Human Spaceflight
Download NASA’s Space Launch System Info Guide
The Space Launch System Reference Guide was prepared by NASA’s SLS Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama, which has responsibility for the design, development, testing, and engineering of SLS, the new super heavy-lift rocket that will send astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis missions. The first flight …
NASA slates August 29 launch of maiden SLS rocket on Artemis 1 mission
August 29 has been selected by NASA as the launch date for the maiden flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) lunar rocket on the Artemis 1 unpiloted test flight from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. NASA officials earlier determined that the fourth Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) Tanking Test conducted on June 20 was …
Artemis 1 rolls out to Pad 39B for launch rehearsal
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop Launch Complex 39B on March 18, 2022, after the first-ever rollout from the VAB the previous day. Prior to the Artemis 1 flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will undergo a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) …
Star Trek’s William Shatner rides emotional journey to final frontier aboard Blue Origin mission
William Shatner, aka Capt. James T. Kirk of Star Trek, launched to space successfully on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, riding along on an emotional journey to the final frontier as the oldest the human ever. Shatner was invited aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket whose development was financed by billionaire Jeff Bezos …
Inspiration4 mission represents a new type of space tourism
On Sept. 15, 2021, the next batch of space tourists are set to lift off aboard a SpaceX rocket. Organized and funded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the Inspiration4 mission touts itself as “the first all-civilian mission to orbit” and represents a new type of space tourism. The four crew members will not be the first …
Without gravity, what happens to our cells in space?
There’s one force whose effects are so deeply entrenched in our everyday lives that we probably don’t think much about it at all: gravity. Gravity is the force that causes attraction between masses. It’s why when you drop a pen, it falls to the ground. But because gravitational force is proportional to the mass of …
Final SLS Green Run test goes the distance
NASA successfully completed the critical and long-awaited hot fire test of the core stage engines for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) human-rated mega Moon rocket Thursday afternoon, March 18, on a test stand in Mississippi. The rocket stage will now be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center, paving the path for the launch of the …
What medicines should we take to Mars?
Mars has garnered a bunch of headlines recently with the arrival of the first probes from the United Arab Emirates and China in orbit around the planet, along with the arrival of NASA’s Perseverance rover mere days later. It also was a hot topic previously when NASA revealed it had discovered water on the Red …
Getting to sleep in space is hard – and not exactly restful for the mind and body
We’ve learned a lot about the effects on the human body of going into space by studying astronauts such as British astronaut Tim Peake, who spent six months aboard the International Space Station during 2015 and 2016. Muscles wither, bones become lighter just as they do during the process of ageing and the cardiovascular system …
Preparing for surgeries in space and on Mars
Last year, it was reported that an astronaut in space had developed a potentially life-threatening blood clot in the neck. This was successfully treated with medication by doctors on Earth, avoiding surgery. But given that space agencies and private spaceflight companies have committed to landing humans on Mars in the coming decades, we may not …