News Archive / Tagged: The Range

• Probe finds deep space is not completely dark

  Laurel KornfeldDecember 1st, 2020

  Now more than four billion miles away from Earth, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, acting as a distant space observatory, has found that deep space is not entirely dark.

• Arrokoth’s flattened shape could shed light on planetesimal formation process

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 15th, 2020

  The flattened shape of the two lobes that make up Arrokoth, the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) visited by the New Horizons spacecraft in January 2019, may hold clues to the formation process of planetesimals and even planets.

• “All Systems Go”: Schedule of Crew-1 launch countdown events

  Sean CostelloNovember 15th, 2020

  Following the confirmation by SpaceX via Twitter, that “All systems are go for tonight’s launch at 7:27 p.m. EST”, SpaceFlight Insider has produced this handy reference of the key countdown events and their approximate times.

• OSIRIS-REx capsule closed following successful Bennu sample collection

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 1st, 2020

  NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft collected enough soil samples of the asteroid Bennu on its first attempt that mission controllers commanded the spacecraft to close its Sample Return Capsule (SRC).

• White mountain peaks on Pluto not caused by snow

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 24th, 2020

  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

  Cullen DesforgesOctober 24th, 2020

  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

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 5th, 2020

  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

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 2nd, 2020

    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

  Theresa CrossSeptember 10th, 2020

  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

  Sean CostelloSeptember 3rd, 2020

  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

  Theresa CrossSeptember 1st, 2020

  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.

  Theresa CrossAugust 28th, 2020

  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

  Sean CostelloAugust 27th, 2020

  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

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 26th, 2020

  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

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 7th, 2020

  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.