Tag: NASA

Dream Chaser to Fly First U.N. Space Mission

Dream Chaser to Fly First U.N. Space Mission

Sierra Nevada Corporation has announced an agreement to conduct the first ever United Nations sponsored space mission, which it plans to launch in 2021 using the Dream Chaser space plane. The flight, for which SNC and the U.N. are seeking sponsors, will be aimed at making space research opportunities available to non space-faring nations, many […]

NASA: Ocean World Europa Is Almost Certainly Venting Water Plumes into Space

NASA: Ocean World Europa Is Almost Certainly Venting Water Plumes into Space

NASA today announced further evidence supporting the existence of plumes erupting from the global salt water ocean which is believed to exist on Jupiter’s moon Europa. The discovery is based on a series of observations in the extreme ultra-violet end of the visible light spectrum as Europa passed in front of Jupiter during its the […]

Posted in: Outer Planets
Blue Origin Teases Upcoming In-Flight Abort Test for New Shepard

Blue Origin Teases Upcoming In-Flight Abort Test for New Shepard

In his latest newsletter, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos teases an upcoming in-flight escape test of the New Shepard capsule aboard the similarly named booster. While there is not an announced date, Bezos says it will take place in early October, and will be broadcast for your “viewing pleasure.” The test, which is described in […]

Posted in: Blue Origin
NASA Counting Down to Asteroid Mission Launch on Thursday Evening

NASA Counting Down to Asteroid Mission Launch on Thursday Evening

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is counting down to the launch of yet another ground breaking (in this case, literally) spacecraft, from Cape Canaveral. Flying aboard the ever-reliable ULA Atlas-V in its 411 configuration, the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer, or Osiris-REx, will journey to the Near Earth asteroid Bennu, where it will collect and […]

Posted in: Asteroids, NASA
A Potential Russian Reduction in ISS Could Imperil U.S. Commercial Progress

A Potential Russian Reduction in ISS Could Imperil U.S. Commercial Progress

Today, two NASA astronauts on the International Space Station installed the International Docking Adapter which was carried to orbit in the trunk of the SpaceX CRS-9 Dragon capsule. With the first of two IDA’s now in place, the Station will be ready to receive U.S. Commercial Crew missions, which could begin with a test flight […]

NASA Selects Selects Six Deep Space Habitat Proposals for Ground Development

NASA Selects Selects Six Deep Space Habitat Proposals for Ground Development

NASA has chosen six companies for further evaluation of potential deep space habitat modules as part of the agency’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships initiative. The selected companies are: Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas Boeing of Pasadena, Texas Lockheed Martin of Denver Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems of Louisville, […]

Posted in: NASA, Space Stations
ISS and the Future of Commercial Operations in Low Earth Orbit

ISS and the Future of Commercial Operations in Low Earth Orbit

NASA recently released a new video timed to coincide with the premier of Star Trek: Beyond. For dedicated fans of TOS, the title, “On the Edge of Forever” is a bit perplexing given the fact that it is about the Space Station, not a “City on the Edge of Forever,” and Joan Collins is nowhere […]

Dream Chaser Set to Begin Test Flights Soon

Dream Chaser Set to Begin Test Flights Soon

Sierra Nevada Corporation has announced that it is preparing to ship its Dream Chaser test article to California for a renewed round of flight tests as it works towards a 2019 debut under NASA’s CRS-2 resupply contract. SNC’s press release, included below, highlights the fact that the flight test article will include components and systems of […]

SpaceX Receives Second Order for Commercial Crew Launch to ISS

SpaceX Receives Second Order for Commercial Crew Launch to ISS

Kennedy Space Center News Release July 29, 2016 RELEASE 16-080 NASA Orders Second SpaceX Crew Mission to International Space Station NASA took another important step Friday in returning U.S. astronaut launches from U.S. soil with the order of a second post-certification mission from commercial provider SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. Commercial crew flights from Florida’s Space […]

Posted in: NASA, SpaceX
Discovering Ceres: Where Are All the Large Craters?

Discovering Ceres: Where Are All the Large Craters?

One of the many surprising discoveries made by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft in orbit over Ceres is that the dwarf planet has fewer large craters than might ordinarily be expected. As the largest target in the shooting gallery which is the main asteroid belt where Ceres resides, it should be bear the scars of numerous large […]

Posted in: Uncategorized
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