Tag: Human Landing System
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Biden backs Artemis moon program; watchdog says it’ll cost $86 billion
This infographic released Wednesday by the NASA Office of Inspector General includes cost figures for key elements of NASA’s Artemis program through fiscal year 2025, including the Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft, ground systems, the Gateway, and the Human Landing System. Credit: NASA OIG The Biden administration supports continuing NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts…
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NASA names 18 astronauts for Artemis moon missions
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION The first 18 Artemis astronauts. Credit: NASA Eighteen astronauts have been selected — nine men and nine women — to begin training for upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, NASA announced Wednesday. The list includes the as-yet-unnamed next man and first woman who will set foot on the…
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SpaceX test-fires Starship prototype with three engines
A view of the Starship SN8 prototype with three Raptor engines. Future Starship vehicles will have six Raptor engines, with three vacuum-rated engines with larger nozzles clustered around the three center engines optimized for sea level performance. Credit: Elon Musk/SpaceX SpaceX fired three Raptor engines on a prototype of the company’s Starship vehicle Tuesday, accomplishing…
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NASA selects proposals to demonstrate in-space refueling and propellant depot tech
Artist’s illustration of two Starship vehicles docked together in Earth orbit. Credit: SpaceX NASA has selected 14 companies for contracts of more than $370 million to advance technology for human missions to the moon and Mars. Most of the money will support flight demonstrations by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and other companies that could lead…
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Elon Musk offers update on SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket
File photo of SpaceX founder, CEO and chief engineer Elon Musk. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani SpaceX founder Elon Musk detailed progress on the company’s next-generation Starship program Monday, saying the huge rocket could “probably” attempt its first launch into Earth orbit next year, and adding that the Starship will fly hundreds of missions before SpaceX puts…
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NASA chief still hopeful to get more money for moon landing effort
File photo of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls House lawmakers this week proposed to fund NASA’s human-rated lunar lander development program at less than one-fifth of the level the Trump administration wanted, but NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Wednesday the House budget bill is just the “opening salvo” in an appropriations process that…
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New NASA spaceflight chief makes no guarantees about 2024 moon landing goal
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Kathy Lueders was named associate administrator of NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate earlier this month. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett Kathy Lueders, NASA’s newly appointed head of human spaceflight operations, said Thursday that without a crystal ball, she could not give a yes-or-no answer when asked whether she…
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NASA’s chief of human spaceflight resigns on cusp of critical crew launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 8 p.m. with Washington Post quote. Doug Loverro, NASA’s former chief of human spaceflight, participates in a town hall meeting with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Dec. 3, 2019. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky The head of NASA’s human spaceflight programs has abruptly resigned, announcing his departure from the space agency two days before…
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NASA identifies risks in SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander proposal
Artist’s illustration of SpaceX’s Starship on the lunar surface. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s proposal to land astronauts on the moon using the company’s reusable Starship vehicle could be “game-changing” for space exploration, but comes with risks and complexity that “threaten the schedule viability” to achieve NASA’s goal of returning crews moon by the end of 2024,…
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NASA no longer counting on Gateway for 2024 moon landing
Artist’s concept of the Gateway mini-space station near the moon. Credit: NASA NASA is modifying plans to send astronauts back to the moon in 2024 by taking the Gateway — a mini-space station to be assembled in lunar orbit — out of the critical path in favor of a simplified architecture, according to the agency’s…