Tag: NASA
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Artemis III Booster Stacking Reaches Four of Five Segments as Orion Heat Shield Fix Is Confirmed
NASA has stacked the fourth of five major assemblies on each of the twin solid rocket boosters for Artemis III and completed installation of all four RS-25 engines on the mission’s Space Launch System core stage at Kennedy Space Center. The processing milestones come as a five-month review of the Artemis II Orion heat shield…
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NASA Adds 34-Meter Goldstone Antenna to Expand Deep Space Network Capacity
NASA’s Deep Space Station 23 began operations on Aug. 3, 2026, at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, adding a 34-meter antenna to its heavily subscribed Deep Space Network. Its first operational contact tracked the Chandra X-ray Observatory, following a testing campaign from May through July. NASA marked the antenna’s completion with…
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NASA Funds ‘Slingshot’ Concept to Survey Minerals Across Multiple Worlds
NASA has awarded Phase I funding to Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys, a SETI Institute-led concept that would use a single 300-kilogram spacecraft to identify minerals on the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid and a Martian moon. The study will assess whether Raman spectroscopy can measure surface composition from 30–50 kilometers away, potentially helping future missions select…
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Saturn’s South Polar Decagon: What Could Have Created Hubble’s Newly Identified Atmospheric Wave?
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a giant, evolving ten-sided atmospheric wave around Saturn’s south pole—the first large, regular-sided jet pattern observed in the planet’s southern hemisphere. Known as a decagon, the feature appears in observations dating back to 2023 and has become increasingly distinct, offering scientists a rare opportunity to track the development of…
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NASA Moves to Simplify Axiom Lunar Spacesuit as Artemis IV Schedule Tightens
NASA is working with Axiom Space on a lighter and less complex version of its next-generation lunar spacesuit as the agency attempts to preserve a 2028 crewed Moon landing under Artemis IV. The new configuration, referred to as the “Sortie Suit,” is intended for the first Artemis surface missions using lunar landers developed by SpaceX…
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Blue Origin Wins $700 Million NASA Contract for Mars Telecommunications Network (Video)
The Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) “will provide NASA with a high-speed, low cost” communications relay network, according to Blue Origin. Credit: Blue Origin NASA has selected Blue Origin to develop, launch and operate a dedicated communications orbiter for Mars, awarding the company a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum potential value of approximately $700 million. Announced…
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NASA Awards Blue Origin $700 Million Contract to Build First Commercial Mars Telecommunications Network
NASA has selected Blue Origin to develop and operate a next-generation Mars communications infrastructure under a contract worth up to $700 million, marking one of the agency’s most significant steps toward commercializing deep-space communications services beyond Earth orbit. The firm-fixed-price contract, announced Sept. 1, calls for Blue Origin to design, build, integrate, launch, and operate…
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How High and How Inclined Should a Satellite Fly? How Orbital Altitude and Inclination Are Determined
Why do some satellites skim relatively close to Earth and complete an orbit in just over 90 minutes, while others remain above the equator and appear motionless in the sky? And why do some Earth observation satellites designed for near-global coverage deliberately use “retrograde” orbits with inclinations greater than 90 degrees? The answer lies in…
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NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Launches on Falcon Heavy to Map Two Billion Galaxies
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy on August 30, beginning a three-month journey to a gravitationally stable observing location nearly one million miles from Earth. The rocket lifted off at 7:26 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Roman separated from Falcon Heavy’s…
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SpaceX Completes 33-Engine Static Fire of Booster 21 Ahead of Starship Flight 14
SpaceX fired all 33 Raptor engines on Super Heavy Booster 21 during a full-duration static-fire test at Starbase, Texas, on August 28, completing a major propulsion milestone ahead of Starship’s 14th flight test. The roughly 15-second firing took place on the launch mount at Pad 2. Booster 21 remained restrained while its engines, propellant systems,…