
Brett Tingley
Brett is curious about emerging aerospace technologies, alternative launch concepts, military space developments and uncrewed aircraft systems. Brett's work has appeared on Scientific American, The War Zone, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his free time, Brett enjoys skywatching throughout the dark skies of the Appalachian mountains.
Latest articles by Brett Tingley

BepiColombo probe captures haunting Mercury image on 5th of 6 gravity assist flybys (photo)
By Brett Tingley published
The European-Japanese BepiColombo probe made a close flyby of Mercury on Dec. 1, 2024 and captured an image of the planet.

New Japanese rocket engine explodes during testing for 2nd time in 16 months
By Brett Tingley published
An engine hot fire test for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's new Epsilon S rocket ended prematurely when the engine caught fire and exploded.

'We didn't know what it was at first.' NASA aircraft uncovers site of secret Cold War nuclear missile tunnels under Greenland ice sheet
By Brett Tingley published
NASA scientists conducting surveys of arctic ice sheets in Greenland got an unprecedented view of an abandoned "city under the ice" built by the U.S. military during the Cold War.

Firefly Aerospace completes Blue Ghost moon lander for January 2025 SpaceX launch
By Brett Tingley published
Firefly Aerospace announced its Blue Ghost lunar lander has completed testing and will now be shipped to Florida ahead of its planned January 2025 launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX and NASA show off how Starship will help astronauts land on the moon (images)
By Brett Tingley published
NASA and SpaceX released a new set of illustrations showing off how Starship might look as it lands astronauts on the moon during the Artemis 3 mission.

Geminid meteor shower is underway. Here's what to expect from one of the best meteor showers of the year
By Brett Tingley last updated
The annual Geminid meteor shower returns to the night sky on Nov. 19 ahead of its peak in mid-December. Here's what you need to know.

See Mars make a close pass to the moon tonight
By Brett Tingley published
The moon and Mars will share a close approach tonight (Nov. 20) during a conjunction as the two visit the Cancer constellation, the Crab.

Pentagon UFO chief tells Senate 'very anomalous objects' need careful study (video)
By Brett Tingley published
In new testimony, the head of the Pentagon's UFO office told the US senate that it "has not discovered any verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology."

Pentagon UFO office testifies to US Senate today. Watch it live here (video)
By Brett Tingley last updated
The Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office will testify before the U.S. Senate on Tuesday (Nov. 19) about its latest report starting at 4:30 p.m. ET (2130 GMT).

The final supermoon of 2024 rises tonight as November's Full Beaver Moon
By Brett Tingley last updated
The Full Beaver Moon of November 2024 will be the final of four consecutive supermoons this year, appearing slightly larger in the night sky on Friday (Nov. 15).

NASA rockets seed artificial clouds below glowing auroras in Norway (photo)
By Brett Tingley published
NASA's VortEx experiment launched sounding rockets that created clouds, which will help scientists better understand how energy flows between layers of the atmosphere.

Brilliant fireball explodes over North America as satellites capture flash from space (video)
By Brett Tingley published
Cameras and NOAA weather satellites captured the moment when a meteor exploded into a brilliant fireball over the western U.S. and parts of western Canada.

All astronauts on the ISS are in 'outstanding health': NASA's chief medical officer debunks tabloid rumors
By Monisha Ravisetti last updated
Both Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are in good health on the ISS, NASA confirms, despite tabloid rumors suggesting otherwise.

Blue Origin stacks huge New Glenn rocket ahead of 1st launch (photo)
By Brett Tingley published
Blue Origin showed off its New Glenn rocket after its two stages were mated in the company's Florida facility. The new rocket could take off on its maiden flight as soon as November.

UFO whistleblowers tell Congress 'we are not alone in the cosmos' (video)
By Brett Tingley published
The latest congressional UFO hearing featured testimony from former military personnel who told representatives that excessive government secrecy hides the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.

US Congress will hold another UFO hearing today. Here's how to watch
By Brett Tingley last updated
Congress will hold its second hearing in two years aimed at gathering testimony about alleged UFO retrieval programs and the U.S. government's attempt to hide them.

Starlink satellite falls to Earth, burns up as stunning fireball over US (video)
By Brett Tingley published
A brilliant fireball that lit up the skies over four U.S. states this weekend is reported to be from the fiery reentry of a SpaceX Starlink satellite.

An asteroid hit Earth just hours after being detected. It was the 3rd 'imminent impactor' of 2024
By Brett Tingley published
A small asteroid burned up in Earth's atmosphere off the coast of California just hours after being discovered and before impact monitoring systems had registered its trajectory.

NASA's X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet test fires engine for 1st time
By Brett Tingley published
NASA's revolutionary X-59 jet is steadily progressing toward its first flight test after completing a set of engine run tests at the storied Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in California.

'What's Starlink?' Trump talks Elon Musk, Starship and SpaceX in election night victory speech (video)
By Brett Tingley published
President-elect Donald Trump had high words of praise for Elon Musk and SpaceX during his election night victory speech, mentioning twice that he did not know what Starlink satellites were.

US military test-launches unarmed nuclear missile on election night (video)
By Brett Tingley published
The United States military test-launched an unarmed nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 5, 2024.

Why can't active NASA astronauts endorse US presidential candidates?
By Brett Tingley published
NASA astronauts can vote from space, but why can't they endorse political candidates? As it turns out, U.S. federal law specifically prohibits them from doing so.

Space Force's mysterious X-37B begins 'aerobraking' to lower orbit. Here's how it works (video)
By Brett Tingley published
In a rare show of openness about the X-37B, Boeing Space released a video detailing how the space plane's aerobraking maneuvers help change the spacecraft's orbit.
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