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NASA entrusts SpaceX, Starship with Artemis Moon landings
Nicholas D'AlessandroApril 17th 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.
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Soyuz MS-17 crew returns to Earth after 6 months aboard ISS
Derek RichardsonApril 17th Three International Space Station Expedition 64 crew members returned to Earth after spending 185 days aboard the orbiting outpost.
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Science journalist outlines challenges of settling the Moon and Mars
Laurel KornfeldApril 16th Human settlement of the Moon and Mars will require overcoming numerous challenges, including living in low gravity and protecting people from radiation.
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Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to Launch VIPER Moon rover
Nicholas D'AlessandroApril 15th Astrobotic announced it has selected SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to launch its Griffin medium-class lander to the Moon in 2023, carrying NASA's VIPER lunar rover.
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Starship SN15 completes cryo proofing; static fire coming soon
Nicholas D'AlessandroApril 14th SpaceX is already well underway with testing of its first majorly-upgraded version of Starship, known as Starship SN15.
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Blue Origin successfully launches New Shepard mission NS-15
Nicholas D'AlessandroApril 14th Blue Origin launched and landed both components of its reusable suborbital rocket and capsule system "New Shepard" today, April 14, 2021.
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Software issue delays Ingenuity Mars helicopter’s first flight
Cullen DesforgesApril 14th History will have to wait a little longer as the first flight of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has been delayed by at least a week.
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Crew-2 Dragon mission undergoing final preparations
Theresa CrossApril 13th SpaceX and NASA are entering final preparations for the second long-duration crew rotation to the International Space Station: the Crew-2 Dragon mission.
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Wings of exploration: reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the space shuttle
Matt HaskellApril 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.
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Soyuz MS-18 reaches International Space Station after 2 orbits
Derek RichardsonApril 9th The Soyuz MS-18 crew took the express lane to the International Space Station, reaching the outpost less the four hours after leaving Earth.
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Cosmonauts still troubleshooting slight air leak aboard ISS
Derek RichardsonApril 8th Russian cosmonauts are still working to plug a slight air leak aboard the International Space Station, which was first noticed in 2019 and located in 2020.
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offers details on Starship SN11 explosion
Nicholas D'AlessandroApril 7th SpaceX Starship SN11 met a fiery demise last week, like the three iterations before it. Recently, Elon Musk tweeted details on why the prototype exploded.
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Crew-1 Dragon astronauts take spacecraft for a spin around ISS
Derek RichardsonApril 5th In one of the final major activities of the Crew-1 mission, its astronaut riders suited up to relocate docking ports to clear the way for the Crew-2 Dragon.
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Virgin Galactic unveils its first ‘SpaceShip III’ suborbital spacecraft
Matt HaskellApril 5th 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.”
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Ingenuity helicopter deployed onto the Martian surface
Cullen DesforgesApril 5th NASA’s first interplanetary helicopter has touched the surface of Mars for the first time after being deployed from underneath the Perseverance rover.
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Starship SN11 explodes during landing-flip maneuver
Derek RichardsonMarch 30th Starship SN11 attempted to complete what three previous prototypes could not, launch to 10 kilometers, land and not explode. However, it wasn’t to be.
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Final crew members named for ‘all-civilian’ Inspiration4 mission
Theresa CrossMarch 30th Billed as the first "all-civilian" trip into space, the full crew complement of the Inspiration4 mission has been revealed.
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Starship SN11 launch delayed because FAA inspector not present
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 29th SpaceX's Starship SN11 appeared ready to fly March 29 as its flaps were unchained and tested with Highway 4 beginning to close down as well.
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SpaceX completes SN11 static fire, flight shifts to NET Monday
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 26th Starship SN11 was set to perform a same-day double header on Friday, March 26, combining a static fire and test flight in Boca Chica, Texas.
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Engineers detail plans for Ingenuity Mars helicopter’s first flight
Michael McCabeMarch 24th Now that NASA’s Perseverance rover is safely on Mars, all eyes are shifting toward the deployment of a small technology demonstration, a drone-like helicopter called Ingenuity.
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Friday Flyday: Starship SN11 launch plans cancelled for March 24, 25
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 23rd 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.
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Starship SN11 completes 2nd static fire ahead of launch attempt
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 22nd 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.
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Former Senator Bill Nelson nominated to lead NASA
Press ReleaseMarch 22nd President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Bill Nelson to serve as National Aeronautics and Space Administration administrator.
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Starship SN11 takes a breather, Super Heavy BN1 takes shape
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 19th 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.
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NASA successfully test fires Space Launch System mega rocket
Cullen DesforgesMarch 18th 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.
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Update on Starship SN11 as SpaceX marches toward a static fire
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 17th SpaceX Starship production continues right along with Starship SN11 now undergoing the Raptor engine static fire phase of testing.
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Falcon 9 first stage launched a record 9th time
Theresa CrossMarch 14th Another 60 Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s internet constellation lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket in a beautiful morning launch from Florida.
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Perseverance rover begins driving across the surface of Mars
Cullen DesforgesMarch 13th In the weeks since Perseverance landed on Mars, the images, science and sounds that have come from the mission have proven to be groundbreaking.
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White mountain peaks on Pluto not caused by snow
October 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. -
Boeing wins contract award for next generation SATCOM satellites
October 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. -
Remnants of ancient subsurface ocean observed on Ceres
October 5th
The bright spots in Ceres’s Occator Crater, which mystified scientists when first observed by the Dawn spacecraft in 2015, indicate the dwarf planet may harbor remnants of what was once a global subsurface ocean. -
NASA town hall shares updates on science missions
October 2nd
At a community town hall which was broadcast live on September 10, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate provided updates on the agency’s many ongoing and upcoming science missions. -
First segment of Orion capsule delivered for assembly ahead of Artemis III mission
September 10th
Lockheed Martin takes delivery and begins production of the Artemis III Orion capsule, as the first parts of the pressure vessel are delivered to the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. -
Morning update: delayed Starlink mission set to fly in less than an hour
September 3rd
SpaceX is poised to launch their next batch of Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 today, currently scheduled to liftoff at 8:46 a.m. EDT. -
Following schedule adjustment, Starlink now set to launch September 3
September 1st
SpaceX has officially shifted Tuesday’s planned launch of 60 Starlink internet satellites from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Representatives from SpaceX wrote on Twitter, “Now targeting Thursday, September 3 at 8:46 a.m. EDT for launch of Starlink from Launch Complex 39A, pending Range acceptance — team is using additional time for […] -
SpaceX confirms back-to-back Sunday launch plans.
August 28th
SpaceX has confirmed their intent to proceed with back-to-back Falcon 9 launches on Sunday, August 30, from each of their two launch facilities on Florida’s Space Coast. -
NROL-44 slips to Saturday, weather remains 80% go
August 27th
The launch of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy NROL-44 mission is now set for Sat., Aug. 29. -
Pluto’s glaciers change with its seasons
August 26th
Using data returned by NASA’s New Horizons mission’s July 2015 Pluto flyby, a group of researchers discovered evidence that the dwarf planet’s glaciers expand and grow in response to seasonal changes. -
Commercial spaceflight advocate outlines revolution in the field
July 7th
Bruce Pittman of NASA’s Space Portal Office, a 35-year advocate for commercial spaceflight, outlined his vision of the endeavor over the next 42 months in a June webinar run by NASA’s Night Sky Network. -
Pluto’s subsurface ocean may date back to planet’s formation
June 29th
Scientists who recently studied the detailed images of Pluto’s surface returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015 have found evidence that the dwarf planet’s subsurface ocean may have been around since Pluto’s formation over four billion years ago. -
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.
