Tag: NASA
-
Relativity Space accelerates production and testing of first Terran R
In a series of recent updates from Relativity Space, the company highlighted progress on its upcoming Terran R launch vehicle and supporting infrastructure for the rocket’s first flight, scheduled for 2026. The company is currently concentrating on three key areas: Terran R launch infrastructure, Aeon R engine testing, and the production of Terran R. Block…
-
Solar Orbiter makes first ever observations of Sun’s south pole, reveals messy magnetic field
Following a flyby of Venus in February that successfully increased its orbital inclination around the Sun, the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter recently imaged the Sun’s poles for the first time. The images are the first to show how the Sun’s immense magnetic field interacts at its poles, and will improve scientists’ understanding of the…
-
Rocket Report: New delay for Europe’s reusable rocket; SpaceX moves in at SLC-37
Welcome to Edition 7.48 of the Rocket Report! The shock of last week’s public spat between President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has worn off, and Musk expressed regret for some of his comments going after Trump on social media. Musk also backtracked from his threat to begin decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft, currently…
-
Isaacman’s bold plan for NASA: Nuclear ships, seven-crew Dragons, accelerated Artemis
Nearly two weeks have passed since Jared Isaacman received a fateful, brief phone call from two officials in President Trump’s Office of Personnel Management. In those few seconds, the trajectory of his life over the next three and a half years changed dramatically. The president, the callers said, wanted to go in a different direction…
-
5 things in Trump’s budget that won’t make NASA great again
If signed into law as written, the White House’s proposal to slash nearly 25 percent from NASA’s budget would have some dire consequences. It would cut the agency’s budget from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion. Adjusted for inflation, this would be the smallest NASA budget since 1961, when the first American launched into space. The proposed funding plan…
-
Jared Isaacman Says White House Pulled NASA Nomination Over Elon Musk Ties
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut, said on the All-In Podcast June 4 that he believes his nomination to lead NASA was withdrawn by the White House due to his connections with Elon Musk. Isaacman said he was informed on May 30 that President Trump had decided to “go in a different direction,”…
-
Further delays of Starliner’s next flight mark anniversary of its first crewed Space Station docking
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 One year ago today, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station to begin its long-awaited Crew Flight Test with NASA astronauts…
-
Senate response to White House budget for NASA: Keep SLS, nix science
Negotiations over the US federal budget for fiscal year 2026 are in the beginning stages, but when it comes to space, the fault lines are already solidifying in the Senate. The Trump White House released its budget request last Friday, and this included detailed information about its plans for NASA. On Thursday, just days later,…
-
Jared Isaacman speaks out, and it’s clear that NASA lost a visionary leader
In a revealing interview published by the All-In Podcast on Wednesday, the private astronaut nominated to lead NASA, Jared Isaacman, spoke at length on what he thought about the nomination process, how he would have led NASA, and the factors that led to the abrupt rescission of his nomination by President Trump. “I got a…
-
Some parts of Trump’s proposed budget for NASA are literally draconian
New details of the Trump administration’s plans for NASA, released Friday, revealed the White House’s desire to end the development of an experimental nuclear thermal rocket engine that could have shown a new way of exploring the Solar System. Trump’s NASA budget request is rife with spending cuts. Overall, the White House proposes reducing NASA’s…