News Archive / Missions

• NASA continues to troubleshoot Hubble payload computer issue

  Theresa CrossJune 24th, 2021

  On June 13, the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer stopped working. Its purpose is to maintain, control, monitor and track the science instruments.

• SpaceX Starship Super Heavy booster, launch tower take shape

  Cullen DesforgesJune 23rd, 2021

  In the last few weeks, SpaceX’s South Texas facility known as Starbase has seen significant progress in its quest to become a mass-producing entity of heavy-lift rockets.

• Astronauts complete deployment of 1st ISS roll-out solar array

  Derek RichardsonJune 21st, 2021

  Two International Space Station astronauts finished installing the first of six new roll-out solar arrays, ensuring the outpost will have a sufficient power supply over the next decade.

• Scientists trace meteor showers back to long-period comets

  Laurel KornfeldJune 19th, 2021

  Scientists traced up to 15 lesser-known meteor showers through which Earth travels annually to long-period comets with orbits that take up to 4,000 years.

• NASA’s InSight Mars lander solar panels cleared of some dust

  Cullen DesforgesJune 18th, 2021

  NASA’s InSight Mars lander cleaned some dust off its solar panels using a counter-intuitive technique, which resulted in a boost in power production.

• Problems prevent spacewalkers from deploying new solar array

  Derek RichardsonJune 16th, 2021

  A spacesuit glitch and an alignment issue prevented astronauts from fully installing a new solar array on the exterior of the International Space Station.

• Minotaur I rocket lofts classified NROL-111 payload into orbit

  Steve HammerJune 15th, 2021

  A Minotaur I rocket fired off of Pad 0B at Wallops Island, Virginia, to send the NROL-111 mission into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.

• DOGE-1 CubeSat to fly to the Moon atop a Falcon 9 rocket

  Theresa CrossJune 10th, 2021

  Last month, Geometric Energy Corporation announced the first mission to the Moon paid entirely with the Dogecoin cryptocurrency — DOGE-1.

• Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completes 7th flight

  Cullen DesforgesJune 9th, 2021

  Fresh off of a recent in-flight anomaly, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has successfully completed its seventh flight across the surface of the red planet.

• SpaceX’s CRS-22 Dragon arrives at ISS with new solar arrays

  Derek RichardsonJune 5th, 2021

  Some 40 hours after launch, SpaceX’s CRS-22 cargo Dragon docked with the International Space Station with new science and solar arrays for the orbiting laboratory.

• NASA releases 3D video of Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s 3rd flight

  Michael McCabeMay 31st, 2021

  On April 25, 2021, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter performed its third test flight. Recently, NASA engineers converted a video of the flight into anaglyph 3D.

• International Space Station robotic arm struck by space debris

  Theresa CrossMay 31st, 2021

  During a routine inspection of the International Space Station on May 12, damage was discovered on the Canadarm2, a nearly 60-foot-long robotic arm on the station.

• Titan sample return mission being explored by NASA engineers

  Laurel KornfeldMay 30th, 2021

  Funded by a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program grant, scientists are exploring a possible mission to return samples from Saturn's moon Titan.

• Soyuz rocket launches 7th batch of OneWeb satellites

  Theresa CrossMay 29th, 2021

  The launch of OneWeb’s seventh batch of satellites took place at 1:38 p.m. EDT (17:38 UTC) May 28, 2021, from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia.

• Ingenuity Mars Helicopter experiences turbulent sixth flight

  Cullen DesforgesMay 27th, 2021

  After five near-flawless flights, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter ran into trouble during its sixth, testing the margins of the spacecraft’s stability.

• First Starlink shell completed with latest Falcon 9 launch

  Theresa CrossMay 26th, 2021

  At 2:59 p.m. EDT (16:59 UTC) May 26, 2021, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched toward orbit to deliver another batch of 60 Starlink satellites for the company's internet constellation.

• Orbital space tourism poised to take off later this year

  Theresa CrossMay 26th, 2021

  Within a span of about six months, a dozen new spaceflight participants could fly into orbit on four space tourism flights beginning as early as September.

• NASA assigns Kayla Barron to Crew-3 Dragon mission

  Theresa CrossMay 24th, 2021

  While the Crew-2 mission has only just begun aboard the International Space Station, NASA is finalizing the astronaut selection for the next crew rotation mission to the outpost, Crew-3.

• SBIRS GEO 5 missile defense satellite launched for US Space Force

  Theresa CrossMay 18th, 2021

  A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to send the SBIRS GEO 5 satellite into space for U.S. Space Force and Missile Systems Center.

• FCC filing offers 1st look at SpaceX’s orbital Starship flight plan

  Nicholas D'AlessandroMay 18th, 2021

  SpaceX has given an initial look at the flight plan for its first orbital Starship in a new filing posted to the Federal Communications Commission website.