Tech and Space News Roundup: Rocket Failure, Emergency Landing, and Challenger Relics
A series of incidents involving space exploration and aviation made headlines recently, including a rocket failure in Japan, an emergency landing in Houston, and an effort to trace artifacts from the Challenger space shuttle.
Japan's H3 rocket failed on its eighth flight, preventing the deployment of the Michibiki 5 navigation satellite, according to multiple news sources. The failure was attributed to a payload fairing issue. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) unusually released detailed investigation data regarding the incident.
In Houston, a NASA WB-57 aircraft made an emergency landing due to a landing gear malfunction, according to Ars Technica. There were no reported injuries.
Separately, an effort is underway to trace the history of "Remove Before Flight" tags from the Challenger space shuttle. According to Ars Technica, these small, bright red tags were collected before the ill-fated launch of Challenger. One individual who purchased the tags on eBay in 2010 is attempting to document their history, with the goal of providing them to museums, educational centers, and astronautical archives. The tags bear the instruction "Remove Before Flight" in bold lettering.
In other news, Ticketmaster announced that it will resell canceled Ariana Grande tickets from sellers who violated user terms. According to Variety, many fans were left empty-handed after tickets went on sale for her Eternal Sunshine tour in September 2025, and shows sold out in minutes. Ticketmaster worked with Grande and her team to claw back tickets purchased by people who violated their user terms and will sell them directly to fans starting next month.
Finally, the Trump administration secretly overhauled nuclear safety rules, according to NPR. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also released findings on a recent crash in Washington D.C.
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