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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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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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Investigation finds faulty sensor the reason for Soyuz MS-10 accident
Derek RichardsonNovember 2nd It was a faulty sensor that caused the Oct. 11, 2018, launch abort of a Soyuz-FG rocket carrying two people into space for a planned six-month stay aboard the International Space Station.
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Dawn’s voyage of discovery comes to a close
Jason RhianNovember 1st After 11 years and 4.3 billion miles, NASA's Dawn mission has come to an end. How has the spacecraft revolutionized our understanding of the solar system and space hardware?
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Falcon Heavy attracts customers looking to capitalize on rocket’s capabilities
Curt GodwinOctober 31st The iconic quote attributed to 1989's Field of Dreams can also be applied to SpaceX and their Falcon Heavy rocket as well. While the company has yet to follow-up on the vehicle's maiden flight on February 6, 2018, it seems the success of that mission has attracted customers to the new rocket.
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Kepler Space Telescope concludes mission that discovered thousands of far-flung worlds
Jason RhianOctober 30th The Kepler Space Telescope has been on duty for more than nine years. Its mission(s) came to an end when the spacecraft expended the last of its fuel. It leaves behind a wealth of data about exoplanets that has revolutionized humanity's understanding of our galaxy.
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Falcon 9 and evacuation procedures mark the latest steps for Commercial Crew Program
Jason RhianOctober 30th Both SpaceX and those involved with evacuation procedures have been testing key elements of the company's efforts to send astronauts to the International Space Station.
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Is flag controversy to blame for First Man’s performance at the box office?
Jason RhianOctober 29th Does the exclusion of Neil Armstrong planting the US flag on the Moon have anything to do with First Man not meeting expectations at the box office?
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Hubble: You can’t keep a good telescope down – for long
Jason RhianOctober 27th The Hubble Space Telescope is back in action.
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Orion’s European Service Module makes its debut at Kennedy Space Center
Joe LatrellOctober 27th NASA's Exploration Mission 1 is just over the horizon, but it wouldn't be able to fly to the Moon without a critical component developed from a surprising source.
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NG-10 Cygnus mission named in honor of Apollo 16’s John Young
Jason RhianOctober 26th Northrop Grumman's NG-10 Cygnus spacecraft has been named in honor of an American space flight legend - John Young.
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Russian military launches Soyuz 2.1b rocket with spy satellite
Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 25th The United States wasn't the only country to launch a military spacecraft recently. Russia has sent the Lotos-S1 spacecraft to orbit on a mission for its military.
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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." -
Parker Solar Probe becomes closest spacecraft to Sun
October 30th
Just 11 weeks after launch, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has already beaten the record for the closest spacecraft to the Sun—and it’s only going to get closer. -
A single mission could orbit Pluto and explore the Kuiper Belt
October 30th
While the New Horizons' mission is still exploring the Kuiper Belt a new mission could accomplish what the spacecraft has - and much more. -
Long March 2C sends CFOSat and seven small satellites to orbit
October 29th
China sent a Long March 2C booster on a mission to deliver the Chinese-French CFOSat ocean-observing spacecraft and seven smaller payloads into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) on Monday, October 29. -
Chinese startup LandSpace launches Zhuque-1 rocket, fails to deliver payload to orbit
October 28th
China received the following messages yesterday, "You can't win them all." -
New Horizons team previews Ultima Thule flyby
October 27th
With the Ultima Thule flyby just 10 weeks away, the New Horizons team detailed plans for the spacecraft's trajectory and science gathering mission. -
Long March 4B lifts off with Haiyang-2B marine satellite
October 25th
China continues its impressive 2018 launch manifest with the flight of a satellite designed to study Earth's oceans and other areas of study. -
Birthing place of stars captured in recent Spitzer Space Telescope imagery
October 25th
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope - has taken a peek into a nursery for stars. -
Backup Hubble gyroscope encounters anomaly during recovery efforts
October 23rd
Engineers encountered a slight hiccup in bringing the Hubble Space Telescope out of safe mode and back to conducting scientific operations. -
Video: Flames, Fury and Flight – ULA sends AEHF-4 into the black
October 22nd
It seemed as if the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-4) satellite didn't want to waste any time getting off the launch pad - check out the exclusive video captured here!
