News Archive / Organizations

• Bill Nelson confirmed as NASA administrator

  Cullen DesforgesApril 29th, 2021

  On Thursday, April 29, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed Bill Nelson by unanimous consent to be the next NASA administrator.

• China orbits ‘Tianhe,’ the core of its multi-module space station

  Michael McCabeApril 29th, 2021

  China has begun construction of a large three-module space station with the launch of the Tianhe core module, starting a two-year assembly sequence.

• Delta IV Heavy launches classified NRO payload from California

  Matt HaskellApril 26th, 2021

  A Delta IV Heavy took the the skies from Vandenberg Air Force Base to send the secretive NROL-82 payload into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.

• Crew-2 Dragon launches 4 astronauts bound for space station

  Theresa CrossApril 23rd, 2021

  SpaceX has launched the second operational Crew Dragon mission, Crew-2, with four astronauts bound for a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station.

• Amazon buys Atlas V rockets to orbit its Kuiper constellation

  Cullen DesforgesApril 21st, 2021

  On Monday, April 19, Amazon announced that it purchased nine Atlas V rocket flights from United Launch Alliance for the orbital insertion of its Kuiper satellites.

• SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon mission postponed by a day

  Derek RichardsonApril 21st, 2021

  SpaceX and NASA have delayed the Crew-2 Dragon mission’s launch to the International Space Station by a day because of weather concerns.

• SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon ‘go’ for launch April 22

  Theresa CrossApril 20th, 2021

  In just a couple days, the second operational Crew Dragon mission, Crew-2, is set to fly atop a Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A.

• NASA entrusts SpaceX, Starship with Artemis Moon landings

  Nicholas D'AlessandroApril 17th, 2021

  NASA selected SpaceX to develop its Lunar Starship to be the first lander to return humans to the Moon since the Apollo program ended nearly 50 years ago.

• Blue Origin successfully launches New Shepard mission NS-15

  Nicholas D'AlessandroApril 14th, 2021

  Blue Origin launched and landed both components of its reusable suborbital rocket and capsule system "New Shepard" today, April 14, 2021.

• Crew-2 Dragon mission undergoing final preparations

  Theresa CrossApril 13th, 2021

  SpaceX and NASA are entering final preparations for the second long-duration crew rotation to the International Space Station: the Crew-2 Dragon mission.

• Virgin Galactic unveils its first ‘SpaceShip III’ suborbital spacecraft

  Matt HaskellApril 5th, 2021

  Last week, Virgin Galactic, the space tourism firm owned by Richard Branson, revealed its newest design, SpaceShip III, with the first vehicle in this line dubbed “VSS Imagine.”

• NASA exploring options for navigating on the Moon

  Theresa CrossMarch 31st, 2021

  NASA is currently exploring a number of solutions for navigating and communicating on the Moon's surface for the Artemis program.

• Final crew members named for ‘all-civilian’ Inspiration4 mission

  Theresa CrossMarch 30th, 2021

  Billed as the first "all-civilian" trip into space, the full crew complement of the Inspiration4 mission has been revealed.

• New artwork released for SpaceX’s Dragon XL spacecraft

  Derek RichardsonMarch 27th, 2021

  NASA recently released new concept art for SpaceX’s Dragon XL cargo ship, which is being designed to service the space agency’s Lunar Gateway.

• Friday Flyday: Starship SN11 launch plans cancelled for March 24, 25

  Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 23rd, 2021

  The Starship SN11 high-altitude test flight window has shifted to the right by a day as of this writing with a launch now no earlier than March 25.

• Starship SN11 completes 2nd static fire ahead of launch attempt

  Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 22nd, 2021

  SpaceX was able to complete the second static firing of Starship SN11 early Monday morning, which appeared to be a healthy full-duration test in comparison to the first attempt last Monday.

• Former Senator Bill Nelson nominated to lead NASA

  Press ReleaseMarch 22nd, 2021

  President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Bill Nelson to serve as National Aeronautics and Space Administration administrator.

• SpaceX launch cadence sees two Falcon 9 boosters in port for first time

  Theresa CrossMarch 20th, 2021

  SpaceX reached another significant ‘high cadence capability’ milestone this week, when two of their Falcon 9 first stage boosters were seen to be present and in the initial steps of post-flight processing at the Port Canaveral dock.

• Starship SN11 takes a breather, Super Heavy BN1 takes shape

  Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 19th, 2021

  SN11 Friday update, for March 19, 2021: The test campaign for Starship appears to be taking a ‘Spring Break weekend’, with no additional static fire attempts following Monday’s partial test.

• NASA successfully test fires Space Launch System mega rocket

  Cullen DesforgesMarch 18th, 2021

  The second time was the charm for NASA's Space Launch System core stage as the agency successfully performed a full-duration firing of all four RS-25 engines at the base of the rocket, the final evaluation in vehicle's Green Run test campaign.