SpaceX launches record 143 satellites into polar orbit
A recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 soared to orbit Sunday morning with a record-setting number of small satellites in a single flight on their first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Program mission dubbed Transporter-1, also flying on a rare southern trajectory from Florida’s Spaceport. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-1 rideshare mission carrying a total of 143 SmallSats …
Curiosity celebrates 3,000 days since landing on Mars
The view from Mars on Sol 3,000 – simply spectacular !!! As she snapped a dramatic new self portrait backdropped by alien scenery from the Red Planet NASA’s groundbreaking Curiosity rover is celebrating 3,000 Sols, or Martian days, of exploration on the Red Planet since she touched down on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012 inside …
China’s Chang’e-5 returns first lunar rock samples since 1976
China’s ambitious Chang’e-5 Moon landing probe successfully brought back over 1.7 kilograms (3.8 pounds) of soil and rock samples gathered from the lunar surface, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which operated the groundbreaking mission. “Chang’e-5 probe retrieved about 1,731 grams of samples from the Moon, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). …
Japan’s Hayabusa2 brings back dust and rock samples from asteroid
Japanese space scientists are positively gleeful as they have now confirmed that their ambitious Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully collected over 5 grams of pristine black as coal soil and rock samples gathered from the ancient near-earth asteroid Ryugu in a re-entry capsule that parachuted safely to Earth earlier this month after a six-year roundtrip scientific journey …
Hubble captures new storm barreling across Jupiter
A spectacular new image of Jupiter was taken last month by NASA’s iconic Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which celebrated its 30th year of operation during 2020. The image unveils never-before-seen detail, including a newly formed giant white-colored turbulent storm swirling at over 300 mph in the northern latitudes as our solar system’s largest planet was …
Boeing Starliner orbital test flight to ISS targeted for December
As the Boeing team continues to implement hardware and software changes recommended by the joint review team, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is targeting December for the launch of a second uncrewed test flight of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. “The Commercial Crew Program currently is targeting no earlier than December …
Blue Origin-led team delivers lunar lander mockup to NASA
The Blue Origin National Team of four US aerospace companies has delivered a full-scale engineering mockup of their proposed human lunar lander to NASA’s Johnson Space Center as part of NASA’s ambitious Artemis Moon program to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024. The Artemis Human Landing System (HLS) lander has been set up …
SpaceX launch of Crew-1 mission set for Oct. 23
NASA is targeting no earlier than Oct. 23 for the first operational flight of the commercial SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with astronauts launched by a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program – following the recent conclusion of the historic Demo-2 test flight to the station …
SpaceX Crew Dragon pinpoints first-ever splashdown in Gulf of Mexico
After two action-packed months in Earth orbit two NASA astronauts splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico today, Sunday, Aug. 2, inside their SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship on the history-making first human spaceflight launch from US soil in nine years and the first-ever commercially built and operated human space mission. Returning from the International …
10 Days in July: Trio of nations launch separate missions to Mars
Across a brief 10-day period covering mid to late July, the United Arab Emirates, China, and the United States each launched their own mission to explore Mars. For the UAE and China, it is their first solo attempt to reach the Red Planet, whereas the U.S. is continuing to build upon a legacy of success …