Tag: commercial-space
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NASA clears SpaceX crew capsule for first astronaut mission
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated May 25 with final loss of crew and loss of mission risk numbers from NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket that will carry astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken into orbit fired its engines in a ground test at 4:33 p.m. EDT (2033 GMT) on Friday, May 22. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now…
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Trump to visit Kennedy Space Center for crew launch
President Donald Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, delivers remarks at a 2018 meeting of the National Space Council at the White House. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls President Trump plans to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week to view the first launch of astronauts into orbit from U.S. soil in nearly a…
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NASA gives crucial thumbs-up to SpaceX’s historic crewed flight to space station
SpaceX conducts a static-fire test for its Falcon 9 rocket in advance of its Crew Dragon launch. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls) NASA today signed off on the first launch to send a crew into orbit from U.S. soil in nearly nine years, and the rocket for that launch had its final test firing. After…
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Photos: Crew Dragon mated with Falcon 9 rocket
Crew Dragon, meet Falcon 9. SpaceX has released photos showing the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket that will carry NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken aloft next week. The Crew Dragon is set to launch next Wednesday, May 27, from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff time is…
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Virgin Orbit schedules its first orbital test launch this weekend
EDITOR’S NOTE: A launch attempt Sunday was scrubbed due to a faulty sensor. Virgin Orbit did not immediately announce a new target launch date. A full-scale mock-up of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket falls away from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet during an inert drop test in July 2019 over the Mojave Desert of California. Credit:…
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Dragon crew arrives at Florida spaceport kick off final week of launch preps
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will ride SpaceX’s first crewed mission into orbit. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken arrived Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center, ready for spacesuit and spacecraft fit checks, and some time off with their families before launching next week on the first crewed flight…
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Live coverage: All systems go for launch after final Crew Dragon readiness review
Live coverage of pre-flight preparations at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft, and Demo-2 astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on Dragon’s first crewed test flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”NASA TV”] [tabby title=”NASA pad view”]…
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Pence plans to attend launch of astronauts from Florida next week
Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a previous National Space Council meeting in August 2019. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani Vice President Mike Pence plans to travel to the Kennedy Space Center on May 27 for the first launch of astronauts from a U.S. spaceport since 2011. Officials at a meeting of the National Space Council Tuesday…
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Days before landmark launch, NASA’s head of human spaceflight quits due to ‘mistake’
Doug Loverro speaks at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana shortly after taking his place as the space agency’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations in 2019. (NASA Photo via Twitter) NASA’s top executive concentrating on human spaceflight, Doug Loverro, has resigned just a week before the scheduled start of a milestone space mission.…
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Video: Crew Dragon transported to launch pad 39A
SpaceX’s first Crew Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts into orbit arrived at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida late Friday, May 15, to be attached to its Falcon 9 rocket. The capsule will carry NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station. The commercial crew capsule is…