Tag: Space
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The New Glenn rocket’s second stage set to roll to the launch pad on Monday
Blue Origin plans to enter the final phase of its launch preparations for the New Glenn rocket on Monday by rolling the vehicle’s second stage to Launch Complex 36 in Florida. Pending weather and other final considerations, a rollout could occur as early as Monday afternoon. This is the flight version of the vehicle, with…
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NASA makes a very tough decision in setting final Crew-9 assignments
On Friday NASA publicly announced a decision that has roiled the top levels of the agency’s human spaceflight program for several weeks. The space agency named the two crew members who will launch on a Crew Dragon mission set to lift off no earlier than September 24 to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Nick…
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For the first time in more than three years, SpaceX misses a booster landing
Early on Wednesday morning, at 3:48 am ET local time, a Falcon 9 rocket booster making its 23rd launch took off from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission successfully delivered 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 of the larger vehicles with direct-to-cell capabilities, before attempting a landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas.…
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One of the most adventurous human spaceflights since Apollo may launch tonight
SpaceX is set to launch the 14th crewed flight on its Dragon spacecraft early on Tuesday morning—and it’s an intriguing one. This Polaris Dawn mission, helmed and funded by an entrepreneur and billionaire named Jared Isaacman, is scheduled to lift off at 3:38 am ET (07:38 UTC) on Tuesday from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy…
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NASA not comfortable with Starliner thrusters, so crew will fly home on Dragon
Following weeks of speculation, NASA finally made it official on Saturday: Two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June will not return home on that vehicle. Instead, the agency has asked SpaceX to use its Crew Dragon spacecraft to fly astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to…
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Rocket Report: A ULA sale tidbit; Polaris Dawn mission is on deck
Welcome to Edition 7.08 of the Rocket Report! Lots of news as always, but what I’m most interested in is the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission. If all goes as planned, the flight will break all sorts of ground for commercial spaceflight, including the first-ever private spacewalk. Best of luck to Jared Isaacman and…
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Cards on the table: Are Butch and Suni coming home on Starliner or Crew Dragon?
After months of consideration, NASA said Thursday that it will finally decide the fate of two astronauts on board the International Space Station, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, by this weekend. As soon as Saturday, the two crew members will learn whether they’ll return on a Starliner spacecraft in early September or a Crew Dragon…
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Amazon says it’s devoting another $19.5M to Project Kuiper satellite facility in Florida
Project Kuiper’s satellite processing center is taking shape in Florida. (Amazon Photo) Amazon plans to build a secondary support facility for its Project Kuiper satellite processing center at Kennedy Space Center in Florida — a $19.5 million expansion plan that brings total investment in the site to nearly $140 million. The 42,000-square-foot building will be…
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Against all odds, an asteroid mining company appears to be making headway
When I first spoke with space entrepreneurs Jose Acain and Matt Gialich a little more than two years ago, I wondered whether I would ever talk to them again. That is not meant to be offensive; rather, it is a reflection of the fact that the business they entered into—mining asteroids for platinum and other…
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Russian pensioners urge Vladimir Putin to rescue Starliner astronauts
One of the odder propaganda phenomena in Russia, of late, is seemingly spontaneous groups of elderly Russian pensioners gathering outdoors and espousing some random bit of agitprop. From a Western perspective, these are obviously staged and hilarious to behold. For example, last year a very earnest-looking group of elderly women and a few men urged…