I hope they have lots of duct tape in case something goes wrong!
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The article says
The Space Center Houston website actually says βthe plane is now a buildingβ with ADA compliant walkways, air conditioning, etc. It really would be easier to turn a whole different 747 into a carrier than it would be to get that thing flying again.
The one at Edwards Air Force Base has been stripped of parts in order to keep a different research plane flying:
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Looks like theyβve used up all the parts, SOFIAβs last flight was almost three years ago.
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^video^
That small dot moving left to right is 3I/ATLAS.
Itβs a comet that was discovered on 1 July 2025.
Itβs travelling at 58 km PER SECOND and isnβt gravitationally bound to the Sun.
Which means youβre looking at a comet that formed around another star, passing through the Solar System.
3I/ATLAS was discovered with the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey telescope in Chile. Its nucleus size is uncertain because of the cometβs coma, but is likely substantially smaller than 24 km in diameter.
This video sequence was posted on 2 July 2025 by astrafoxen
βͺ(astrafoxen.bsky.socialβ¬), and spans 41 minutes. The comet itself is point-like since the telescope tracked its movement; the smears are background stars, and the tiny images are hot pixels.3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed extrasolar object in the Solar System, after 1I/Κ»Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov.
There are likely very, very many more, but theyβre exceptionally tricky to detect.
Similarly, we can expect comets born around the Sun to be passing through other planetary systems.
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Follow up:
Logistics! Infrastructure!
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Has anyone reported this to ICE?
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[β¦]
The Register was tempted to ask if the tender is likely to be awarded to Wallace & Gromit Enterprises, based in the North of England, which is understood to have some previous experience with space launches.
However, what we actually asked was whether this will be a one-off mission or a pilot to kick-start UK expertise in space debris removal. We also asked how the spacecraft will capture the satellites, and how it is to be launched into space. Weβll let you know the answers when the UK Space Agency press office emerges from hyperspace.
[β¦]
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That video (auf Englisch, at least) & this one both appeared within a few months of each other.
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