Tag: NASA
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NASA’s giant rocket will carry solar sail, a lunar flashlight and more mini-satellites
An artist’s conception shows Lunar Flashlight flying above a crater on the moon. (Credit: NASA) NASA says it’ll send 13 miniaturized satellites – including a pop-up solar sail and a “lunar flashlight” – beyond Earth orbit when it flies its heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket for the first time in 2018. The main payload for the…
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30 years after the Challenger shuttle tragedy, the loss and legacies linger
The crew of the shuttle Challenger takes a break during countdown training on Jan. 9, 1986: From left are space teacher Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Michael Smith and Ellison Onizuka. (NASA photo) It’s been 30 years since the loss of the shuttle Challenger and its crew on Jan. 28, 1986, but…
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Map reveals that there’s more water ice on Pluto
This false-color infrared image from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft shows water ice concentrations on Pluto. The left image is the result of an initial analysis, and the right image has been reprocessed to account for mixtures with other types of ice. (Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI) A color-coded map from NASA’s New Horizons mission…
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NASA’s backing fuels more interest in SNC’s Dream Chaser mini-space shuttle
Technicians at an SNC facility in Colorado inspect the Dream Chaser engineering test article, or ETA, which is being put through flight tests. (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation) NASA’s decision to use Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser mini-shuttle to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station marks the most positive development to date for…
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SpaceX shows how its Dragon 2 spaceship hovers
A SpaceX Dragon craft fires its thrusters during a propulsive hover test in Texas. (Credit: SpaceX) A newly released video shows SpaceX’s Dragon 2 capsule pulling off a valuable trick: firing its thrusters to hover above a landing pad. The Nov. 24 test was part of Project DragonFly, the California-based company’s effort to develop a Dragon that can…
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Nudge ’em or nuke ’em: Asteroid defense plans take shape in U.S. and Russia
An artist’s conception shows an asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere. (Credit: NASA) What should the world do about the potential threat of a catastrophic asteroid collision? This month NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office to manage the issue. Meanwhile, the Russians and the Europeans are talking about diverting nasty space rocks with nuclear weapons. All this…
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Bridging the past and future on the shoulders of the Atlas rocket
Two generations of manned Atlas rockets. Launch of John Glenn (left) and concept of Starliner (right). Credit: NASA and Boeing CAPE CANAVERAL — On top of an Atlas rocket, the place where orbital spaceflight for American astronauts began, will sit Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to launch humans into space starting next year. It was Feb. 20,…
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Not again! Astronaut’s leaky helmet forces early end to spacewalk at space station
NASA astronaut Tim Kopra works outside the International Space Station. Kopra and his British crewmate, Tim Peake, had to end their spacewalk early due to the presence of water in Kopra’s helmet. (Credit: NASA TV) Today’s spacewalk at the International Space Station was called off early when NASA astronaut Tim Kopra reported a small bubble of…
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Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser mini-shuttle will join NASA’s space cargo fleet
The Dream Chaser mini-shuttle has won NASA’s backing. (Credit: NASA / SNC Space Systems) NASA says it will add Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser space glider to its cargo-carrying lineup of robotic spaceships as early as 2019. It’s likely to be the first winged vehicle to fly in orbit for NASA since the space shuttle…
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Dawn’s latest close-ups should shed more light on Ceres’ mysterious bright spots
This image of Ceres’ Kupalo Crater was captured by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft from a height of about 240 miles on Dec. 21. (Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA) For years, scientists puzzled over the bright spots that shine like alien headlights from the surface of Ceres, a dwarf planet in…