Tag: Human Spaceflight
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Recent snapshots from the International Space Station
Recent photos from the International Space Station’s Expedition 53 crew show wildfires burning in Southern California, expansive views of the Himalayas, cities by night and day, and colorful vistas of sites around the world. The space station orbits around 250 miles (450 kilometers) above Earth, on a path that takes it between 51.6 degrees north…
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Space station crew returns Thursday, replacements launch Sunday
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION European astronaut Paolo Nespoli, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy and Expedition 53 commander Randy Bresnik donned their Sokol spacesuits last week to rehearse undocking and landing procedures. Credit: NASA In a rapid-fire crew rotation, a Russian cosmonaut, a NASA astronaut and an Italian flier plan to close out a…
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President Trump makes moon missions NASA’s near-term goal
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION President Trump shows off a new national space policy directive he signed Monday at the White House, putting NASA’s focus on returning astronauts to the moon as a precursor to eventual Mars flights. Standing to Trump’s left, just behind the president’s signature, is Harrison Schmitt, one of the…
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Cygnus cargo craft released from space station, setting up for CubeSat deployments
The Cygnus supply ship was released from the space station’s robotic arm Wednesday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now An Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft departed the International Space Station on Wednesday, heading for a higher orbit to deploy 14 CubeSats and an eventual de-orbit burn to dispose of more than 6,200 pounds of trash and other…
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Bigelow’s expandable module goes into overtime on space station
European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli inside the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, after outfitting its interior for cargo stowage. Credit: NASA A commercial module mounted outside the International Space Station last year will remain attached to the orbiting research complex for at least three more years, carrying out additional tests for future space…
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Live coverage: Cygnus supply ship readied for station departure
Live coverage of Orbital ATK’s eighth operational Cygnus resupply flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
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NASA expects first Space Launch System flight to slip into 2020
Artist’s illustration of the Space Launch System on launch pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA The maiden unpiloted flight of NASA’s Space Launch System, a heavy-lift human-rated rocket and one of the agency’s core programs, will likely not be ready for takeoff until 2020, officials said recently. NASA officials until…
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Richard Gordon, Gemini and Apollo astronaut, dies at 88
Dick Gordon is photographed during a debriefing in the quarantine van aboard the USS Hornet, following the end of the Apollo 12 mission on Nov. 26, 1969. Credit: NASA Richard “Dick” Gordon, a Navy test pilot-turned-astronaut who pioneered spacewalking procedures and orbited the moon, died at his home this week in California. He was 88.…
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Engine for upgraded Falcon 9 rocket explodes on test stand
File photo of a Merlin engine on a test stand in McGregor, Texas. Credit: SpaceX A Merlin engine designed for the version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket that will carry astronauts into orbit for NASA failed during testing Saturday in Texas, but the company said its upcoming launches will not be affected by the mishap.…
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NASA making steady progress on SLS mobile launch platform
The crew access arm for the Space Launch System mobile launch platform is pictured in a storage location near the Kennedy Space Center last week. Credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now Construction crews at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center are making steady progress outfitting the Space Launch System’s mobile platform with umbilical connections and access arms, and the…