News Archive / Missions
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With 29 Raptor engines in place, Booster 4 pre-flight work is continuing at Starbase
Cullen DesforgesAugust 2nd, 2021In the overnight hours of Aug. 2, all 29 Raptor engines were installed on SpaceX's Starship Booster 4 at a blistering pace as it sat stacked in the high bay.
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Results from Mars InSight lander show Mars has a molten center
Theresa CrossAugust 2nd, 2021Using data collected by NASA's Mars InSight lander, which has been on the red planet since 2018, researchers have confirmed the planet's center to be molten.
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Videos simulate Pluto, Charon flyby; follow up mission proposed
Laurel KornfeldAugust 1st, 2021NASA's New Horizons team released new movies simulating the spacecraft's 2015 flight over Pluto and its large moon Charon to mark the sixth anniversary of the encounter on July 14, 2015.
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GOES-17 weather satellite recovers from brief anomaly
Theresa CrossAugust 1st, 2021On July 22, 2021, NOAA’s GOES-17 weather satellite experienced a brief anomaly and entered into safe mode prompting engineers to perform troubleshooting tasks, ultimately recovering the satellite less than 24 hours later.
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Nauka drama: Module thrusters fire errantly while docked to ISS
Derek RichardsonJuly 29th, 2021Just hours after safely docking with the International Space Station, the Nauka module's thrusters began firing unexpectedly, causing the outpost to lose attitude control.
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Long-delayed Nauka science module finally reaches space station
Derek RichardsonJuly 29th, 2021The Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module Nauka, delayed by nearly 15 years, has finally docked with the International Space Station.
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The winds of change are stirring for Starship and Starbase
Cullen DesforgesJuly 26th, 2021A static fire and new build rumors abound as SpaceX continues to make progress at its Starbase site in South Texas.
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Russian ‘Pirs’ becomes first ISS module to be decommissioned
Derek RichardsonJuly 26th, 2021After serving the International Space Station for 20 years, the Russian Pirs module was detached from the outpost and pulled away by Progress MS-16.
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Finding life on Europa requires drilling to its subsurface ocean
Laurel KornfeldJuly 24th, 2021A future mission seeking signs of life on Jupiter's moon Europa will likely require drilling into its global subsurface ocean, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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Russian Nauka module on its way to International Space Station
Derek RichardsonJuly 21st, 2021After more than a decade's worth of delays, the Russian-built Nauka science module has launched toward the International Space Station.
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SpaceX preparing for 1st Starship Super Heavy booster static fire
Cullen DesforgesJuly 19th, 2021The Orbital Launch Tower for SpaceX’s Starship launch system got its final section over the weekend as the company continues to press toward the first static fire of a Super Heavy booster.
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Raptors abound at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas
Cullen DesforgesJuly 12th, 2021Raptor engines were the hot topic last week at SpaceX’s rocket production and testing facility in Boca Chica, Texas, also known as Starbase.
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Ingenuity Mars Helicopter breaks records with 9th flight
Cullen DesforgesJuly 8th, 2021The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter that has proven itself to be the star of the Perseverance mission recently made its ninth and most daring flight to date.
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SpaceX Super Heavy Booster 3 rolled to Starbase launch pad
Cullen DesforgesJuly 5th, 2021SpaceX's Super Heavy Booster No. 3 stacked at the company’s high bay facility made an appearance last week. The vehicle was transported down Boca Chica’s Highway 4 on July 1, 2021, to a modified section of Pad A, where it is expected to begin cryo testing.
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Surface, geology of Pluto studied via opposition observations
Laurel KornfeldJuly 4th, 2021Six years after the New Horizons spacecraft returned close-up images of Pluto, researchers are teasing out more information about its geology and surface.
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Progress MS-17 cargo craft docks with International Space Station
Derek RichardsonJuly 1st, 2021Two days after launching from Kazakhstan, Russia’s unpiloted Progress MS-17 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station.
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Progress MS-17 cargo freighter sent on a two-day trek to ISS
Derek RichardsonJune 29th, 2021Just before dawn, Russia’s Progress MS-17 cargo spacecraft lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to send supplies to the International Space Station.
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NG-15 Cygnus spacecraft departs space station
Derek RichardsonJune 29th, 2021After four months at the International Space Station, Northrop Grumman’s NG-15 Cygnus cargo ship departed the outpost to begin a brief post-ISS mission.
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SpaceX founder turns 50, as Starbase launch tower expansion continues
Cullen DesforgesJune 28th, 2021The orbital launch tower for SpaceX's Starship rocket system has received its sixth tower section of the eight it is expected to comprise of when completed.
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NASA continues to troubleshoot Hubble payload computer issue
Theresa CrossJune 24th, 2021On June 13, the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer stopped working. Its purpose is to maintain, control, monitor and track the science instruments.
