Breakthrough Watch and European Southern Observatory Achieve First Light on Upgraded Planet-finding Instrument “Pete Worden, Executive Director of the Breakthrough Initiatives, said: “We’re delighted to collaborate with the ESO in designing, building, installing and now using this innovative new instrument. If there are Earth-like planets around Alpha Centauri A and B, that’s huge news for everyone on our planet.” “ESO is glad to bring its expertise, existing infrastructure, and observing […]

In Quest to Reach Alpha Centauri, Breakthrough Starshot Launches World’s Smallest Spacecraft “Breakthrough Starshot, a multi-faceted program to develop and launch practical interstellar space missions, successfully flew its first spacecraft — the smallest ever launched. On June 23, a number of prototype “Sprites” – the world’s smallest fully functional space probes, built on a single circuit board — achieved Low Earth Orbit, piggybacking on OHB System AG’s ‘Max Valier’ and […]

Understanding NASA’s Global Reach, SpaceRef “A young boy in Chile wearing a NASA t-shirt explains a computer game to Pete Worden from Breakthrough Initiatives. How did he get that t-shirt? Why is he wearing it? Worden sent me this picture today. He is currently in Chile to announce that Breakthrough Initiatives has teamed with the European Southern Observatory to use the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to observe Alpha Centauri. Alpha […]