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‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ added to SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet
Theresa CrossJuly 12th SpaceX is adding a third autonomous spaceport drone ship to its fleet. "A Shortfall of Gravitas" has left Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to begin sea trials before heading to the Space Coast.
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Richard Branson rides Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo into space
Theresa CrossJuly 11th Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft took its first full crew, which included the company's billionaire founder Richard Branson, on a brief foray into space.
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Former Shuttle Landing Facility to get new ‘utility corridor’
Theresa CrossJuly 10th Construction on a new "utility corridor" has begun at the former Shuttle Landing Facility, now known as the Launch and Landing Facility, which is run by Space Florida.
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Space Launch System stage adapter and ICPS upper stage stacked
Michael McCabeJuly 9th NASA's Space Launch System, currently being assembled in the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the Artemis 1 mission later this year, recently received its Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter and upper stage.
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Ingenuity Mars Helicopter breaks records with 9th flight
Cullen DesforgesJuly 8th The 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 SpaceX'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 Six 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 Two days after launching from Kazakhstan, Russia’s unpiloted Progress MS-17 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station.
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SpaceX launches Transporter-2 Falcon 9 rideshare mission
Theresa CrossJune 30th A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Transporter-2, the second dedicated rideshare mission for the company, into a polar orbit from Florida.
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Progress MS-17 cargo freighter sent on a two-day trek to ISS
Derek RichardsonJune 29th Just 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 After 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 The 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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Progress MS-17 cargo freighter sent on a two-day trek to ISS
Derek RichardsonJune 29th Just 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 After 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 The 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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OFT-2 Starliner spacecraft fueled in advance of late-July launch
Cullen DesforgesJune 28th After over a year of unexpected delays, Boeing’s OFT-2 Starliner spacecraft is poised to take to the skies in its final proving run before carrying astronauts.
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Atlas rocket for Boeing crewed mission arrives at the Cape
Matt HaskellJune 25th On June 21, United Launch Alliance unloaded its Atlas V rocket first stage, and Dual Engine Centaur Upper stage in Port Canaveral, Florida, ahead of Boeing's Crewed Flight Test mission.
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NASA continues to troubleshoot Hubble payload computer issue
Theresa CrossJune 24th On June 13, the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer stopped working. Its purpose is to maintain, control, monitor and track the science instruments.
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SpaceX Starship Super Heavy booster, launch tower take shape
Cullen DesforgesJune 23rd 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.
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Pam Melroy confirmed, sworn-in as NASA deputy administrator
Michael McCabeJune 21st Former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy was sworn-in as NASA's 15th deputy administrator on June 21, 2021, at the agency's headquarters in Washington.
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Astronauts complete deployment of 1st ISS roll-out solar array
Derek RichardsonJune 21st 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.
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NASA’s InSight Mars lander solar panels cleared of some dust
Cullen DesforgesJune 18th 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.
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SpaceX launches GPS III SV05 satellite into space
Theresa CrossJune 17th SpaceX sent the GPS III SV05 satellite into space for the U.S. military atop a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster, a first for a national security payload.
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Shenzhou-12 astronaut trio launch to new Chinese space station
Derek RichardsonJune 16th China launched its first human spaceflight in five years when Shenzhou-12 soared skyward with an astronaut trio bound for the country’s new space station.
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Problems prevent spacewalkers from deploying new solar array
Derek RichardsonJune 16th A spacesuit glitch and an alignment issue prevented astronauts from fully installing a new solar array on the exterior of the International Space Station.
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Minotaur I rocket lofts classified NROL-111 payload into orbit
Steve HammerJune 15th 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.
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Core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System mega rocket stacked
Derek RichardsonJune 14th The core stage for NASA’s first Space Launch System rocket was placed between twin solid rocket boosters in preparation for the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission.
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Next CST-100 Starliner test set for the end of July
Theresa CrossJune 13th Boeing and NASA recently announced a date for the second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
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Amazon buys Atlas V rockets to orbit its Kuiper constellation
April 21st
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. -
Science journalist outlines challenges of settling the Moon and Mars
April 16th
Human settlement of the Moon and Mars will require overcoming numerous challenges, including living in low gravity and protecting people from radiation. -
Wings of exploration: reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the space shuttle
April 12th
The launch of the space shuttle on April 12, 1981, proved to be a history-making event. For many, that day stemmed careers, dreams and imaginations alike. -
Final Delta II added to Kennedy Space Center’s rocket garden
March 31st
The newly-stacked United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket stands proud at its final home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. -
NASA exploring options for navigating on the Moon
March 31st
NASA is currently exploring a number of solutions for navigating and communicating on the Moon's surface for the Artemis program. -
New artwork released for SpaceX’s Dragon XL spacecraft
March 27th
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. -
Gallery: See NASA’s fully-stacked SLS solid rocket boosters
March 24th
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Mars and Titan: Two very different potentially habitable worlds
March 23rd
Mars and Saturn’s moon Titan are at the forefront of the search for habitable solar system worlds, but they are very different from one another in terms of the presence of liquid, temperature variations, and the presence of organic compounds, planetary scientist Vincent Chevrier of the University of Arkansas noted in a March 12 online […] -
SpaceX launch cadence sees two Falcon 9 boosters in port for first time
March 20th
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. -
Hubble Space Telescope discoveries highlighted by astronomer
March 14th
During its 31 years of activity, the Hubble Space Telescope has been "one of the most successful scientific experiments in history," used to research numerous fields of astronomy ranging from cosmology and the expansion of the universe to the characterization of exoplanets, said astronomer Tom Brown of the Space Telescope Science Institute in a March 2 online presentation. -
Cause of missed Falcon 9 landing announced; Starlink 17 expected to fly Thursday
March 2nd
SpaceX has announced their intention to launch the next batch of 60 Starlink satellites on March 4, 2021 – possibly as early as at 3:24 a.m. EST. -
SpaceX Starship SN10 high-altitude test flight slips to March 3
March 1st
The high-altitude test flight of Starship SN10 has slipped again, as is common with SpaceX's highly experimental test program. -
OPINION: In spaceflight testing, what defines a failure?
February 27th
Recently, several companies have made great strides in the realm of advanced spaceflight testing, despite public perception some would label a failure. -
Spaceborne Computer-2 to speed “time-to-insight” for ISS studies
February 26th
Many different research investigations off Earth will be supported by Hewlett-Packard Enterprise’s pathfinding Spaceborne Computer-2, or SBC-2, to perform data processing and analytics. -
Inspiration4 mission names 2nd crew member
February 25th
Cancer survivor and frontline healthcare worker for St. Jude, Hayley Arceneaux, will join Jared Isaacman as part of the four-person Inspiration4 crew.
