems ‘live’.”
The RLAF further explained that “this is important, because they pose a real threat. They are increasingly being used as weapons.”
Images released by the service on its Instagram profile show four F-35As parked on the ramp, each loaded with two AIM-9X Sidewinders on the external launchers on the outermost hardpoints.
The video shows the first F-35 releasing a Sidewinder from the left wing, and another airframe firing the missile from its right wing.
While the make and number of drones destroyed in the drill is not yet known, the video shows each of the fighters returning to base after having expended a single missile.
This would imply that at least two drones were employed during the exercise.
Being able to engage and shoot down asymmetric threats like small drones is an important capability in current operational scenarios.
For instance, an Israeli Air Force’s F-35I Adir downed a Houthi cruise missile fired from Yemen over the Red Sea towards Tel Aviv in Nov. 2023.
Russian drone and missile threat
A statement released by the Dutch Ministry of Defense attributed the motivation behind the exercise to a massive Russian standoff long-range munition and UAV strike on Ukraine last week.
“It is important to train the shooting down of unmanned systems ‘live’. They pose a real threat. They are increasingly used as weapons.
That was also evident last week. At that time, the Dutch F-35s helped to keep Polish airspace safe. The reason was a major Russian attack with missiles and drones on Ukraine, which borders Poland.”
This Quick Reaction Alert mission took place on Feb. 25, 2025, when two of the RNLAF fighters from the Estonia-based BAP detachment also deployed over Polish airspace in response to a“large missile and drone attack” launched by Russia on Ukraine.
“Due to the scale of the enemy attack, NATO partners worked together to monitor the border area with Ukraine,” the Koninkhiljkeluchmacht said at the time.
Since the start of the BAP mission in Estonia, the Dutch F-35A contingent has been called in action ten times to intercept Russian aircraft, identifying a total of 18 aircraft, the MoD added.
On Dec. 6, 2024, we reported here at The Aviationist that two of the RNLAF F-35As at Ämari engaged in two QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) missions and intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
These were identified as an An-72 “Coaler” transport aircraft, a Su-24MR “Fencer E” reconnaissance aircraft and an Il-20 “Coot A” communication/electronic intelligence (COMINT/ELINT) aircraft.
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Integrated air defense
The Estonian military’s press release quoted the commander of the RNLAF contingent, Lt. Col. Swinger, who touched upon the Dutch BAP deployment there.
“Our mission in Estonia is clear: securing the Baltic airspace. One of the F-35’s core functions is integrated air and missile defense, so this anti-drone exercise provided an excellent opportunity to once again demonstrate our capabilities in this area.
Its planning and implementation with our ally Estonia confirms our joint effort to protect NATO territory,” said Swinger.
The Estonian Air Force controlled the conduct of the training activities with its air operations control squadron, coordinated the necessary airspace and sea area separation, securing the exercise, and the subsequent cleanup of the area, said the MoD.
Integrated air defense systems include linking fourth, 4.5 and fifth generation fighters with SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile) batteries, satellite surveillance and AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft.
These coordinate to track, prioritize targets, and employ the optimal means to engage threats, based on their heading and make.
The SAM themselves include diverse weapons with point-defense, hybrid gun-and-missile platforms, short-range quick reaction, medium and long-range missiles in overlapping ranges of coverage, forming a protective shield.
Israel’s combination of THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense), David’s Sling, Arrow and Iron Dome is one such system. Its Russian counterpart is the S-400, S-300/S-350, Buk-M2, Tor-M2 and the Pantsir systems.
F-35, AIM-9 Sidewinder and drones
There are several reasons why the F-35s used the AIM-9X to destroy the drones.
One of them is the small size of the drones used in the exercise, as this implies a smaller radar cross section which would make it harder to track them on radar and cue a radar-guided AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) on them.
Another reason is the need for a cost-effective way of dealing with such threats, as demonstrated by the U.S. Air Force now using the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) guided-rockets as a low-cost air-to-air weapon against drones.
Using an AIM-120 instead of the AIM-9X would cost even more, while the drone costs just a few thousands of dollars.
The F-35s cannot carry the Sidewinder internally, but only on the external weapons stations.
The AIM-9X Sidewinder was first live-fired from an F-35 on Jan. 12, 2016, when a jet from the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB in California launched it over the Pacific Sea Test Range.
In the latest exercise, it is unclear from where the drones were launched and tracked, whether the fighters were scrambled upon being alerted by ground radars or if they detected the drones during a routine CAP (Combat Air Patrol).
Either way, the F-35A’s advanced AN/APG-81 AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar) would have been used in combination with the EOTS (Electro-Optical Targeting System) to find the targets, before engaging them.
“In today’s security situation, drones are an increasingly greater threat in both war and peacetime, which is why it is important to conduct such exercises.
The exercise can be considered successful because all training objectives were met,” said Brigadier General Toomas Susi, Commander of the Estonian Air Force.
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https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/zelenskyy-truce-russia-ukraine-bombardment/
Zelenskyy calls for truce after Russia launches ‘massive ballistic missile and drone’ attack on Ukraine energy targets
7 March 2025, 13:29
The Ukrainian president said his country was "ready for peace" after Russia targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure in a large-scale bombardment overnight, including with Iskander ballistic missiles.
Mr Zelenskyy said: "is Ukraine that wants peace from the very first second of this war.
"The task is to force Russia to stop the war". Mr Zelenskyy is due to meet US officials for peace talks next week.
Russia was accused of “trying to hurt ordinary citizens” by Ukraine’s energy minister, as at least 10 people, including a child, were wounded.
Mr Zelenskyy added: "Ukraine is alive, it is still fighting and developing thanks to the strength and courage of our people, always supporting our partners.
"Thank you, Ukrainians and Ukrainians, every skin and every skin, for those who protect and protect your country!"
Russia hit Odesa in the south and Kharkiv in the east. In Kharkiv, eight people were wounded and infrastructure and a residential building were hit.
Seven people, including two girls aged three and four, were wounded in Slovyansk by Russian ‘glide bombs’.
Around 30 buildings were damaged or destroyed. One child was injured in Kramatorsk, and two people, including a child, were injured near Myrhorod.
In Odesa, energy infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged. The attack lasted almost all through the night, according to local reports.
Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko posted online: ““The energy and gas infrastructure in various regions of Ukraine is under massive missile and drone shelling again.
“Russia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians by shelling energy and gas production facilities, without abandoning its goal of leaving us without power and heating, and causing the greatest harm to ordinary citizens.”
The latest attack comes just hours after Mr Zelenskyy said his country would hold talks with the US next week about ending the war against Russia.
Mr Zelenskyy said he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday and his team would stay there to hold talks with US officials.
"I am scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia to meet with the crown prince," said Mr Zelenskyy, referring to Mohammed bin Salman, the heir to the throne of the oil-rich kingdom.
"After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with American partners. Ukraine is most interested in peace."
He added: "As we told President Trump, Ukraine is working and will work exclusively constructively for a quick and reliable peace."
In an exchange with reporters on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he believed his administration had made "a lot of progress" in recent days with both Ukraine and Russia, but did not specify how.
"I think what's going to happen is Ukraine wants to make a deal, because I don't think they have a choice," Mr Trump said.
"I also think that Russia wants to make a deal because in a certain different way - a different way that only I know, only I know - they have no choice either.
Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that senior administration officials are arranging to hold talks with top Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Witkoff noted that Mr Zelenskyy has been apologetic in recent days about the White House blow-up and expressed gratitude.
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He was circumspect about whether a minerals deal would be signed during the meeting in Saudi Arabia. "We'll see if he follows through," Mr Witkoff said.
The announcement came as European Union leaders held emergency talks about ways to quickly increase their military budgets after the Trump administration signalled that Europe must take care of its own security and also suspended assistance to Ukraine.
In just over a month, Mr Trump has overturned old certainties about US reliability as a security partner, as he embraces Russia and withdraws American support for Ukraine.
On Monday, Mr Trump ordered a pause to US military supplies to Ukraine as he sought to press Mr Zelensky to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia. The US has also paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Earlier French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said France is providing military intelligence to Ukraine. American intelligence is vital for Ukraine to track Russian troop movements and select targets.
Speaking to France Inter radio on Thursday, Mr Lecornu said France is continuing its intelligence sharing. "Our intelligence is sovereign," Mr Lecornu said. "We have intelligence that we allow Ukraine to benefit from."
Mr Lecornu added that following the US decision to suspend all military aid to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron asked him to "accelerate the various French aid packages" to make up for the lack of American assistance.
Mr Lecornu said that in the wake of the US decision, shipments of Ukraine-bound aid departing from Poland had been suspended, adding, however, that "Ukrainians, unfortunately, have learned to fight this war for three years now and know how to stockpile".
In Ukraine, a Russian ballistic missile killed four people staying at a hotel in President Zelensky's home town during the night.
Mr Zelenskyy, who was attending the EU summit on defence in Brussels, said a humanitarian organisation's volunteers had moved into the hotel in Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, just before the strike, including Ukrainian, American and British nationals.
He did not say whether those people were among the 31 injured.
Russia fired 112 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as two ballistic Iskander missiles, at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.
Later on Thursday Russia's Foreign Ministry rejected a peace proposal from France and Britain, describing it as an attempt by Kyiv's European allies to offer a break to the embattled Ukrainian army.
The ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said the proposed break in air and naval attacks is an attempt to "secure a pause for the agonising Kyiv regime, the Ukrainian armed forces and prevent the front from collapsing".
She said Ukraine would use any pause in fighting to strengthen its military, which would lead to prolonged conflict.
And Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov harshly criticised Mr Macron's claim that Russia threatens Europe.
"This is a threat to Russia," Mr Lavrov said at a briefing in Moscow, noting Mr Macron's plan to convene a meeting of top European military officers to discuss purported aggressive plans by Moscow.
Mr Lavrov dismissed the allegations that Russia was hatching plans to attack European nations as "stupid" and "delirious nonsense".
"For any more or less sane person it is completely clear that Russia does not need this," he said.
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Drone footage captures moment police find 'sophisticated' cannabis factory during raid
Updated13:29, 7 MAR 2025
Drone footage has captured the moment police raided a property in Rhyl before discovering a cannabis factory located over four storeys.
Officers executed a Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at a property in the town on Monday.
Two people were arrested. North Wales Police released drone footage showing the moment officers gained access to the property, with the video also showing a large cannabis grow discovered inside the building.
A spokesperson for the force said: "Colleagues from the Drone Unit as well as the Cheshire and North Wales Dog Alliance were invaluable in guiding local officers in order to quickly make two arrests.
Inside, officers discovered a sophisticated cultivation system spanning four floors.
"A sizeable amount of plants at various stages of growing and drying were seized. A 24-year-old man arrested on suspicion of various drugs offences was wanted by immigration officials and is due for deportation.
"A 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of drugs offences is still under investigation and has been transferred as he is also wanted by another police force for separate offences."
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/drone-footage-captures-moment-police-31149441
Chornobyl fully clears Russian drone strike damage
March 7, 2025, 06:55 AM
Hrynchuk recalled that at around 2 a.m. on Feb. 14, a Russian drone with an explosive warhead hit the New Safe Confinement (NSC) arch over the destroyed fourth reactor.
“After extinguishing the fire, the protective shell’s filler kept smoldering. Today at noon, we stopped that process,” she wrote.
“The cleanup of the Russian drone strike’s impact on the Shelter Object is complete. Monitoring continues,” the State Emergency Service later added.
The Environment Ministry said radiation levels remain stable and under constant watch. An emergency service unit will stay on-site, with ongoing radiation and thermal imaging checks.
“Now our task is to thoroughly assess the NSC arch’s damage and restore its function,” Hrynchuk said.
February 14 drone strike on Chornobyl sarcophagus
In the early hours of Feb. 14, a Russian drone with an explosive warhead damaged the sarcophagus roof shielding Chornobyl’s ruined fourth reactor, sparking a fire.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed explosions at the plant but failed to mention Russia.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service repeatedly said no radiation spikes were detected post-strike. However, the fire proved tough to douse.
On Feb. 17, rescuers tackled three smoldering spots on the sarcophagus.
On Feb. 20, the service deployed drones with thermal cameras to monitor the site and spot new hotspots.
https://english.nv.ua/nation/drone-strike-on-chornobyl-npp-emergency-situation-eliminated-at-plant-50496054.html
https://t.me/dsns_telegram/39244
UFO in sky over Clifton Moor was 'hardly moving at all'
March 7, 2025
The picture was captured at around 4.15pm yesterday afternoon (March 6) from Clifton Moor by Steve Huddleston, a member of The Press Camera Club.
It was posted to the group’s Facebook page by Steve's wife Lou Lou, also a member of the club.
Speaking on the camera Club Facebook group page, she said it was seen to the north east over the Earswick/Haxby area of York.
In her post, she said: “My husband took this photo this afternoon.
“It was high up and visible with the naked eye as the sun reflected off it.”
Her post added that at first it was thought to be a weather balloon as it was hardly moving and was shot using a phone at near maximum zoom.
Once the image was zoomed and cropped, the identity of the object became less clear, the post said.
Flight Reader apps were checked, the post said, as RAF Typhoon jets have been flying in York most of the day, but none were recorded as being in the airspace in the observed area.
“It was high up and visible with the naked eye as the sun reflected off it.”
Her post added that at first it was thought to be a weather balloon as it was hardly moving and was shot using a phone at near maximum zoom.
Once the image was zoomed and cropped, the identity of the object became less clear, the post said.
Flight Reader apps were checked, the post said, as RAF Typhoon jets have been flying in York most of the day, but none were recorded as being in the airspace in the observed area.
The post came with a callout to any other members who may have seen the object at the same time to put forward their ideas of its identity.
Camera Club member Paul Mortz said in a comment that the white glow shown in the image could be from a Typhoon jet but the fact that it was hovering would rule that out.
Fellow member Wayne Bennett suggested that it was possibly a Typhoon climbing on afterburners and apparently still due to perspective and although pixelated, resembled similar images he’s taken of the jets climbing.
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/24991050.object-seen-skies-york-hardly-moving-all/
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-ufo-car-warren-uap/601232186
What’s the story behind Minnesota’s ‘UFO car’?
March 7, 2025 at 4:30AM
Many see evidence of an extraterrestrial encounter in the cracked windshield and bent antennas of the amber-colored Ford LTD squad car permanently parked inside a museum in Warren, Minn.
The “UFO car” draws visitors from around the country — some driving more than 1,000 miles — to the Marshall County Historical Society museum in the small town near the North Dakota border.
“People come from all over and that’s the only thing they want to see. They look at the car. And away they go,” said Kent Broten, the society’s president.
Manuel Zuniga of St. Paul wanted to know more about Warren’s UFO car after reading the book “Imminent.”
Luis “Lue” Elizondo’s 2024 bestseller about his experience investigating UFOs for the Pentagon left Zuniga wondering about strange encounters closer to home.
Zuniga reached out to Curious Minnesota, the Strib’s reader-powered reporting project, to ask: “What’s Minnesota’s local UAP story?”
(The term UFO is out of favor these days. Sightings are now more commonly called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs.)
While the more than 40-year-old incident that damaged Marshall County deputy sheriff Val Johnson’s car didn’t get a mention in Elizondo’s book, Newsweek ranked it among modern history’s most credible UFO encounters in 2019.
“Everybody believed the deputy that something happened,” said Broten, the Marshall County Historical Society president. “That it wasn’t anything that he did.”
‘Something attacked my car’
Johnson was on patrol, driving desolate roads west of tiny Stephen, Minn., in the early hours of Aug. 27, 1979, when he saw a light in the sky.
It was “like a spotlight,” he later told an Associated Press reporter.
He turned off County Road 5 onto Hwy. 220 to check it out, thinking it was a small plane’s landing light. Then it came at him.
“It sat there and appeared to be stationary,” he told the Associated Press. “But when I got closer, boom, it was right there, just right now.
I heard glass breaking, saw the inside of the car light up real bright with white light. It was very, very extremely bright. That’s all I can remember.”
He lost consciousness. When he came to about 40 minutes later, he radioed for help.
“Something just hit my car. I don’t know how to explain it. Strange. Something attacked my car,” a groggy-sounding Johnson told dispatcher Pete Bauer, according to a recording of the call reported by the AP and other media in the days that followed.
“Are you all right?” Bauer asked. “I think so. I can’t see very well. I don’t think I’m losing any blood anywhere,” Johnson said.
Deputy Greg Winskowski, who was driving to the scene, called to ask Johnson what kind of vehicle hit him. “It wasn’t a vehicle, Greg. I don’t know what the hell it was,” Johnson said.
Winskowski found Johnson’s squad car sideways on the road with a smashed windshield and bent antennas. The red light on the top of the car and one headlight were broken, and there was a dent in the hood.
The dashboard clock and Johnson’s watch had stopped for 14 minutes before starting up again.
Sheriff Dennis Brekke told the AP that Johnson was treated at the local hospital for “welder burns” to his eyes.
An investigator with the Center for UFO Studies flew in from Chicago to look into the mysterious incident and told the press that its “unusual clues” added up to a good case.
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It remains ‘unexplainable’
In the days and weeks that followed, Johnson talked to the local and national press about his experience — even appearing on “Good Morning America.”
Soon, however, he wished for the attention to blow over, telling the Associated Press that “it’s a terrible strain on the family.”
“My wife’s run ragged with phone calls,” he said. “I hope this drops in a barrel and rests quietly so we can go back to being parents and I can go back to being a little town deputy sheriff.”
The squad car could have been fixed up, said Broten, the historical society president.
“But the sheriff went to the county commissioners and said, you know, this is … it’s an oddity. It’s never been explained,” he said. “We should keep it as is.”
The squad vehicle ended up in the historical society’s collection, becoming known as the UFO car. These days, the museum sells “UFO car” T-shirts.
In 2019, Warren celebrated the 40th anniversary of the encounter with a re-enactment of Johnson’s radio call and a kids’ alien costume contest.
Johnson, who now lives in Eau Claire, Wis., didn’t attend. In the decades following the incident, he rarely spoke publicly about it, avoiding the limelight even as his old squad car continued to pop up in documentaries, books and online discussion forums.
Johnson didn’t return a recent call for comment. In 2015, however, he told Minnesota Public Radio that he doesn’t think about that night much anymore.
“I saw a ball of light,” he said. “I drove toward it, and suddenly it was in the car with me. It’s unexplainable, and will remain so. I’m happy with my mental stability.”
The former deputy said he looked up and told himself, “Well, shucks, what happened?” he said. “And then I shuffled on with my life.”
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UFOs in Sheboygan, Wisconsin: Tales of alien abductions, crop circles, lights in the sky & more
5:04 a.m. CT March 6, 2025
An object with pulsating red and blue colors was spotted in Greenbush, Kohler and Sheboygan Falls in 1976.
Witnesses in Kohler and Sheboygan said the object appeared to be somewhat like a star, but it seemed to be moving.
The next morning, a Sheboygan Press headline blared, "UFO Sighted in County," and the story told of the "unidentified flying object."
During those early morning encounters, observers reported the object moved very rapidly at first, up and down and side to side.
Northern Dodge County, Fox Lake, Rosendale, Mauthe Lake and Fond du Lac reported the same phenomena.
The Press reported that the object was seen in various areas between 1:20 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.
The first to report the object was Fox Lake resident Dale Knol, who watched it for about a half hour. Dodge County police and Waupun police also sighted the object.
It wasn't the first time strange things were seen in area skies. The Press wrote an editorial in 1973 suggesting UFO sightings were perhaps the result of space junk, weather balloons, hail lightning, temperature inversions and swamp gas.
The editorial quoted Director L.A. Lorenzen of the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization in Tucson, Arizona, saying, "We have so many problems of our own, such as scandals and wars, that the diversion is welcome."
At the time, Richard Nixon was in the throes of his Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War was still going on.
Back in 1966, the Press had a wire service article that said the Air Force had an open mind about UFOs. In that article, Air Force officials offered three conclusions:
No UFO has ever given any indication of threat to the national security;
There is no evidence that UFOs represent technological developments or principles beyond present-day scientific knowledge; and
There is no evidence any UFOs are "extra-terrestrial vehicles."
Later in 1988, in response to sightings, the U.S. Air Force said a B-52 Stratofortress flew over Lake Michigan at night, dropping flares, one at a time and in clusters.
The officials said the flare dropping was to test a wartime defense system against heat-seeking missiles.
Some in the county weren't buying that claim. Corrine Richart, of rural Plymouth, was camping at Broughton Marsh with a group that observed a light display in the eastern sky from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Reichart saw what appeared to be an orange ball that lingered in the sky long after six lights under the ball went out in sequence, two at a time.
It was also reported that Eden farmer John Dins saw a huge oval shape with bright lights in the southwest sky at about 11:15 p.m. Dins, at the time, said the formation was so strange that it frightened his dairy herd.
In Dundee, bar owner Bill Benson for many years held a July UFO Daze in the town near Long Lake.
Hundreds of people would arrive to exchange their experiences and hope to catch a glimpse of something out of this world at the event.
The event one year had a display of unexplained lights along the wooded skyline at the event.
Former Press Reporter Mary Ann Holley attended the event and she recently shared: "The annual UFO gathering came together in the hills of Dundee, beyond the forest where folks claim crop circles have appeared many times.
The mystery lights that appeared in the night sky impressed everyone, but for those who claim to be abducted years before, it was a harrowing experience."
Holley added: "The 'victims' of the earlier abductions had highs and lows as the lights moved closer. Some cried and screamed, 'Save me, they’re coming back for me.'
Others said they’d be glad to see their old friends. One former abductee described her 'visitor' as very kind with a resemblance to the Pillsbury Doughboy."
While many times these area sightings are here and gone with no concrete evidence, events like UFO Daze provided a relief for people who claimed to have seen and experienced UFOs.
That event let people talk openly about their experiences. It wasn't just the Sheboygan area experiencing things in the sky.
Manitowoc, the city's nearby neighbor to the north, experienced its own event in 1962 when a 20-pound piece of Russian satellite Sputnik IV crash-landed outside the Rahr-West Art Museum.
The artifact was sent to NASA for examination and the piece was eventually returned to the Soviets.
https://www.sheboyganpress.com/story/life/2025/03/06/ufos-in-sheboygan-tales-include-alien-abductions-lights-in-the-sky/81171798007/
I can usually squeeze at least two loaves out of my spread.
Oddly quiet Friday.. (not jinxing it)
Whitley Strieber: "The Greys Live Among Us" (Exclusive Interview)
Feb 7, 2025
Join Jesse Michels on today's episode of American Alchemy as he sits down with renowned author Whitley Strieber to discuss the cultural significance of Whitley's groundbreaking book "Communion," which opened dialogue around alien abduction experiences
https://youtu.be/ABOP8ZJsyIk?si=t9soZXW4Uk7ojhVg
https://www.youtube.com/@WhitleyStrieberDreamland
https://www.unknowncountry.com/
>prefer to off the shills and load the dough
Things that make you go kek