Tag: NASA
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SpaceX Dragon cargo ship splashes down
SpaceX’s robotic Dragon cargo spaceship looms above the International Space Station just before its release from the station’s robotic arm. (NASA / CSA Photo / David Saint-Jacques) A robotic SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean today, bringing two tons of scientific experiments and other hardware back to Earth a month after…
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Dragon capsule returns to Earth from space station with 2.1 tons of cargo
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft is grappled by the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robotic arm before release Monday. Credit: David Saint-Jacques/CSA/NASA Closing out a 30-day mission, a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule departed the International Space Station on Monday for a fiery trip back to Earth, culminating in re-entry back into the atmosphere and a parachute-assisted splashdown…
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Live coverage: Dragon cargo capsule returns to Earth
Live coverage of the departure of SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship from the International Space Station and its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with several tons of experiment samples and cargo. SpaceX and NASA will not provide live video coverage of the splashdown. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page.…
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NASA picks first commercial ventures to deliver scientific payloads to the moon
An artist’s conception shows a lunar lander with scientific payloads. (NASA Illustration) Update for 6 p.m. PT July 31: One of the commercial ventures selected to deliver science experiments to the moon’s surface, New Jersey-based Orbit Beyond, is bowing out of the first round of deliveries. NASA said Orbit Beyond ran into “internal corporate challenges”…
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NASA to shut down Spitzer Space Telescope early next year
This infrared view of the butterfly-shaped W40 nebula, a star-forming cloud of gas and dust 1,400 light-years from Earth, was captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech After a search for an outside funding source turned up empty, NASA plans to end observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope in January to conclude a 16-year…
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Blue Origin, Boeing and other ventures lay out ideas for commercial space stations
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s concept for an Earth-orbiting space station. (Blue Origin / NASA Illustration) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has laid out a plan for building a commercial habitat for future space travelers and sending it into Earth orbit atop its New Glenn rocket. The concept is one of…
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NASA says Maxar will build the first big piece for Gateway station in lunar orbit
An artist’s conception shows the Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element with its solar electric propulsion system in action. (Maxar / Business Wire Illustration) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine today announced that the first major component for a future mini-space station in lunar orbit will be provided by Maxar Technologies, formerly known as SSL. “The contractor that…
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Now you can put your name on NASA’s Mars 2020 rover (in teeny tiny letters)
Members of the public who sign up to have their names sent to Mars will get a souvenir boarding pass to print out as well. (NASA / JPL-Caltech Image) Space fans have been sending their names to Mars and other extraterrestrial destinations for more than two decades, and it’s that time again: From now until…
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NASA’s lunar orbiter spots the smoking hole left behind by Israel’s moon lander
A processed image from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, taken on April 22, highlights the dark smudge and bright impact halo left behind by the Beresheet lunar lander’s impact (NASA / GSFC / ASU Photo) The Israeli-built Beresheet moon lander made history when it went into lunar orbit and descended to the surface — and although…
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NASA taps Blue Origin and 10 other companies to work on moon lander studies and prototypes
An artist’s conception shows a landing system in lunar orbit. (NASA Illustration) It’s almost as if Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos knew what was coming: His Blue Origin space venture is among 11 companies selected by NASA to conduct studies and produce prototypes of spacecraft that could carry astronauts down to the moon’s south polar region…