Tag: NASA
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NASA begins DART mission to practice pushing away an asteroid, with an extra push from Aerojet
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches NASA’s DART asteroid probe from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. (NASA via YouTube) A space probe the size of a school bus is on its way to smash into an asteroid the size of Egypt’s Great Pyramid, directed by thruster systems built by Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, Wash. This…
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NASA’s DART asteroid redirect mission launches aboard Falcon 9 from Vandenberg
SpaceX has launched NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirect Test) mission onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. DART is a demonstration mission to determine the effects of an intentional impact on an asteroid. DART’s collision with the asteroid moon Dimorphos is set for October 2022. The launch of the small spacecraft from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force…
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Unfolding the universe: the commissioning process of the James Webb Space Telescope
This December, an Ariane 5 rocket will launch from Kourou, French Guiana carrying the most complicated telescope ever developed — the joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. However, when the telescope launches, it will not immediately be ready for scientific observations. In fact, the telescope won’t perform any observations until about six months after launch.…
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Orion spacecraft production continues for Artemis 2 and 3
The arrival of the second Orion European Service Module (ESM) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in October signified the beginning of months of final assembly of the first crewed Orion spacecraft that will fly four people on the Artemis 2 mission. Following the delivery of the ESM from prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space…
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EGS, Jacobs begin Artemis 1 pre-launch testing and checkout push
The Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission are assembled, the Mobile Launcher is reconnected to the vehicle, and the processing team at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is resuming pre-launch testing and checkouts in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) ahead of the first rollout to the pad. The…
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Crew Dragon Endurance delivers Crew-3 to International Space Station
Crew Dragon Endurance docked to the International Space Station (ISS) at 6:32 PM EST (23:32 UTC) following 22 hours of free flight after launching from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, delivering the Crew-3 contingent to the station. The astronauts of Crew-3 consist of Raja Chari (Commander), Thomas Marshburn (Pilot), and Kayla Barron (Mission Specialist 2) from…
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Crew-2 returns to Earth after six-month stay on the ISS
NASA and SpaceX teams has completed the safe return of the Crew-2 mission from the International Space Station (ISS) with four astronauts on board. Crew Dragon Endeavour undocked from the ISS at 2:05 p.m. EST (19:05 UTC) Monday, with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean at 10:33 p.m. EST. Crew-2’s mission began with a launch…
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Blue Origin loses lunar lander lawsuit; NASA says SpaceX work will resume ASAP
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Starship rocket ship on the moon. (SpaceX Illustration) A federal judge today rejected Blue Origin’s challenge to a $2.9 billion contract that NASA awarded to SpaceX for building the lunar lander destined to carry astronauts to the moon. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space venture had argued that NASA gave overly…
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Inside Artemis 1’s complex launch windows and constraints
When the flight hardware and ground systems are finally ready for the inaugural Artemis 1 launch to the Moon, NASA will also have to synchronize the timing of the flight with unique celestial mechanics. The Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) Programs in the Exploration Systems Development (ESD) division are working together to calculate when…
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SLS Program completes Block 1 design review, preparing to certify Artemis 1 vehicle
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) program is preparing to serve its role in the agency’s first human spaceflight mission to the moon in nearly 50 years–Artemis 1. After completing a DCR (Design Certification Review) in late September, the program engineering groups are now organizing the data to certify SLS’s initial configuration for flight in a…