Tag: NASA
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NASA’s Psyche spacecraft hits a speed bump on the way to a metal asteroid
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, located nearly 150 million miles from Earth on the way to an unexplored metal asteroid, has stopped firing its engines after detecting a problem in its propulsion system. NASA published an update Tuesday revealing that the robotic spacecraft shut off its plasma thrusters earlier this month. The news wasn’t widely shared until…
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After convincing senators he supports Artemis, Isaacman nomination advances
The US Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday advanced the nomination of private astronaut and businessman Jared Isaacman as the next administrator of NASA to the Senate floor, setting up the final step before he is confirmed. The vote was not unanimous, at 19–9, with all of the nay votes coming from senators on the Democratic…
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NASA just swapped a 10-year-old Artemis II engine with one nearly twice its age
A couple of weeks ago, ground teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida removed one of the four main engines from the Space Launch System rocket slated to send four astronauts on a voyage around the Moon next year. NASA officials ordered the removal of one of the massive rocket’s RS-25 main engines after…
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Juno reveals Io’s inner structure and volcanic activity; investigates north pole cyclones
New data from NASA’s Juno mission, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, has provided scientists with insight into the extreme winds and cyclones present within the gas giant’s atmosphere. The data allowed scientists to develop a model that better represents the fast jet stream circling Jupiter’s north pole, which is cluttered with many cyclones.…
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What’s it like to be 70 years old in space? “All those little aches and pains heal up.”
Not many people celebrate their birthday by burning a fiery arc through the atmosphere, pulling 4.4gs in freefall back to planet Earth, thudding into the ground, and emptying their stomach on the steppes of Kazakhstan. No one has ever done it on their 70th birthday. Perhaps this is appropriate because NASA astronaut Don Pettit is…
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Reusable rockets are here, so why is NASA paying more to launch stuff to space?
In an era of reusable rockets and near-daily access to space, NASA is still paying more than it did 30 years ago to launch missions into orbit, according to a study soon to be published in the scientific journal Acta Astronautica. Launch is becoming more routine. Every few days, SpaceX is sending another batch of…
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Reusable rockets are here, so why is NASA paying more to launch stuff to space?
In an era of reusable rockets and near-daily access to space, NASA is still paying more than it did 30 years ago to launch missions into orbit, according to a study soon to be published in the scientific journal Acta Astronautica. Launch is becoming more routine. Every few days, SpaceX is sending another batch of…
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Rocket Report: The pitfalls of rideshare; China launches next Tiangong crew
Welcome to Edition 7.41 of the Rocket Report! NASA and its contractors at Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue building a new mobile launch tower for the Space Launch System Block 1B rocket, a taller, upgraded version of the SLS rocket being used for the agency’s initial Artemis lunar missions. Workers stacked another segment of…
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Rocket Report: The pitfalls of rideshare; China launches next Tiangong crew
Welcome to Edition 7.41 of the Rocket Report! NASA and its contractors at Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue building a new mobile launch tower for the Space Launch System Block 1B rocket, a taller, upgraded version of the SLS rocket being used for the agency’s initial Artemis lunar missions. Workers stacked another segment of…
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Curiosity discovers carbonate mineral, provides insight into disappearance of ancient atmosphere
NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has been driving around the surface of Mars for over 12 years, recently discovered a mineral called siderite on the slopes of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. Interestingly, siderite might be the mineral that helps planetary scientists finally solve the mystery of where Mars’ carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere went. Solving such a…