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Colleagues and friends of Mary Baer and John Gaughan say good-bye and thank you

Mary Baer and John Gaughan have belonged to this community for 30 years, and it's a big sacrifice to work until 11:30 at night -- or, come into work -- when you're telling everyone else to shelter in place during a storm. Also, to share, in the joy and the sadness in the stories you tell. They have served you so well. But Mary and John also belong to us here at News4JAX, as colleagues and friends. The conversations that happen OFF AIR -- have created relationships that will last a lifetime.

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There’s more than 1 way to send a spacecraft to Venus

AdIt used to be -- in the U.S.-- NASA was the only way to fund and send a robotic mission to another world, but not anymore. The company wants to send the first robotic mission to Venus in 2023. (Image credit: Rocket Lab) (Rocket Lab)Meanwhile, NASA is considering funding its own missions to the planet considered Earth’s twin. Currently there are two Venus missions under consideration and two more equally fascinating missions, one designed to study Jupiter’s moon Io and another to Neptune’s moon Triton. AdHere’s what launching a robotic mission to another planet looks like, in a nutshell, according to Wagner:“This is what a typical NASA mission is.

Virgin Orbit 'drop tests' a rocket from a 747 aircraft 35,000 feet

It's was part of a pre-planned test carried out by Virgin Orbit, the space startup backed by British entrepreneur Richard Branson. Wednesday's spectacle, during which a Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket was intentionally left to freefall back to the ground for a "drop test," was the final step toward reaching that goal. Once the plane reached about 35,000 feet, the typical cruising altitude for commercial aircraft, the rocket was released. Virgin Orbit was spun off from Branson's other space venture, Virgin Galactic, in 2017. In an email Thursday, Virgin Orbit spokesperson Kendall Russell added that the company is "financially comfortable."