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Opportunity: All’s quiet on the Martian front…
Jim SharkeyDecember 4th While the Martian skies have cleared of the dust that enveloped much of the Red Planet, NASA's Opportunity rover remains silent in Perseverance Valley. The rover was last heard from on June 10, 2018. As of November 27, the mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) had sent 359 recovery commands in a effort to wake the rover.
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SpaceX sets record with launch of 64 satellites on SSO-A
Curt GodwinDecember 3rd LOMPOC, Calif. -- Overcoming numerous delays, SpaceX completed one of its most complex missions yet - the delivery of 64 satellites to a Sun-synchronous orbit.
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Crewed flights to ISS resume with Soyuz MS-11 launch
Derek RichardsonDecember 3rd Normalcy begins to return to International Space Station operations as the crew of Soyuz MS-11 has successfully launched from Baikonur.
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SpaceX set to launch CRS-16 Dragon to ISS
Michael ColeDecember 1st CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Elon Musk might not be Santa Claus, but the Expedition 57 crew on board the ISS might consider him to be after the CRS-16 Dragon spacecraft arrives.
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One of the final missions for Rokot booster lifts off from Plesetsk
Jason RhianNovember 30th One of the last planned launches of a Rokot booster took to the skies above the Plesetsk Cosmodrone’s Site 133. It marked a rare flight of a rocket that can trace its lineage back to an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The flight lifted off at 05:00 MSK (9:00 p.m. EST) on Sept. 29, 2018.
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NASA Administrator reveals new commercial plan to explore the Moon
Jason RhianNovember 29th NASA is working with commercial partners in an effort to produce a lunar transport "market," one designed to further enable scientific exploration of the Moon.
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India launches HysIS satellite along with 30 co-passengers on PSLV-C43
Curt GodwinNovember 29th At 9:58 a.m. Indian Standard Time (IST) on Thursday, November 29, 2018 (11:28 p.m. EST on Wednesday, November 28), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully delivered the HysIS imaging satellite, along with 30 smaller satellites, to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) on flight PSLV-C43.
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MarCO CubeSats perform successfully during InSight landing
Laurel KornfeldNovember 28th Two CubeSats successfully monitored InSight's entry, descent, and landing on Mars and returned data to Earth hours before NASA's Mars orbiters came into position to transmit the data.
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Eternal Ice Age: Unusual ridges near Pluto’s Sputnik Planitia formed by ancient glaciers
Laurel KornfeldNovember 28th Oddly-shaped ridges located adjacent to Pluto's Sputnik Planitia were created by ancient nitrogen ice glaciers, according to a group of scientists led by the SETI Institute's Oliver White.
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More than $150 million embezzled during construction of Vostochny Cosmodrome
Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 27th Information revealed by Russian prosecutors provide insight into the scale of corruption during the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
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JPL’s Lucky Nuts work! InSight lander safely touches down on Mars
Laurel KornfeldNovember 26th After traveling some 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers), NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) robotic lander safely touched down on the surface of Mars at the Elysium Planitia region at 2:52 p.m. EST (11:52 a.m. PST / 19:53 GMT) today, Monday, Nov. 26.
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How two NASA missions will rewrite what we know about our solar system
Laurel KornfeldNovember 24th An asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter and a Kuiper Belt Object four billion miles away will both have their mysteries unveiled when NASA missions explore them in December and January.
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NG-10 Cygnus brings experiments, supplies to ISS crew
Derek RichardsonNovember 19th Less than 24 hours after Progress MS-10 docked with the International Space Station, the NG-10 Cygnus spacecraft rendezvoused with the orbiting outpost.
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Antares not the only thing grounded by recent nor’easter
Jason RhianNovember 19th The planned Nov. 15 flight of the NG-10 mission to the ISS was delayed two days while NASA waited for a powerful storm to pass. The mission wasn't the only thing held back by bad weather however.
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Progress MS-10 arrives at International Space Station
Derek RichardsonNovember 18th Taking two days to reach the International Space Station, Russia’s Progress MS-10 rendezvous and docked with the orbiting outpost’s Zvezda service module.
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Forever Young: NG-10 Cygnus departs Earth, bound for the International Space Station
Michael ColeNovember 17th The skies of the U.S. East Coast were lit up as an Antares rocket with the NG-10 Cygnus spacecraft tore brightly and loudly like a torch into the heavens.
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Soyuz-FG rocket back in action with successful launch of Progress MS-10
Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 16th A Soyuz-FG rocket took to the skies to send the Progress MS-10 spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.
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SpaceX returns to LC-39A with stunning launch of Es’Hail 2
Curt GodwinNovember 15th SpaceX just keeps pumping out launches with the latest seeing a Qatari satellite delivered into a geostationary transfer orbit.
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Soyuz-FG to return to flight with Progress MS-10 resupply mission
Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 15th Russia’s Soyuz-FG is slated to return to flight with the launch of the Progress MS-10 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.
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GSLV Mk III lofts GSAT-29 communications satellite
Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 14th India successfully conducted the second orbital mission of its heavy-lift GSLV Mk III launch vehicle, sending the GSAT-29 spacecraft into space.
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UPDATE: Northrop Grumman preps S.S. John Young for flight to ISS
Michael ColeNovember 14th The next Cygnus spacecraft is set to launch from Virginia with supplies, experiments and equipment bound for the space station's Expedition 57 crew.
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Finally ‘business time’ for Rocket Lab with 7 payloads launched
Rae Botsford EndNovember 11th Rocket Lab sent its third Electron rocket into orbit on the company's first fully-commercial mission, called "It's Business Time."
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Orion spacecraft hardware & safety procedures readied for Exploration Mission 1
Jason RhianNovember 8th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Europe's contribution to NASA's Orion spacecraft has arrived in Florida. But that's not the only event relating to Orion that has taken place recently.
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Astronauts release Kounotori 7 from space station
Derek RichardsonNovember 7th After a six-week stay at the ISS, the Kounotori 7 cargo ship was unberthed and commanded to depart the vicinity of the orbiting outpost.
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Falcon 9 second stage to be upgraded to ‘mini-BFR ship’
Derek RichardsonNovember 7th In the lead-up to the first flights of the Big Falcon Rocket, the second stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 is to be modified to test key design features.
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Flight controllers for first four Space Launch System missions delivered to Stennis
Jason RhianNovember 5th The flight controllers for the first planned flights of NASA's massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are now in the hands of those refurbishing the RS-25 engines that help power the SLS' first stage.
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Soyuz 2.1b launches new GLONASS-M navigation satellite
Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 4th Russia has continued the expansion of its GLONASS constellation with the Nov. 3, 2018 flight of a Soyuz 2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome located in northern Russia.
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Long March 3B lofts BeiDou-3 spacecraft
Tomasz NowakowskiNovember 2nd Using a Long March 3B booster a new geosynchronous spacecraft for the country’s BeiDou satellite navigation system was sent to orbit on Thursday, November 1. The satellite, designated BeiDou-3 G1Q, expands China's BeiDou network to 17.
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First launch of Federation spacecraft may slip to 2024
November 20th
The first flight of Russia’s next-generation Federation spacecraft may be postponed from 2022 to 2024, according to the general director of RKK Energia. -
Long March 3B orbits another BeiDou-3 satellite duo
November 19th
Using its long-serving Long March 3B rocket, China sent another pair of BeiDou-3 spacecraft for the country’s homegrown satellite navigation system on Monday, November 19 (local time). This is the eighth time this year that Beijing has launched a BeiDou-3 duo to replenish its navigation network. -
Gallery: Antares lights up Virginia skies with Cygnus flight to space station
November 18th
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Gallery: Falcon 9 sends Qatari satellite into orbit
November 18th
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How does Northrop Grumman secure Antares during powerful storms?
November 15th
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- A powerful "Nor'easter" storm that is hanging off the Atlantic Coast has caused mission managers to push back the flight an additional day. What does Northrop Grumman have in place to handle turbulent weather such as this one? -
Laser communications modem being developed for NASA’s Orion spacecraft
November 12th
An optical modem capable of sending HD video at significantly-greater rates than standard radio frequency systems is being developed for NASA’s Orion spacecraft. -
Once used for Shuttle landings, iconic runway cleared for horizontal launches
November 10th
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — With the close of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the future of the facilities that supported the program was in doubt. The mantra of Kennedy Space Center becoming a "multi-user spaceport" was drummed out at every event where the center's future was discussed. With every passing day, that mantra appears to becoming a reality. -
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 certified for NASA’s most critical scientific missions
November 9th
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket continues to shine in the eyes of the public, fans and those who have payloads that they need sent to orbit. NASA has now deemed the rocket worthy to carry some of its most important missions. -
‘Off-nominal data’ prompts postponement of ICON launch
November 7th
The flight of NASA's ICON spacecraft was scrubbed less than 30 minutes before its planned launch via Northrop Grumman's air-dropped Pegasus XL rocket. -
Soyuz ST-B launches from French Guiana with Europe’s Metop-C weather satellite
November 6th
Arianespace made use of a Russian-built Soyuz ST-B rocket to launch the Metop-C spacecraft into a polar orbit for EUMETSAT. -
Final ASPIRE test certifies Mars 2020 parachute
November 6th
NASA's Mars 2020 rover is one step closer to exploring the dusty plains of the Red Planet. A recent test has not only demonstrated the viability of a key system - it has also made history. -
A spaceflight era closes with end of Dawn and Kepler missions
November 3rd
The Kepler and Dawn spacecraft both ran out of fuel, marking the end of an era that transformed our understanding of both our solar system and others. -
Mars Express observes curious cloud near Red Planet volcano
November 2nd
A strange cloud formation has been discovered on Mars by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. Where did it come from? -
Inside Opportunity: Oppy still silent
November 1st
Dr. Jim Rice has provided this latest update from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Has the rover been silenced forever? -
Mission to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids given the go ahead
October 31st
NASA's missions to the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, have focused on the giant gas planet itself. This could soon change as the space agency has just given the go ahead for the development of a spacecraft designed to study tiny bodies that travel alongside the "king of the planets."
