Tag: commercial-space
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Boeing crew capsule test flight now scheduled for late summer
Boeing’s second spaceflight-rated CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is weighed before flight in this photo from January. Credit: Boeing/John Proferes A second unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule — ordered after an initial demonstration mission fell short of reaching the International Space Station — is now scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral in August or…
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NASA chief: Russian cosmonauts unlikely fly on U.S. crew capsules until next year
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy has his Sokol launch and entry suit pressure checked before boarding a Soyuz spacecraft for liftoff April 9 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector NASA’s acting administrator said Tuesday he does not expect Russian cosmonauts to start launching to the International Space Station on U.S. commercial crew vehicles…
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NASA, SpaceX watching weather in downrange abort zones for crew launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft stand on pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky Preparations for the planned liftoff Thursday of a SpaceX Dragon capsule with a four-person crew to the International Space Station cleared another readiness review Tuesday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida,…
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Amazon buys nine Atlas 5 launches for Kuiper broadband constellation
Nine Atlas 5 rockets will launch satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper internet network. Credit: United Launch Alliance Amazon has selected United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket for nine missions from Cape Canaveral to deploy satellites for the Kuiper internet constellation, a fleet designed to eventually number more than 3,200 spacecraft, the companies announced Monday. The nine…
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Dragon crew rehearses for launch day, first-look weather forecast looks good
NASA commander Shane Kimbrough, pilot Megan McArthur, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide stand inside the crew access arm leading to the Crew Dragon hatch at pad 39A during Sunday’s dress rehearsal. Credit: SpaceX After completing a dress rehearsal for launch day over the weekend, the four astronauts gearing up for…
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NASA chooses SpaceX to land next astronauts on the Moon
Artist’s concept of a Starship on the moon. Credit: SpaceX NASA has selected SpaceX to build a spacecraft to land the first astronauts on the Moon since 1972, choosing Elon Musk’s space company over competing proposals from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and the aerospace firm Dynetics, officials announced Friday. A derivative of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship…
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SpaceX test-fires rocket for crew launch
SpaceX test-fired the Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday ahead of launch with the next four astronauts heading to the International Space Station. The static fire test before sunrise Saturday in Florida was a major step toward liftoff Thursday. The Falcon 9 launch team stationed inside Firing Room 4 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center oversaw an…
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Crew Dragon astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center for launch preps
European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, Crew-2 pilot Megan McArthur, Crew-2 commander Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday for final launch preparations. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani An all-veteran crew of four astronauts jetted into NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Friday for the final few days of rehearsals, briefings,…
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NASA, SpaceX clear crew capsule for launch next week
Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president of build and flight reliability, participates in a Flight Readiness Review for the Crew-2 mission Thursday. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett NASA and SpaceX officials are moving forward with preparations to launch the next commercial Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station next week after a Flight Readiness Review Thursday, pending…
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Watch a live view of the Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad
Live coverage of preparations for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, and Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet on a flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabby title=”NASA TV”] [tabbyending]