Spaceflight Insider

  • SpaceX’s 18th CRS mission delayed due to bad weather

    Cullen DesforgesJuly 24th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- SpaceX’s eighteenth flight to the International Space Station, CRS-18, which was originally scheduled to fly tonight has been delayed due to weather violations caused by Invest 94L as it made its way over the Florida peninsula.

  • Conference keeps focus on Pluto following New Horizons flyby

    Laurel KornfeldJuly 23rd LAUREL, MD. -- A four-day science conference organized by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), Universities Space Research Association (USRA), and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) held July 14-18 focused on findings obtained by the New Horizons spacecraft as it flew by the Pluto system in 2015 and Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule in 2019.

  • OneWeb and Airbus open facility for mass production of communication satellites

    Laurel KornfeldJuly 23rd CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- OneWeb Satellites, a joint-venture company started by OneWeb and Airbus in 2016, has opened the first facility that will mass produce communication satellites, with the goal of providing broadband Internet access worldwide.

  • Christopher Kraft leaves behind powerful legacy with passing

    Steve HammerJuly 22nd JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas -- Although his name isn't as well-known as Alan Shepard, John Glenn or Neil Armstrong, without the efforts of Christopher C. Kraft, NASA would likely never have left orbit let alone sent men to the Moon. Kraft passed away on Monday, July 22 at the age of 95.

  • ISRO joins exclusive club with launch of Chandrayaan-2 mission

    Jason RhianJuly 22nd A GSLV Mk III rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SLP today, carrying the Chandrayaan-2. It places the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) into the 'big leagues' of space flight organizations.

  • VP Pence reinforces lunar convictions at Apollo 11 celebration

    Cullen DesforgesJuly 21st KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Vice President Mike Pence paid a visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, July 19 at the center’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. His appearance came at a time when the agency both remembered past achievements and worked toward restoring along-lost capability.

  • From Lunar to LEO, MS-13 trio blasts off toward ISS

    Jason RhianJuly 20th Fifty years is a long time. In the past half-century NASA has gone from launching men to the Moon to being dependent on the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, for access to low-Earth orbit. The latest flight under the agreement took place 50 years to the day NASA achieved what was once believed to be impossible.

  • Mars 2020 rover makes ‘pit stop’ at JPL

    Jim SharkeyJuly 19th The launch window for NASA's Mars 2020 rover opens in just under a year, and engineers at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been hard at work assembling the vehicle in the clean room of JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility. As one might imagine getting a vehicle prepped for such a massive undertaking - is a group effort.

  • Inside the SIRIUS-19 lunar mission simulation: preparing for the next leap

    Paul KnightlyJuly 19th As the world prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, a 4-month long international lunar mission simulation is preparing to conclude in Russia. SIRIUS, which stands for Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station, aims to study human psychology and performance under a simulated lunar mission scenario in order to […]

  • Doubters, difficulty and distance – Apollo 11’s LRR experiment

    Jason RhianJuly 18th To hear Moon landing conspiracy theorists tell it, the U.S. never sent men to the Moon during the Apollo Program of the 60s and 70s. A recent SpaceFlight Insider interview about a remote facility suggests otherwise.

  • SpaceX’s ‘Starhopper’ catches fire in recent test

    Cullen DesforgesJuly 17th A test of SpaceX's 'Starhopper' rocket appears to not have gone entirely as planned. Several outlets are reporting that things didn't go as planned.

  • ULA Delta IV with GPS III SV02 launch delayed

    Jason RhianJuly 17th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The flight of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) rocket tasked with sending the GPS III SV02 satellite to orbit has been delayed.

  • NASA’s 2020 Mars rover gets 7-foot-long robot arm

    Jim SharkeyJuly 1st Engineers working in High Bay clean room 1 of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently added a vital component to the space agency's Mars 2020 rover. On June 21, the team installed the rover's main robotic arm.

  • Rocket Lab’s Electron launches seven small satellites from New Zealand

    Laurel KornfeldJune 29th Rocket Lab, a private American company that manufactures and launches small satellites, put seven satellites via its Electron vehicle during a launch from New Zealand.

  • Night time is the right time for SpaceX STP-2 mission

    Jason RhianJune 25th SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is starting to become a frequent flyer of Florida's skies, with the rocket's third flight checking off several "firsts."

  • Soyuz MS-11 trio returns to Earth after 7 months in space

    Derek RichardsonJune 25th Three International Space Station crew members returned to Earth in the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft, bringing an end to their 204-day mission.

  • Successful static fire clears way for launch of third Falcon Heavy flight

    Curt GodwinJune 21st KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Clearing one of the last hurdles before the flight of the Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission early next week, SpaceX is preparing for the first night launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket.

  • If it’s Boeing (space) – it’s going to Florida

    Jason RhianJune 19th TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- After the end of the Shuttle Program it appeared space operations at the Cape might be on the downturn. Appearances can be deceiving however. Boeing, the largest aerospace company in the world - is moving some of its operations to the Sunshine State.

  • NASA concept for generating power in deep space a little KRUSTY

    Collin SkocikJune 18th Prospects of establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon have taken a step forward with the test of a system known as Kilopower, a lightweight fission reactor which could provide ten kilowatts of power for at least a decade.

  • Next NASA Mars mission to serve as pathfinder for astronauts

    Cullen DesforgesJune 17th It’s no secret that sending the first astronauts to Mars will be a monumental challenge marked with many “firsts.” Given that NASA hasn't launched a manned mission beyond low-Earth orbit in 47 years - crews will need a guide to show them the way. Enter the next rover the U.S. space agency plans to send to the Red Planet.

  • Mars 2020 spacecraft tested for flight, rover gets cameras

    Joe LatrellJune 13th Leading up to a planned July 2020 launch date, NASA’s latest mission to Mars is currently undergoing testing. Both the spacecraft and its rover payload have been tested and have been equipped with new equipment in preparation for flight.

  • Bridenstine: Artemis mission could send first woman to the Moon

    Michael ColeJune 11th GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, Ohio -- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine paid a visit to the agency's Glenn Research Center on Monday, June 10.  During his visit Bridenstine noted how the agency's latest lunar initiative - could make history with the first woman walking on the Moon.

  • Michigan company helping NASA speed up SLS development

    Jim SharkeyJune 8th As NASA works to meet its goal of returning  astronauts to the Moon by 2024, a Michigan-based company is helping to accelerate the production of the space agency's Space Launch System (SLS) deep space rocket by providing one of the key tools needed to build the massive vehicle.

  • Huh? Trump says NASA should stop talking about the Moon

    Derek RichardsonJune 7th For 18 months, NASA has been focused on returning humans to the Moon under Space Policy Directive 1—signed by President Trump. Is he changing course?

  • NASA selects companies for commercial Moon landing services

    Derek RichardsonJune 3rd The first commercial Moon landing missions under NASA’s Artemis program have been announced as precursors to human missions by 2024.

  • Anomaly occurs during OmegA first stage static fire test

    Derek RichardsonMay 30th During the first static fire test for Northrop Grumman's OmegA first stage, debris could be seen coming away from the nozzle section of the booster.

  • Stacking underway for next Atlas V launch

    Derek RichardsonMay 28th United Launch Alliance has begun assembling the Atlas V rocket that will be used to orbit the U.S. Air Force’s next advanced communications satellite.

  • SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites

    Derek RichardsonMay 24th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX made history again by launching the first 60 satellites of its Starlink satellite internet mega constellation.

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