News Archive / Author: Curt Godwin

Curt Godwin has been a fan of space exploration for as long as he can remember, keeping his eyes to the skies from an early age. Initially majoring in Nuclear Engineering, Curt later decided that computers would be a more interesting - and safer - career field. He's worked in education technology for more than 20 years, and has been published in industry and peer journals, and is a respected authority on wireless network engineering. Throughout this period of his life, he maintained his love for all things space and has written about his experiences at a variety of NASA events, both on his personal blog and as a freelance media representative.

Articles By Curt Godwin

• SpaceX returns to LC-39A with stunning launch of Es’Hail 2

  November 15th, 2018

  SpaceX just keeps pumping out launches with the latest seeing a Qatari satellite delivered into a geostationary transfer orbit.

• Falcon Heavy attracts customers looking to capitalize on rocket’s capabilities

  October 31st, 2018

  The iconic quote attributed to 1989's Field of Dreams can also be applied to SpaceX and their Falcon Heavy rocket as well. While the company has yet to follow-up on the vehicle's maiden flight on February 6, 2018, it seems the success of that mission has attracted customers to the new rocket.

• Lockheed Martin seeks commercial participation on Orion flights

  October 9th, 2018

  Could Lockheed Martin's Orion spacecraft be used for commercial purposes? A new proposal suggests it can.

• ULA selects Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine for Vulcan rocket

  September 27th, 2018

  Aerojet Rocketdyne lost out to Blue Origin for the production of the main rocket engine for the Vulcan lunch system. How will this guide the development of the new rocket?

• What goes out, must come back: NASA moves Mobile Launcher to VAB for year of work leading to EM-1

  September 9th, 2018

  KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- After journeying out to Launch Pad 39B for several days of fit checks and tests, NASA has rolled the 11-million pound (4.99-million kilogram) Mobile Launcher (ML) back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for further work.

• Mobile Launcher test drive inches SLS one step closer to Exploration Mission-1

  September 1st, 2018

  A Chinese proverb roughly states: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." While this adage rings true for those undertaking Earthly ventures, it is also fitting for the launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS).

• U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane nears one year on orbit

  August 20th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The fifth, and latest, mission for the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) X-37B uncrewed space plane nears a milestone that all but one of its predecessors met (and exceeded): one year on orbit.

• Parker Solar Probe heat shield installed

  July 7th, 2018

  Engineers from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab recently attached the Parker Solar Probe's 160-pound (72.6-kilogram) thermal protection system, or heat shield, to the body of the spacecraft in preparation for its launch, scheduled for no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018.

• Crew Dragon undergoes more tests as it progresses to operational readiness

  July 3rd, 2018

  After recently being subjected to electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing, SpaceX's Crew Dragon inches closer to operational readiness with the completion of two key tests.

• Swan song: Final SpaceX Block 4 Falcon 9 launches CRS-15 cargo mission

  June 29th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla -- Clear weather and a Moonlit pre-dawn sky provided perfect conditions as SpaceX launched its final Block 4 Falcon 9 on its fifteenth cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket lifted off at 5:42 a.m. EDT (9:42 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40).

• CRS-15 resupply mission sending artificial intelligence, diverse science to ISS

  June 27th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — With the booster's static fire successfully concluded, SpaceX appears to be on track for an early-morning launch of the company's 15th operational mission to resupply the International Space Station—CRS-15.

• NASA creates, and fills, high-level position dedicated to exploration

  June 14th, 2018

  One of NASA's principal functions is to provide leadership in space exploration, and now the agency has a position that is the embodiment of that responsibility. Jim Bridenstine, NASA's new Administrator, recently named Steve Clarke as the agency's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration.

• Elon Musk: SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service meets key performance metric

  June 4th, 2018

  While casual followers of Elon Musk's ventures may only know of his foray into electric vehicles and space launch services, the CEO of SpaceX also has his eyes set on being a major player in providing worldwide broadband internet services via a constellation of orbiting satellites.

• SpaceX’s Crew Dragon edging closer to flight

  May 27th, 2018

  To test a spacecraft for electromagnetic interference (EMI), it is placed in a special room designed for the task. SpaceX has done just that. Recently, company founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted a picture of the Crew Dragon capsule being prepared for testing in an anechoic chamber.

• NASA may be warming to the idea of SpaceX’s “load-and-go” fueling procedure

  May 25th, 2018

  NASA appears to be considering SpaceX's "load and go" process of fueling the company's Falcon 9 rocket. However, could it still cause it issues with NASA's Commercial Crew Program?