Tech
PHOTOS: Cygnus NG-19 Rocket Launches, Carrying New Experiments, Supplies to International Space Station
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (FNN) – With no weather in the area disrupting the launch countdown, the Cygnus NG-19 mission successfully lifted off on time at 8:31pm EST Tuesday.
The Cygnus NG-19 rocket fires its engines as it launches to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Photo: Nickolas Wolf/Florida National News.
For the past 10 years, the Cygnus spacecraft has been helping to resupply and service the International Space Station. During the first mission on September 18th, 2013, just 1,300 pounds of cargo were carried to the Space Station. The missions and capacity of the craft has expanded over the years, and with the completion of Tuesday’s launch, over 8,000 pounds (over four tons) of cargo were sent into orbit.
Photographers and spectators observe the Cygnus NG-19 as it waits on the launch pad before lifting off to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Photo: Nickolas Wolf/Florida National News.
Tuesday’s mission included significant changes to the rocket that was being used to carry the payload to orbit. Besides delivering extra food to the astronauts currently on the ISS, the Cygnus craft will also assist in raising the orbit of the station (which is done from time to time to prevent the ISS from deorbiting), and deliver a series of new science experiments that current and future astronauts on station will work on.
Photographers and spectators take photos of the Cygnus NG-19 rocket as it sits on the launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, awaiting launch to the International Space Station Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Photo: Nickolas Wolf/Florida National News.
On top of the mission profile, this mission marks the last time Cygnus will travel atop the Antares 230+ Rocket, with a new vehicle being worked on for all future missions in partnership with Firefly. In the meantime, SpaceX will take over, being the main transport rocket for a select few Cygnus missions. This Antares 230+ configuration uses engines and parts from Russian and Ukrainian partners, so the end of this mission will be the end of the current partnership with Pivdenmash and NPO Energomash from Ukraine and Russia respectively.
The Cygnus NG-19 mission launches to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Photo: Nickolas Wolf/Florida National News.
Also, as with all other Northrop Grumman missions, each vehicle is dedicated to a specific individual who would be considered a pioneer in human spaceflight. For this particular mission, the craft has been dedicated to Laurel Blair Clark, one of the seven astronauts who unfortunately died during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. Her reputation and body of work with NASA is expansive and is an inspiration to all who are interested in space, science, and spaceflight.
Though most eyes stay focused on the Kennedy Space Center for its obvious history and fame, the launch facility on Wallops Island is just as important and decorated as the launch sites in Florida, providing an important base for vehicle research, smaller student-based missions, and, of course, ISS resupply from well-decorated companies and launch providers.
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Nickolas Wolf is a national photojournalist for Florida National News.
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – Social media wasn’t supposed to be like this. Endless noise, manipulated algorithms, harassment buried under engagement metrics, and creators fighting just to be seen: it’s a landscape that rewards chaos over connection. Byio, a new platform built by Black women, is trying something radically different: slowing things down, putting people first, and making digital space intentional again.
Byio stands for “By Invite Only,” and it means that literally. You can’t just sign up. You join through a personal invite and each user only gets two. This isn’t exclusivity for the sake of hype. It’s a form of cultural quality control. Growth isn’t measured in downloads; it’s measured in alignment. The people behind Byio are building a digital space where values aren’t an afterthought.
Led by founder and CEO R.M. Easterly, Byio was created out of frustration not just with broken moderation systems or paywalled reach, but with the deeper issue of who gets to shape online culture. Black creators and communities have been disproportionately impacted by platform policies that erase or ignore them. Byio doesn’t just give them a voice — it gives them the blueprint.
What sets Byio apart isn’t a flashy feature list, though it has those: livestreaming, built-in monetization, creator gifting, e-commerce tools all built into the platform from day one
. But the real innovation is philosophical. Moderation isn’t only reactive. AI prompts are used to encourage users to pause before posting content that might escalate conflict. It’s not censorship — it’s digital self-awareness baked into the UX.
The platform launched in a staggered rollout known as the “TG10s” — the first 10,000 users who will help shape the culture. Discord is the current front porch of that community, with conversations already driving feedback and ideas. Some early supporters are even buying physical Byio stickers — not as access passes, but as expressions of belief in the mission.
And people are watching closely. Critics and newcomers alike are asking the right questions: Can a platform grow and still stay grounded? Will the AI moderation tools respect nuance and cultural context? Will creator monetization be fair and accessible? So far, the answers aren’t in grand promises but in the quiet, deliberate pace of how Byio is rolling out.
Compared to giants like Instagram, TikTok, or X, where the incentive structure leans heavily toward viral content and ad revenue, Byio feels like a platform pulling in the opposite direction. Even newer alternatives like Mastodon or Bluesky may tout decentralization, but they haven’t solved moderation or cultural bias at scale. Byio’s approach — tight-knit, human-led, AI-supported, culturally conscious — isn’t just unusual. It’s practically rebellious.
Byio isn’t for everyone. It’s not trying to be. But for creators, communities, and everyday users who’ve felt erased, misrepresented, or simply exhausted by the internet as it stands. This platform may be the start of something that doesn’t just look different, but feels different.
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Kareen Kennedy is the Assistant Editor for Florida National News
kareen.kennedy@floridanationalnews.com
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (FNN) – Florida National News has learned that NASA’s latest mission, TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), has officially launched and will soon begin studying Earth’s magnetic field to better understand how it protects the planet from the harmful effects of space weather.
NASA Launches TRACERS to Study Earth’s Magnetic Shield
The TRACERS mission lifted off Wednesday at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The twin spacecraft will fly closely together—just 10 seconds apart—making over 3,000 measurements in a single year to provide a detailed picture of magnetic reconnection, a process that impacts space weather and Earth’s atmosphere.
“NASA is proud to launch TRACERS to demonstrate and expand American preeminence in space science research and technology,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. “This mission will yield breakthroughs that will advance our pursuit of the Moon, and subsequently, Mars.”
Mission controllers successfully made contact with the second spacecraft three hours after separation, and a four-week commissioning period will now begin before science operations commence.
TRACERS’ Role in Understanding Magnetic Reconnection
TRACERS will orbit the polar cusp, an open region in Earth’s magnetic field near the North Pole. This area is critical for studying how solar wind—a stream of charged particles from the Sun—interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. The mission will investigate magnetic reconnection, where magnetic field lines from the Sun and Earth snap and realign, releasing intense bursts of energy.
These interactions cause charged particles to cascade into Earth’s atmosphere, affecting satellites, communication systems, and power grids. TRACERS will give scientists unprecedented insight into how fast and intensely these processes occur.
“The successful launch of TRACERS is a tribute to many years of work by an excellent team,” said David Miles, TRACERS principal investigator at the University of Iowa. “We’re excited to explore the dynamic processes driving space weather.”
Small Satellites Hitch a Ride with TRACERS
Alongside TRACERS, NASA deployed three additional small satellite missions:
Athena EPIC: A demonstration satellite showing how modular SmallSat designs can lower costs and speed up deployment while measuring Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation.
PExT: A polylingual experimental terminal using software-defined radios to connect across commercial and government networks—similar to cell phone roaming, but in space.
REAL: A CubeSat investigating how high-energy electrons are scattered from the Van Allen radiation belts into Earth’s atmosphere, helping to protect astronauts and spacecraft.
Each mission contributes valuable data and technology demonstrations for future space operations.
