Tag: NASA
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NASA prepares to roll Artemis 2 core stage to the Vehicle Assembly Building
NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at…
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Curiosity discovers pure sulfur rocks, continues to explore Mount Sharp on Mars
On May 30, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, currently exploring Gale Crater on the red planet, drove over a small rock on the Martian surface. The rock cracked open while driving over the rock, revealing its interior composition. Scientists on Curiosity’s team were stunned to find yellow sulfur crystals within the rock — the first time…
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Armada to Apophis—scientists recycle old ideas for rare asteroid encounter
For nearly 20 years, scientists have known an asteroid named Apophis will pass unusually close to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. But most officials at the world’s space agencies stopped paying much attention when updated measurements ruled out the chance Apophis will impact Earth any time soon. Now, Apophis is again on the agenda,…
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NASA SLS Core Stage headed to KSC for Artemis II
Prime contractor Boeing rolled out the second Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage on July 16 from the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) and secured it to NASA’s Pegasus barge for transportation to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida over the next several days. The stage will control the beginning of the Artemis II mission…
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Rocket Report: Firefly’s CEO steps down; Artemis II core stage leaves factory
Welcome to Edition 7.03 of the Rocket Report! One week ago, SpaceX suffered a rare failure of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. In fact, it was the first time the latest version of the Falcon 9, known as the Block 5, has ever failed on its prime mission after nearly 300 launches. The world’s launch…
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NASA built a Moon rover but can’t afford to get it to the launch pad
NASA has spent $450 million designing and building a first-of-its-kind robot to drive into eternally dark craters at the Moon’s south pole, but the agency announced Wednesday it will cancel the rover due to delays and cost overruns. “NASA intends to discontinue the VIPER mission,” said Nicky Fox, head of the agency’s science mission directorate.…
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NASA plans for space station’s demise with new SpaceX ‘Deorbit Vehicle’
An artist’s impression of SpaceX’s ISS Deorbit Vehicle pushing the lab toward a controlled re-entry and breakup in the 2030 timeframe, after a formal decision to retire the lab complex after three decades of operation. Graphic: SpaceX SpaceX is building a souped-up version of its cargo Dragon spacecraft to drive the International Space Station out…
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NASA cancels half-billion dollar water-ice-seeking VIPER Moon rover
NASA’s VIPER – short for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover – sits assembled inside the cleanroom at the agency’s Johnson Space Center. Image: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas NASA announced Wednesday it was pulling the plug on the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project. It was the second time in less than a decade, NASA…
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Astronomers use Hubble to discover rare intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri
Using the joint NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope in low-Earth orbit, an international team of astronomers has discovered a rare black hole within Omega Centauri — the largest and brightest known globular cluster in the Milky Way. Globular clusters are large collections of stars and other cosmic material that can span…
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NASA update on Starliner thruster issues: This is fine
Before clearing Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to depart the International Space Station and head for Earth, NASA managers want to ensure the spacecraft’s problematic control thrusters can help guide the ship’s two-person crew home. The two astronauts who launched June 5 on the Starliner spacecraft’s first crew test flight agree with the managers, although they…