Tag: Polaris Dawn
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Former SpaceX astronaut discusses training as a NASA astronaut candidate
Training is underway for NASA’s newest class of astronaut candidates at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. The nearly two-year long process began this past September for the four men and six women of Astronaut Group 24. One of those ‘ASCAN’s, as they’re known, is Anna Menon, who previously flew on the SpaceX Polaris Dawn…
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Jared Isaacman nominated as next NASA administrator
Jared Isaacman has been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump of the United States of America to become the next NASA Administrator after Senator Bill Nelson’s term ends. Isaacman is expected to be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of Trump’s upcoming term. Isaacman has a long history in the aerospace industry. He…
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So what are we to make of the highly ambitious, private Polaris spaceflight?
A white spacecraft, lightly toasted like a marshmallow and smelling of singed metal, fell out of the night sky early on Sunday morning and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico not all that far from Key West. The darkened waters there were carefully chosen from among dozens of potential landing spots near Florida. This…
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Polaris Dawn returns home after landmark commercial spaceflight
After a historic mission, the Polaris Dawn mission, flown by Crew Dragon Resilience with private astronauts, has successfully splashed down off the Florida coast. Polaris Dawn, which made history with the highest altitude attained by a crewed spacecraft since 1972, and the first commercial spacewalk, returned to Earth early on Sunday, Sept. 15. The Crew Dragon…
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Rocket Report: China leaps into rocket reuse; 19 people are currently in orbit
Welcome to Edition 7.11 of the Rocket Report! Outside of companies owned by American billionaires, the most imminent advancements in reusable rockets are coming from China’s quasi-commercial launch industry. This industry is no longer nascent. After initially relying on solid-fueled rocket motors apparently derived from Chinese military missiles, China’s privately funded launch firms are testing…
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Polaris Dawn crew gears up for Thursday spacewalk
An artist’s impression of a Polaris Dawn astronaut flowing just outside the Crew Dragon capsule in the first commercial spacewalk. Graphic: SpaceX Billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX crew trainer Sarah Gillis prepared to open the forward hatch of their Polaris Dawn spacecraft early Thursday to take turns floating outside in the first non-government spacewalk in…
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Polaris Dawn crew conduct first commercial spacewalk
Two days into their mission, the Polaris Dawn crew conducted the highlight of their mission on Thursday, with Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis stepping outside Dragon Resilience for the first EVA by commercial astronauts. The spacewalk marks another milestone in the development of the commercial space industry. Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned…
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Polaris Dawn takes to the skies, setting the stage for a daring private spacewalk
A Falcon 9 rocket streaked into the black predawn sky above Florida on Tuesday, carrying four people on the most ambitious private human spaceflight to date. The crew of the Polaris Dawn mission, led by a billionaire pilot named Jared Isaacman, were injected into an orbit intended to reach an apogee of 1,200 km and…
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Launch Roundup: Polaris Dawn, ISS crewed launch headline busy week
This week’s manifest features four Falcon 9 launches, including the highly anticipated Polaris Dawn crewed mission, a mission carrying AST SpaceMobile’s first five cellphone-compatible broadband satellites, and the delayed launch of two more satellites for Europe’s mid-Earth orbit Galileo constellation. Additionally, Roscosmos has launched the Soyuz MS-26 crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS).…
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SpaceX surmounts challenging weather, launches Polaris Dawn astronaut mission
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience separates from the Falcon 9 upper stage, beginning the Polaris Dawn mission on Sept. 10, 2024. Image: SpaceX Update 6:06 a.m. EDT: Crew Dragon Resilience separated from the Falcon 9 upper stage. Despite some challenging weather at the opening of the launch window, SpaceX managed to send the Polaris Dawn…