Spaceflight Insider

  • Second group of names approved for features on Pluto

    Laurel KornfeldAugust 26th A second set of names for features on Pluto, already used informally by members of NASA’s New Horizons mission, has received formal approval by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization that names celestial objects and their features. Submitted by the New Horizons mission, these 14 names honor pioneering explorers on Earth, space missions, scientists […]

  • Northrop Grumman becomes 1st commercial tenant of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building

    Mike HowardAugust 17th Northrop Grumman became the first commercial tenant of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in High Bay 2.

  • Curiosity rover marks seven years of Martian exploration

    Laurel KornfeldAugust 9th Seven years after successfully completing a difficult landing maneuver onto the floor of Mars' Gale Crater, NASA's Curiosity rover continues to make pioneering discoveries on the Red Planet.

  • Gallery: ULA completes third flight of 2019

    Jason RhianAugust 8th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — ULA launched an Atlas V rocket with the AEHF-5 on Thursday, Aug. 8 2019. The early morning flight marked an increasingly rare appearance for the venerable launch vehicle.

  • AEHF 5 lights up the sky atop ULA Atlas V 551

    Patrick AttwellAugust 8th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- United Launch Alliance completed its third flight of the year on Thursday, Aug. 8. The flight got off the pad and soared into the early morning sky a little later than planned.

  • Cameras on Mars 2020 rover confirmed to have perfect vision

    Laurel KornfeldAugust 7th Tests conducted on several of the cameras that have been installed on the Mars 2020 rover have confirmed that they have perfect, 20/20 This is one of the more critical aspects of the mission as it will help guide the vision.

  • ULA preparing for third launch of 2019

    Patrick AttwellAugust 7th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- United Launch Alliance (ULA) is set to conduct its first Atlas V launch in nearly 10 months with the AEHF-5 mission. The flight marks a rare flight for a venerable rocket.

  • Gallery: SpaceX completes second flight in less than two weeks with AMOS-17

    Jason RhianAugust 6th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the AMOS-17 spacecraft on Tuesday Aug. 6, 2019. The flight helped reiterate the company's ability to rapidly turn around and prepare for the next flight.

  • SpaceX breaks AMOS jinx with flight of AMOS-17

    Patrick AttwellAugust 6th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — It can be said that SpaceX hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to AMOS payloads. That unlucky streak was broken today with the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and its passenger, the AMOS-17 spacecraft.

  • Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C launched from French Guiana

    Cullen DesforgesAugust 6th KOUROU, FRENCH GUIANA -- On Aug. 6, 2019 Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 ECA launch of 2019 lifted the VA249 mission off the pad located at Ariane Launch Complex Number 3 (ELA-3) in Kourou, French Guiana.

  • NG-11 Cygnus released to begin multi-month post-ISS mission

    Derek RichardsonAugust 6th Northrop Grumman’s NG-11 Cygnus departed the ISS after a 109-day stay aboard the outpost to begin a multi-month free-flying secondary mission.

  • Installation of MEDLI2 on Mars 2020 entry vehicle begins

    Jim SharkeyAugust 5th Entry, landing and decent (EDL) is one of the most challenging phases of any Mars mission. Engineers recently began installing hardware on the entry vehicle of NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission that will help increase the safety of future missions to the Red Planet.

  • AEHF 5 lights up the sky atop ULA Atlas V 551

    Patrick AttwellAugust 8th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- United Launch Alliance completed its third flight of the year on Thursday, Aug. 8. The flight got off the pad and soared into the early morning sky a little later than planned.

  • Cameras on Mars 2020 rover confirmed to have perfect vision

    Laurel KornfeldAugust 7th Tests conducted on several of the cameras that have been installed on the Mars 2020 rover have confirmed that they have perfect, 20/20 This is one of the more critical aspects of the mission as it will help guide the vision.

  • SpaceX breaks AMOS jinx with flight of AMOS-17

    Patrick AttwellAugust 6th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — It can be said that SpaceX hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to AMOS payloads. That unlucky streak was broken today with the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and its passenger, the AMOS-17 spacecraft.

  • NG-11 Cygnus released to begin multi-month post-ISS mission

    Derek RichardsonAugust 6th Northrop Grumman’s NG-11 Cygnus departed the ISS after a 109-day stay aboard the outpost to begin a multi-month free-flying secondary mission.

  • NASA teaming up with commercial companies for return to the Moon

    Laurel KornfeldAugust 5th To achieve the goal of returning humans to the Moon by 2024, NASA announced it is teaming up with commercial companies to develop new technologies for landing on and taking off from the lunar surface.

  • NASA releases report on weather satellite failure

    Laurel KornfeldAugust 2nd A NASA board assigned to investigate the April 2018 failure of an infrared-detecting instrument on board a next-generation weather satellite has released its report. The malfunction has been attributed to a pipe blockage that prevented the flow of needed coolant.

  • Bridenstine selects new director of Goddard Space Flight Center

    Joe LatrellAugust 1st Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has been assigned a new acting director by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine as the previous head of the Center has opted to move on.

  • Progress MS-12 makes fast-track flight to ISS

    Derek RichardsonJuly 31st Two orbits after launching from Kazakhstan, Russia’s Progress MS-12 cargo spacecraft rendezvoused and docked with the International Space Station.

  • Here’s looking at Euclid: NASA provides crucial parts for ESA dark energy mission

    Jim SharkeyJuly 31st Dark energy and dark matter are two of the biggest mysteries facing modern astronomy. Scheduled to launch in 2022, the European Space Agency's Euclid spacecraft has been designed investigate these invisible phenomena that scientist think make up a majority of our universe. A team of NASA engineers recently delivered crucial components for one on the spacecraft's science instruments.

  • CRS-18 Dragon arrives at ISS with new docking adapter

    Derek RichardsonJuly 27th Days after threading the needle with weather to launch, SpaceX’s CRS-18 Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused and berthed with the International Space Station.

  • CRS-18 Falcon and Dragon brave storms to begin 18th ISS flight

    Cullen DesforgesJuly 25th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Expedition 60 crew on board the International Space Station can expect to get some fresh supplies, needed hardware and - slime - in the next few days. This odd payload mix was sent on its way thanks to two venerable pieces of space hardware which were brought to bear by the NewSpace titan - SpaceX.

  • SpaceX’s 18th CRS mission delayed due to bad weather

    Cullen DesforgesJuly 24th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- SpaceX’s eighteenth flight to the International Space Station, CRS-18, which was originally scheduled to fly tonight has been delayed due to weather violations caused by Invest 94L as it made its way over the Florida peninsula.

  • Christopher Kraft leaves behind powerful legacy with passing

    Steve HammerJuly 22nd JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas -- Although his name isn't as well-known as Alan Shepard, John Glenn or Neil Armstrong, without the efforts of Christopher C. Kraft, NASA would likely never have left orbit let alone sent men to the Moon. Kraft passed away on Monday, July 22 at the age of 95.

  • ISRO joins exclusive club with launch of Chandrayaan-2 mission

    Jason RhianJuly 22nd A GSLV Mk III rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SLP today, carrying the Chandrayaan-2. It places the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) into the 'big leagues' of space flight organizations.

  • From Lunar to LEO, MS-13 trio blasts off toward ISS

    Jason RhianJuly 20th Fifty years is a long time. In the past half-century NASA has gone from launching men to the Moon to being dependent on the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, for access to low-Earth orbit. The latest flight under the agreement took place 50 years to the day NASA achieved what was once believed to be impossible.

  • Inside the SIRIUS-19 lunar mission simulation: preparing for the next leap

    Paul KnightlyJuly 19th As the world prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, a 4-month long international lunar mission simulation is preparing to conclude in Russia. SIRIUS, which stands for Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station, aims to study human psychology and performance under a simulated lunar mission scenario in order to […]

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