News Archive / Missions

• SpaceX marks their 100th successful flight during Starlink launch

  Matt HaskellOctober 24th, 2020

  On Saturday Oct 24, A SpaceX Falcon 9 took to the stars from Cape Canaveral with another batch of Starlink satellites, marking the company’s 100th successful launch. 

• White mountain peaks on Pluto not caused by snow

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 24th, 2020

  Images captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its July 2015 Pluto flyby reveal the small planet to be the only place in the solar system other than Earth to have white-capped mountains.

• Boeing wins contract award for next generation SATCOM satellites

  Cullen DesforgesOctober 24th, 2020

  In a press release earlier this month, Boeing announced the award of a developmental contract for the next generation communications satellite on behalf of the United States Space Force.

• ISS Expedition 63 crew returns home safely

  Cullen DesforgesOctober 22nd, 2020

  On October 21, 2020, the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft carrying the Expedition 63 crew members departed the International Space Station, successfully returning NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, and Russian Cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner back to planet Earth at a landing site in Kazakhstan.

• GHGSat releases PULSE, an online tool to visualize worldwide methane gas concentration

  Sean CostelloOctober 21st, 2020

  Accessible at no-cost for public and community use, GHGSat’s newly released PULSE project brings methane gas concentration data within reach of anyone seeking to explore their interactive, online worldwide map. In this screenshot taken by the author during a tour of the PULSE platform, Dr. Sarah Gallagher with the Canadian Space Agency is explaining how […]

• Inter-satellite laser communications improving Starlink performance, as SpaceX expands constellation

  Theresa CrossOctober 18th, 2020

  SpaceX launched its fourteenth batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral’s LC-39A, at 8:25 a.m. EDT, October 18, 2020, flying into blue Florida skies atop a Falcon9 booster flying for its sixth time. 

• Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson resigns from Starliner test flight

  Cullen DesforgesOctober 16th, 2020

  On Wednesday October 7, Boeing Astronaut Chris Ferguson announced that he has removed himself from the first crewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

• ISS Expedition 64 crew launches to ISS in record time

  Cullen DesforgesOctober 16th, 2020

  On Wednesday, October 14 at 1:45 AM EDT, three astronauts and their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft left the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin a six month mission to the International Space Station.

• Remnants of ancient subsurface ocean observed on Ceres

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 5th, 2020

  The bright spots in Ceres’s Occator Crater, which mystified scientists when first observed by the Dawn spacecraft in 2015, indicate the dwarf planet may harbor remnants of what was once a global subsurface ocean.

• ULA announces new launch date for NROL-44

  Cullen DesforgesSeptember 19th, 2020

  United Launch Alliance has set September 27, 2020 as the target date for the third launch attempt of the NROL-44 payload aboard their Delta IV Heavy Rocket, due to launch at 12:10 a.m. EDT. The launch window will last for approximately 90 minutes.

• NASA seeking commercial proposals for lunar sample collection

  Theresa CrossSeptember 16th, 2020

  Over the next four years, NASA will pay for private companies to harvest rocks and soil from the moon, as the agency takes the initial steps to field sustainable lunar exploration. 

• Astra suffers anomaly following first orbital-attempt liftoff

  Michael McCabeSeptember 13th, 2020

  Astra suffered a setback during their first orbital attempt, as their Rocket 3 series rocket lifted off into the skies over Launch Pad 3B in Kodiak, Alaska at 7:19 P.M. ADT, before an anomaly occurred causing the rocket to fall back to earth. 

• Northrop Grumman cancels OmegA rocket following NSSL contract loss

  Matt HaskellSeptember 10th, 2020

  In an expected move following recent contract awards, Northrop Grumman has announced the cancellation of their OmegA launch vehicle program.

• First segment of Orion capsule delivered for assembly ahead of Artemis III mission

  Theresa CrossSeptember 10th, 2020

  Lockheed Martin takes delivery and begins production of the Artemis III Orion capsule, as the first parts of the pressure vessel are delivered to the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.

• Morning update: delayed Starlink mission set to fly in less than an hour

  Sean CostelloSeptember 3rd, 2020

  SpaceX is poised to launch their next batch of Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 today, currently scheduled to liftoff at 8:46 a.m. EDT.

• Northrop Grumman continues to advance NASA’s Artemis program

  Matt HaskellSeptember 3rd, 2020

  Aerospace giant Northrop Grumman continues to meet milestones in preparation for NASA’s Artemis program, as it completes a successful booster test fire for Artemis IV, and delivers the final abort motor for Artemis II

• Orion spacecraft passes final milestone for first Artemis launch

  Cullen DesforgesSeptember 2nd, 2020

  On September 1, NASA announced that the flight-ready Orion Crew capsule had completed a significant milestone in preparation for its voyage on the first launch of the Artemis Program, Artemis 1.

• NASA to air Northrop Grumman FSB-1 test fire from Utah

  Theresa CrossSeptember 2nd, 2020

  On Wednesday, September 2 at 2:45 p.m.. EDT, NASA will broadcast a full-duration test fire by Northrop Grumman of a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket booster. It will air on NASA television and will also be viewable online, via their website. The test will be conducted at Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing and test facilities in Promontory, […]

• Following schedule adjustment, Starlink now set to launch September 3

  Theresa CrossSeptember 1st, 2020

  SpaceX has officially shifted Tuesday’s planned launch of 60 Starlink internet satellites from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Representatives from SpaceX wrote on Twitter, “Now targeting Thursday, September 3 at 8:46 a.m. EDT for launch of Starlink from Launch Complex 39A, pending Range acceptance — team is using additional time for […]

• SpaceX launches first polar launch from Florida in 60 years

  Matt HaskellAugust 30th, 2020

  SpaceX has successfully launched the SAOCOM-1B satellite for the Argentinian Space Agency, CONAE – the first polar trajectory launch from Florida’s Space Coast in 60 years.