Tag: NASA
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ESA Weighs New Roles for Orion Service Module and Mars Orbiter Amid U.S. Budget Uncertainty
The European Space Agency (ESA) is assessing options to repurpose two of its major spacecraft programmes after growing uncertainty over continued U.S. support for the NASA missions they were originally built to serve, ESA officials told ministers during the agency’s Ministerial Council in Bremen this week. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher presented proposals that would…
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NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Crew Missions, Converts Next Flight to Cargo
NASA said on Monday it has reduced the number of Starliner missions Boeing is required to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) and has redesignated the spacecraft’s next flight as a cargo-only mission, marking the latest shift in the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Under the original contracts awarded to Boeing and SpaceX, each company…
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NASA, Boeing pivot Starliner-1 mission from 4-person astronaut flight to cargo-only
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Image: NASA/Kim Shiflett In its latest shakeup to the Commercial Crew Program, NASA announced on Monday it has reduced the number of missions Boeing is required to…
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SpaceX’s Newest Starship Booster Suffers Major Damage During Early Test in South Texas
SpaceX’s latest Starship first-stage booster sustained significant damage during pre-launch testing early Friday in South Texas, marking a setback for the company’s next-generation rocket program. The vehicle, known as Booster 18 and representing the first “Version 3” Starship design, was rolled out only a day earlier as SpaceX announced the start of its test campaign.…
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Webb discovers rapidly growing black hole in the very early universe
Using the joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, a group of astronomers has discovered a supermassive black hole within the distant galaxy CANUCS-LRD-z8.6. The galaxy is among the farthest ever observed, with Webb imaging it as it was just 570 million years after the Big Bang. CANUCS-LRD-z8.6 is a part of…
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U.S. FAA Lifts Temporary Restrictions on Commercial Rocket Launches After Government Reopens
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted temporary restrictions that had limited commercial rocket launches to nighttime hours, easing constraints on companies such as SpaceX following the end of the federal government shutdown. The order, issued on Nov. 10, was designed to reduce workload for air traffic controllers during the shutdown by avoiding daytime…
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SpaceX Marks 500th Reused-Rocket Orbital Mission With Launch of EU Ocean-Mapping Satellite
SpaceX launched a European ocean-monitoring satellite from California early Monday, completing the company’s 500th orbital mission using a flight-proven rocket booster. The Sentinel-6B spacecraft lifted off atop a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:21 a.m. EST (0521 GMT). “Sentinel-6B rising, extending nearly four decades of the precise sea-level record from space,” NASA…
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L3Harris testing brand new RS-25 engines for future Artemis launches
RS-25 prime contractor L3Harris continues to ramp up production of new flight engine hardware at their Los Angeles area facility and final assembly at the Stennis Space Center. NASA certified production restart of the former Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) in mid-2024, with the new engines slated to operate at higher performance levels in four-engine…
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Dream Chaser Completes Key Pre-Flight Tests Ahead of 2026 Orbital Debut
one: the spacecraft demonstrated real-time command and control through NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), successfully receiving telemetry and distributing commands between Mission Control in Louisville, Colorado, and the spacecraft. The company concluded the campaign with a post-landing recovery rehearsal, testing procedures for vehicle safing and rapid access to sensitive payloads immediately after…
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Sentinel-6B ocean monitoring satellite launches aboard Falcon 9
Sentinel-6B, a joint US-European ocean monitoring satellite, launched Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base took place at 9:21 p.m. Pacific time (05:21 UTC on Monday). The Sentinel-6B spacecraft is the second of two Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) missions, launching five years after its sister satellite, Sentinel-6A Michael…