Tag: NASA
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Northrop Grumman likely to end its bid for a commercial space station
Nearly two years ago, NASA placed its bets to develop commercial space stations on four companies—Blue Origin, Nanoracks, Northrop Grumman, and Axiom Space. Now, as the US space agency looks to find a successor to the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit, this landscape is shifting dramatically. At the International Astronautical Congress meeting this week…
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New research provides explanation for the origin of Saturn’s rings and icy moons
Recent research conducted by NASA and its partners using supercomputer simulations is shedding light on the origins of Saturn’s iconic rings and mysterious icy moons. Scientists believe the rings began forming from a massive impact between two icy moons, all the way back when dinosaurs were still roaming around the surface of Earth. The massive…
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Rocket Report: Iran launches satellite; Artemis II boosters get train ride
Welcome to Edition 6.13 of the Rocket Report! While SpaceX waits for regulatory approval to launch the second full-scale test flight of its Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket, NASA’s contractors took two steps forward this week to prepare for the second launch of the government-owned Space Launch System on the Artemis II mission, which…
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NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is home after a year in space
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two Russian crewmates parachuted to a landing on the remote steppe of Kazakhstan on Wednesday, capping a 371-day mission at the International Space Station, the longest single spaceflight ever undertaken by an American. It was also the third-longest mission off the planet in the history of human spaceflight, eclipsed only…
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Scientists just opened the lid to NASA’s asteroid sample canister
Dante Lauretta, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, has waited nearly 20 years to get his hands on pristine specimens from an asteroid, which he says is a key to unlocking answers to mysteries about the origin of life on Earth. On Tuesday, he got his first look at dust grains returned by…
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Lack of SLS rockets limit NASA Artemis manifest
NASA and its advisory bodies remain concerned about the low flight rate planned for its crewed Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, but the space agency doesn’t have enough vehicles to fly more often this decade. Hardware to launch only two more SLS vehicles is available until development of the Exploration Upper Stage…
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NASA spacecraft returns to Earth with pieces of an asteroid
Monday update: This story has been updated with comments from OSIRIS-REx officials about the drogue parachute. A small capsule carrying pristine specimens from an asteroid parachuted to a landing in the Utah desert Sunday, capping a seven-year voyage through the Solar System to bring home samples for eager scientists seeking clues about the origins of life.…
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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe delivers sample of asteroid — and moves on to next target
Lockheed Martin system safety engineer Victoria Theim checks out the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule after its Utah desert landing. (NASA Photo / Keegan Barber) Seven years and 4 billion miles after its launch, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully dropped off a capsule containing a precious sample of one near-Earth asteroid — and is now on…
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NASA’s asteroid sampling mission is on course for landing this weekend
A NASA spacecraft will complete a round-trip journey to an asteroid this weekend, returning to Earth after a seven-year voyage to bring back unspoiled rock specimens from an alien world that could yield insights into the formation of life. The landing Sunday at 8:55 am local time in Utah (10:55 am EDT or 14:55 UTC)…
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Independent reviewers find NASA Mars Sample Return plans are seriously flawed
An independent review of NASA’s ambitious mission to return about half a kilogram of rocks and soil from the surface of Mars has found that the program is unworkable in its current form. NASA had been planning to launch the critical elements of its Mars Sample Return mission, or MSR, as soon as 2028, with…