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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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Hubble Space Telescope discoveries highlighted by astronomer
Laurel KornfeldMarch 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.
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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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NASA finishes stacking twin SLS boosters for Artemis 1 mission
Theresa CrossMarch 11th NASA has finished stacking the twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for “the most powerful rocket in the world,” the massive Space Launch System.
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NASA assigns Mark Vande Hei to Soyuz MS-18 mission to ISS
Derek RichardsonMarch 10th NASA has assigned astronaut Mark Vande Hei to the Soyuz MS-18 mission for a roughly six-month trip to the International Space Station.
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Starship SN10 sticks the landing, explodes minutes later
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 3rd SpaceX finally completed a key milestone in its Starship test program after three tries—successfully landing a Starship after a high-altitude flight and subsequent landing flip maneuver.
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Emergency Flight Termination System for SN10 is in place; Starship test flight imminent
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 3rd On Feb. 28, workers installed the flight termination system, or FTS, on Starship SN10 in what has proven to be the key event in the testing campaign that separates the preflight testing phase from the flight attempt phase.
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Cause of missed Falcon 9 landing announced; Starlink 17 expected to fly Thursday
Theresa CrossMarch 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.
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SpaceX’s Starship SN10 set to fly, aims to stick the landing
Nicholas D'AlessandroMarch 2nd SpaceX's Starship SN10 finally appears ready to fly after a several tumultuous weeks in Texas following the SN9 test flight.
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Rocket Lab to build a medium-class rocket called Neutron
Cullen DesforgesMarch 1st Rocket Lab announced in a company-produced video that it will be building a new rocket called Neutron, which is expected to be capable of carrying eight metric tons of payload.
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SpaceX VP Hans Koenigsmann set to retire
Cullen DesforgesFebruary 11th SpaceX's fourth technical employee said he would be retiring from full-time work, as reported first by CNBC. Hans Koenigsmann served as vice president of mission assurance for the company since 2011.
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Progress MS-15 cargo ship departs International Space Station
Derek RichardsonFebruary 9th Russia’s Progress MS-15 cargo freighter has departed the International Space Station and performed a destructive reentry following 201 days at the ISS.
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SpaceX teams up with St Jude & Shift4 to offer free trip to space
Matt HaskellFebruary 7th In a surprise announcement on Monday, February 1, and scheduled to be brought to the masses through a Super Bowl ad, SpaceX has announced the first all civilian mission of their Dragon spacecraft, helmed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, in financial support of St. Jude.
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Firefly awarded NASA contract for CLPS Lunar Lander
Matt HaskellFebruary 6th As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a $93.3 million contract to land a set of 10 research payloads on the moon in 2023 as part of CLPS Task Order 19D.
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SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on record-setting rocket
Matt HaskellFebruary 4th Under perfectly clear skies, a SpaceX Falcon 9 took to the skies over Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40, taking another batch of 60 Starlink satellites to orbit.
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Starship SN9 lands hard following high-altitude test
Nicholas D'AlessandroFebruary 2nd SpaceX was finally able to launch its Starship SN9 prototype in a much-anticipated sophomore outing for the high-altitude test flight program. However, an engine issue appeared to cause the vehicle to land explosively.
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Following FAA approval, SpaceX set to fly Starship SN9 today
Derek RichardsonFebruary 2nd Late on Feb. 1, the Federal Aviation Administration granted approval for SpaceX to test its Starship SN9 prototype as early as Feb. 2.
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NASA, Boeing to conduct second SLS rocket core hot fire
Cullen DesforgesFebruary 2nd Nearly two weeks after the first attempt, NASA and prime contractor Boeing announced their decision to proceed with a second hot fire test of the Space Launch System core stage.
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NASA astronauts finish ISS battery upgrades, replace cameras
Derek RichardsonFebruary 1st In the second spacewalk in less than a week, two NASA astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station to wrap up a battery upgrade project started four years ago, and completed various other small tasks.
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Amid FAA delays, twin Starships stand tall in Boca Chica
Nicholas D'AlessandroJanuary 29th While SpaceX and Starship SN9 continue to face regulatory holds from the Federal Aviation Administration for flight certification, Starship SN10 has been rolled out to the launch pad.
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Regulators withhold Starship SN9 flight approval, test delayed
Derek RichardsonJanuary 28th When SpaceX employees in South Texas woke up this morning, they likely expected they'd be flying their Starship SN9 prototype on a high-altitude test, hopefully ending with a successful landing. However, the regulatory process appeared to keep the test article firmly planted on the ground.
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Cable issues prevent spacewalkers from finishing Bartolomeo installation
Derek RichardsonJanuary 27th Two NASA astronauts performed the first spacewalk of 2021 at the International Space Station to connect cables to a new European science platform as well as prepare the outpost for future power upgrades.
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SpaceX set for ambitious Starship SN9 high-altitude test
Nicholas D'AlessandroJanuary 26th SpaceX's Starship SN9 continues the company's theme of ultra-rapid development, with the next high-altitude flight test coming as early as this week.
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SpaceX Transporter-1 mission breaks record for most satellites in single launch
Cullen DesforgesJanuary 25th #ICYMI: Over the weekend, SpaceX launched Transporter-1, a dedicated Falcon 9 rideshare mission.
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SpaceX launches next batch of Starlink satellites
Cullen DesforgesJanuary 20th KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — SpaceX has successfully launched its 17th batch of Starlink satellites this morning aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
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Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system achieves orbit
Cullen DesforgesJanuary 18th After several hours filled with hopeful anticipation, California-based Virgin Orbit successfully air-launched its LauncherOne rocket Jan. 17 over the Mojave Desert.
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Meet Crew Dragon: narrated tour of design features, design history
May 26th
Crew Dragon capsule, about to fly atop a Falcon 9 as part of the Demo-2 mission with two humans aboard, is a great advance in the field of spacecraft design. -
SpaceX to test sun visors on Starlink satellites
May 19th
SpaceX will test sun visors on one of their Starlink satellites on their next launch, currently planned for early June. -
Astronaut Douglas Hurley to serve as Demo-2 spacecraft commander
May 8th
NASA astronaut Douglas Gerald Hurley flew on the last crewed mission to launch from American soil 11 years ago, and fittingly, will serve as spacecraft commander of Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed flight to resume launches from the US. -
James Webb Space Telescope to unlock wonders of the Universe.
May 8th
The James Webb Space Telescope will work to further uncover the mysteries of the Universe after it launches in 2021 from the Guiana Space Center aboard an Ariane 5 rocket -
Astronaut Bob Behnken will be one of two-person crew on Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch
May 6th
When NASA’s Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches astronauts from American soil for the first time since 2011, astronaut Robert L. “Bob” Behnken will ride on the spacecraft as the mission’s joint operations commander. -
SpaceX completes final testing milestone before first crewed launch
May 3rd
SpaceX successfully completed its 27th test of the Mark 3 Parachute for the Crew Dragon capsule, fulfilling the final testing requirement for NASA certification and review of the parachute system. The test comes following several successful milestones, including January’s in flight Abort test. -
Booster B1051 in port following Starlink-6 flight
April 26th
Booster B1051.4 returned to Port Canaveral on April 26, sailing into port slightly delayed relative to previous returns but looking good on the deck of the autonomous drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). -
30 years since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope
April 24th
Thirty years ago today, the Hubble Space Telescope took to the skies aboard STS-31 and Space Shuttle Discovery. -
New Horizons conducts parallax experiment; team searches for KBOs
April 24th
More than five billion miles from Earth and over 14 years past launch, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is conducting an experiment measuring the distance to two nearby stars while mission scientists are using Earth-based telescopes to search for new Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) for the spacecraft to study. -
Kepler data reveals Earth-like planet in star’s habitable zone
April 21st
Scientists who took a second look at data returned by NASA’s Kepler space telescope have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star. -
Pluto may have deep, ancient underground ocean
April 14th
Two new studies of data collected by the New Horizons spacecraft during its 2015 Pluto flyby suggest the dwarf planet has a deep subsurface ocean that may have been present all 4.5 billion years of Pluto’s existence. -
Mars’ magnetic field is 10 times stronger than previously thought
April 14th
Data collected by NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander on Mars has surprised scientists by indicating the Red Planet has a magnetic field 10 times stronger than previously suspected. -
NASA adds crew member to first operational Crew Dragon mission
April 5th
HOUSTON, TX – On March 31, NASA announced that astronaut Shannon Walker will join fellow astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover on the first operation flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. A native of Houston, Walker began her NASA journey as a Flight Controller on behalf of Rockwell Collins during the […] -
Voyager 2 will be on its own while DSN antenna is upgraded
March 23rd
The only radio telescope capable of communicating with NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft will undergo nearly 11 months of upgrades to its 230-foot- (70-meter-) wide antenna, during which it will be unable to transmit commands to the 42-year-old spacecraft, which is now traveling in interstellar space. -
Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden passes away
March 19th
Alfred M. Worden, a former astronaut who served as the command module pilot of NASA’s Apollo 15 Moon mission, died in his sleep on Wednesday, March 18, at a Sugar Land, Texas, assisted living center, at the age of 88.
