In the latest of what has become a string of incidents, some serious and some minor, for the Russian space program, Roscosmos reported yesterday that a “glitch” with a Soyuz spacecraft attached to the International Space Station resulted in an inadvertent thruster firing. The firing, which took place at 10:27 AM CDT, occurred during a […]
Roscosmos has reported that the stricken M-27M Progress resupply vessel reentered the Earth’s atmosphere overnight. The statement, which is on the agency’s website (in Russian), says that the craft “ceased to exist over the central Pacific Ocean, and that the results of an investigation will be presented no later than May 13th. Further reports in […]
Liftoff of Progress M-27-M / Image Credit Roscosmos A flurry of reports in Russia new media indicate that yesterday’s launch of the Progress M-27-M resupply freighter to the International Space Station has gone awry, and perhaps badly so. Liftoff took place aboard a Soyuz-2.1a booster from the Baikonour Cosmodome in Kazakhstan at 10:09 AM Moscow […]
Image Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation Sierra Nevada Corporation is keeping the “chase” in its Dream Chaser space plane. On March 17th, the company revealed its proposal for an unmanned version of Dream Chaser intended to compete for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2, or CRS-2 contract. Unlike the version put forward under NASA’s Commercial Crew program, […]
One More Time: Dream Chaser / Sierra Nevada Corporation Sierra Nevada Corporation formally introduced the latest variant of its oft proposed but thus far underloved Dream Chaser space plane on Tuesday, March 17th. It is intended to compete for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2, (CRS2) contract to serve the International Space Station. Unlike the manned […]
New media are reporting that an ammonia leak has prompted US astronauts to retreat to the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Update: NASA has made the following statement. Original story from Russian media is below The Expedition 42 crew members are safe and in good shape inside the Russian segment of the International […]
As astronauts aboard the International Space Station begin unloading the SpaceX CRS-5 Dragon supply ship which berthed yesterday, here is a press release from CASIS detailing experiments which were carried aboard. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL. (January 10, 2015) – The most recent series of payloads sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Science in […]
CATS Graphic: Image Credit GSFC When SpaceX made its first launch to ISS in May of 2012 as part of the history making COTS 2/3 mission, the cargo consisted almost entirely of low value, non-essential items, and for obvious reasons. Six launches later, and for the moment the only US spacecraft supplying the ISS in […]
And the Award Goes To… Atlas V! Image Credit : United Launch Alliance When Orbital Sciences Chairman and CEO David W. Thompson told investors during a conference call on November 5th that his company would be awarding at least one, and possibly two Cygnus launches to another supplier in the wake of the Antares launch […]
The first object printed in space is held up by International Space Station Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore. Image Credit NASA This week marked a significant “first” in space, the first ever use of a 3-D printer to manufacture an object in zero-G. With 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing sweeping the industrial world, it […]
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