Posts Tagged ‘NASA’
SpaceX surpasses its 50th astronaut launched to space
SpaceX launched its Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station, surpassing 50 humans sent to space by the company. This is the first spaceflight for spacecraft commander Matthew Dominick and specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin. However, it is pilot Michael Barratt’s third voyage into orbit.
Read MoreLaunch records topple in 2024 with busiest January of space age
Averaging a liftoff every 33 hours and 49 minutes, January’s 22 successful launches to space marked the busiest start to a year since the Space Age dawned in 1957, and put the globe on track for 259 launches in 2024, which would easily eclipse records set in 2023, according to a Space Foundation database.
Read MoreFinal flight of NASA’s remarkable Mars helicopter ends with rotor damage
Rotor damage suffered during a routine Jan. 18 flight grounded the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, after three years exceeding expectations and setting milestones for powered flight on another planet alongside the Perseverance rover, ending the aircraft’s remarkable mission, NASA announced Thursday.
Read MoreFacing safety, budget concerns, NASA delays Artemis moon missions
With budget cuts on the horizon and technical hurdles to vault before astronauts return to the Moon, NASA pushed the brakes on its Artemis program launch schedule Tuesday, delaying a planned lunar fly-by mission into 2025 and its planned landing into 2026. The agency cited safety concerns for the delay, including an ongoing investigation into problems with a heatshield, which was damaged when the uncrewed Artemis I capsule re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after a 2022 test flight. The move also comes as congressional negotiators mull slimming the agency’s budget by more than $500 million from its 2023, and $2.2 billion short of NASA’s 2024 budget request.
Read MoreWith maiden flight, ULA’s Vulcan joins 2024’s stampede to space
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan launch vehicle successfully roared aloft Monday on its maiden flight from Florida, carrying lunar payloads and keeping up a blistering pace of spaceflight that could drive 2024 past annual records for payloads sent to space and launches set in 2023. The first eight days of 2024 have seen four launches from the United States, including three by SpaceX, along with missions to orbit from India and China.
Read MoreSecond Starship test flies higher before failure
With 33 Raptor engines belching flame, SpaceX’s Starship demonstrated the full power of its main booster, reaching an altitude of 91 miles before the second uncrewed attempt to launch the massive rocket from Boca Chica, Texas, ended when the second stage apparently failed.
Read MoreNew Lockheed Martin orders spur race for nuclear propulsion in space
The Defense Department is taking a closer look at powering spacecraft with next-generation nuclear reactors with a pair of programs announced in recent months that test rival methods to unlock the potential fission-powered spaceflight.
Read MoreSenate approves bill to limit space debris amid budget battles
A measure aimed at reducing space debris has passed the U.S. Senate with unanimous support and is headed to the House floor. The Orbits Act would require NASA to establish a pilot program for clearing debris from orbit, and orders tighter regulations to limit space junk.
Read MoreESA: satellite finds young trees better at consuming atmospheric carbon
In a discovery that upends conventional wisdom, the European Space Agency revealed a study Thursday that shows old-growth forests are outclassed by younger trees when it comes to capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
Read MoreOSIRIS-REx delivers asteroid sample after seven years in space
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned a sample from the asteroid Bennu, which could help scientists better understand the formation of the solar system. After more than a decade of planning and seven years of space flight traversing more than 1 billion miles, a sample from the asteroid Bennu safely landed on Earth.
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