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Expedition 1 and the early International Space Station
Derek RichardsonNovember 1st Two decades ago, Expedition 1 arrived at the International Space Station to begin an unbroken chain of expeditions to inhabit this outpost.
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SpaceX marks their 100th successful flight during Starlink launch
Matt HaskellOctober 24th 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.
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White mountain peaks on Pluto not caused by snow
Laurel KornfeldOctober 24th 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.
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Boeing wins contract award for next generation SATCOM satellites
Cullen DesforgesOctober 24th 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.
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SLS Mobile Launcher moves to launch pad for final tests
Theresa CrossOctober 23rd On October 20, 2020, the Mobile Launcher (ML) for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket rolled to Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B for the first time since December 2019.
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ISS Expedition 63 crew returns home safely
Cullen DesforgesOctober 22nd 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.
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GHGSat releases PULSE, an online tool to visualize worldwide methane gas concentration
Sean CostelloOctober 21st 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 […]
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Booster B1051 welcomed home for a sixth time
Sean CostelloOctober 21st The Falcon 9 first stage booster used to lift the most recent batch of Starlink satellites has entered Port Canaveral, arriving in the early morning light of October 21, 2020.
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Inter-satellite laser communications improving Starlink performance, as SpaceX expands constellation
Theresa CrossOctober 18th 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.
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Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson resigns from Starliner test flight
Cullen DesforgesOctober 16th 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.
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ISS Expedition 64 crew launches to ISS in record time
Cullen DesforgesOctober 16th 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.
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Weather clears, allows famed Falcon 9 to lift a thirteenth batch of Starlink satellites
Theresa CrossOctober 6th Early Tuesday morning, SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites, flying from LC-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson resigns from Starliner test flight
Cullen DesforgesOctober 16th 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.
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ISS Expedition 64 crew launches to ISS in record time
Cullen DesforgesOctober 16th 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.
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Weather clears, allows famed Falcon 9 to lift a thirteenth batch of Starlink satellites
Theresa CrossOctober 6th Early Tuesday morning, SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites, flying from LC-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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Weather continues to wreak havoc, SpaceX forced to scrub Starlink launch
Sean CostelloOctober 5th At 7:26 a.m. EDT, SpaceX tweeted that they were calling a scrub on their latest attempt to launch the thirteenth batch of Starlink satellites, with no likelihood for the current weather systems to clear the area. “We are standing down from today’s Starlink mission due to weather violations on the Range. The team is setting […]
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Northrop Grumman successfully launches NG-14 Cygnus spacecraft
Sean CostelloOctober 2nd It was an on-time departure from Wallops Island tonight, as a Northrop Grumman Antares booster lifted the NG-14 payload aloft at 9:16 p.m. EDT.
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NROL-44 remains grounded following second hot-fire abort
Sean CostelloOctober 1st With just 7 seconds remaining in the count, ULA’s Delta IV Heavy Terminal Count Sequencer Rack (TCSR) aborted the September 30, 2020 launch attempt, which was scheduled for 23:43 p.m. EDT.
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Weather systems prevail, ULA forced to scrub NROL-44
Sean CostelloSeptember 28th At 6:32 p.m. this evening, ULA tweeted that weather was responsible for the scrub of their planned NROL-44 launch attempt, scheduled to have occurred at 12:02 a.m. early Tuesday morning.
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Weather scrubs SpaceX launch of Starlink satellites, NROL-44 still set to fly tonight
Sean CostelloSeptember 28th Weather has forced the scrub of the next launch of Starlink satellites, abandoning SpaceX’s plans for a September 28, 2020 liftoff.
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Northrop Grumman prepares to launch next Cygnus re-supply to ISS
Cullen DesforgesSeptember 28th Northrop Grumman is preparing to launch its next Antares Rocket and Cygnus re-supply spacecraft from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The mission, dubbed NG-14, will send the Cygnus spacecraft loaded with supplies and science experiments to the International Space Station.
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ULA announces new launch date for NROL-44
Cullen DesforgesSeptember 19th 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.
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NASA seeking commercial proposals for lunar sample collection
Theresa CrossSeptember 16th 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.
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Astra suffers anomaly following first orbital-attempt liftoff
Michael McCabeSeptember 13th 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.
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Northrop Grumman cancels OmegA rocket following NSSL contract loss
Matt HaskellSeptember 10th In an expected move following recent contract awards, Northrop Grumman has announced the cancellation of their OmegA launch vehicle program.
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OPINION: Arecibo Observatory should be rebuilt
Laurel KornfeldSeptember 7th After experiencing a series of misfortunes ranging from earthquakes to hurricanes to budget cuts, the National Science Foundation‘s (NSF) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, both a scientific and cultural icon, was seriously damaged when an auxiliary cable broke on Monday, August 10 at 2:45 am.
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Sunrise at the port: welcoming home Falcon 9 booster B1060.2
Theresa CrossSeptember 6th It was a beautiful morning on the Space Coast of Florida as many gathered to watch another SpaceX first stage make its way into Port Canaveral. Arriving at the Cape early on Sunday, September 6, 2020, B1060.2 is fresh off its second mission which launched from LC-39A earlier in the week. B1060 first flew as […]
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Northrop Grumman continues to advance NASA’s Artemis program
Matt HaskellSeptember 3rd 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
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New Horizons parallax experiment observes an alien sky
June 14th
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, now over 4.3 billion miles (6.9 billion km) from Earth, successfully imaged two nearby stars displaced from the locations in the sky where they are seen from Earth in its April stellar parallax experiment. -
President Trump delivers remarks after Demo-2 launch
June 6th
President Donald J. Trump gave a speech inside of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building after the successful launch of astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. -
SOFIA data sheds new light on endurance of Pluto’s atmosphere
June 1st
Data captured by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), an airborne observatory that studied Pluto’s atmospheric hazes just two weeks before New Horizons‘ 2015 flyby, indicates the hazes in Pluto’s atmosphere are regularly replenished. -
NASA researcher provides overview of science on the ISS
May 29th
Research conducted on board the International Space Station (ISS) encompasses numerous science fields, such as biology and biotechnology, human research, the physical sciences, technological demonstrations, Earth and space science, and public education, noted Brandon Redell of NASA’s ISS Integration Office at the Johnson Space Center. -
Weather not favoring backup Demo-2 launch dates
May 28th
Yesterday’s attempt to launch NASA’s and SpaceX’s Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station was plagued by weather issues that ultimately caused the attempt to be scrubbed. There remains the potential for weather complicate Saturday’s and Sunday’s launch attempts. -
Meet Crew Dragon: narrated tour of design features, design history
May 26th
Crew Dragon capsule, about to fly atop a Falcon 9 as part of the Demo-2 mission with two humans aboard, is a great advance in the field of spacecraft design. -
SpaceX to test sun visors on Starlink satellites
May 19th
SpaceX will test sun visors on one of their Starlink satellites on their next launch, currently planned for early June. -
Astronaut Douglas Hurley to serve as Demo-2 spacecraft commander
May 8th
NASA astronaut Douglas Gerald Hurley flew on the last crewed mission to launch from American soil 11 years ago, and fittingly, will serve as spacecraft commander of Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed flight to resume launches from the US. -
James Webb Space Telescope to unlock wonders of the Universe.
May 8th
The James Webb Space Telescope will work to further uncover the mysteries of the Universe after it launches in 2021 from the Guiana Space Center aboard an Ariane 5 rocket -
Astronaut Bob Behnken will be one of two-person crew on Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch
May 6th
When NASA’s Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches astronauts from American soil for the first time since 2011, astronaut Robert L. “Bob” Behnken will ride on the spacecraft as the mission’s joint operations commander. -
SpaceX completes final testing milestone before first crewed launch
May 3rd
SpaceX successfully completed its 27th test of the Mark 3 Parachute for the Crew Dragon capsule, fulfilling the final testing requirement for NASA certification and review of the parachute system. The test comes following several successful milestones, including January’s in flight Abort test. -
Booster B1051 in port following Starlink-6 flight
April 26th
Booster B1051.4 returned to Port Canaveral on April 26, sailing into port slightly delayed relative to previous returns but looking good on the deck of the autonomous drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). -
30 years since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope
April 24th
Thirty years ago today, the Hubble Space Telescope took to the skies aboard STS-31 and Space Shuttle Discovery. -
New Horizons conducts parallax experiment; team searches for KBOs
April 24th
More than five billion miles from Earth and over 14 years past launch, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is conducting an experiment measuring the distance to two nearby stars while mission scientists are using Earth-based telescopes to search for new Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) for the spacecraft to study. -
Kepler data reveals Earth-like planet in star’s habitable zone
April 21st
Scientists who took a second look at data returned by NASA’s Kepler space telescope have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star.
