Tag: Dragon
-
Boeing, SpaceX told to stop work under crew contracts
NASA has directed Boeing and SpaceX to halt activities under contracts awarded last month to build commercial space taxis to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station while the U.S. Government Accountability Office reviews a protest of NASA’s contract decision filed by Sierra Nevada Corp. Artist’s impression of the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser crew transport…
-
SpaceX’s CRS-4 Dragon completes Tuesday arrival at ISS
The latest SpaceX Dragon – and her crew of “Mousetronauts” – arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday. The orbital ballet between the giant orbital outpost and the commercial spacecraft resulted in the CRS-4 Dragon being captured by the Station’s “big arm” at 06:52 Eastern, ahead of berthing operations that were completed a…
-
SpaceX conducts Sunday morning CRS-4 Dragon launch
SpaceX has launched the second Dragon mission of 2014, with a Falcon 9 v1.1 lofting the cargo spacecraft into orbit on a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Following a weather-related scrub on Saturday morning, liftoff from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral occurred without issue at 1:52am Eastern early on Sunday. CRS-4: Coming less…
-
Falcon 9 v1.1 conducts Static Fire ahead of CRS-4 launch
SpaceX is on track to launch another Falcon 9 v1.1, just 13 days after the ASIASAT-6 mission lifted off from SLC-40. The next launch – tasked with lofting the CRS-4/SpX-4 Dragon en route to the International Space Station (ISS) – remains on target for the early hours of September 20, after a Static Fire test…
-
Dream Chaser misses out on CCtCAP – Dragon and CST-100 win through
Just weeks ago, it was widely believed both SpaceX’s Dragon V2 and SNC’s Dream Chaser spacecraft were likely to progress into the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) phase of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. On Tuesday, NASA announced Boeing’s CST-100 was the winner of billions of dollars alongside the SpaceX spacecraft. CCtCAP: The three main Commercial Crew…
-
Soyuz TMA-12M returns ISS trio to Earth – Dragon up next
Expedition 40 commander Steven Swanson, along with cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev, have returned to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft on Wednesday. The trio undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 7:01pm Eastern, ahead of a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:23pm. Meanwhile, the launch of the next SpaceX Dragon…
-
Dragon V2 will initially rely on parachute landings
SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contender, the Dragon V2, will initially return to terra firma under parachutes, assisted by a SuperDraco soft touchdown firing, according to Dragon V2 Program Lead Dr. Garrett Reisman. Eventually, the impressive spacecraft will employ pinpoint propulsive landings, once the technology has been matured via the DragonFly test program. Dragon V2: SpaceX’s crew version of…
-
CCtCap: NASA won’t abandon Commercial Crew loser
As NASA closes in on the next major milestone of its Commercial Crew Program (CCP), the Agency has noted its desire to continue the “sharing of knowledge” with any partner that loses out on continued NASA funding. The first NASA crew to ride on a US commercial vehicle is expected to occur in December, 2017 –…
-
CRS-4: SpaceX Dragon set for another ISS spacewalk save
SpaceX’s next Dragon spacecraft has been recruited to deliver a replacement set of batteries to the International Space Station (ISS), after an issue during ground testing caused NASA to postpone a set of upcoming EVAs. The utilization of September’s CRS-4/SpX-4 mission is not the first time a Dragon has come to the aid of the…
-
SpaceX’s roadmap for innovating the global launch market
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell recently outlined how SpaceX’s justifications for suing the United States Air Force (USAF) represent and advance SpaceX’s broader ambitions. Ms. Shotwell’s remarks, which were at a presentation at the Atlantic Council international affairs think tank in Washington, D.C., also outlined SpaceX’s current progress in securing and innovating in the…