Tag: First Time

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Astronauts Splash Down Ending Historic Mission

SPACE reports, “Polaris Dawn, the historic SpaceX astronaut mission — which conducted the first-ever private spacewalk, among other achievements — returned to Earth today (Sept. 15), splashing down safely in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida at 3:36 a.m. EDT (0736 GMT). ‘Polaris Dawn we are mission complete. Thanks for all the big help pulling this mission together,’ said mission commander Jared Isaacman after the crew splashed down in the ocean.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

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SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico (Splash down at 08:43)
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

SpaceX Sets New Launch Record at Vandenberg with Thursday’s Falcon 9 Launch

Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on a Thursday night Falcon 9 launch from California. The Falcon 9 rocket launch set a new record for Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the first time that 31 orbital missions have taken off in a calendar year. Thirty of those launches were from SpaceX and one was from Firefly Aerospace.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA (Launch at 27:21)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

NASA’s Lucy Probe to Fire Engines in Space for First Time

SPACE reports that NASA’s asteroid-hopping Lucy mission “is finally getting fired up in space for its trip to the never-before-explored Trojan asteroids, which follow Jupiter as it orbits the sun.” On Wednesday (Jan. 31), the Lucy spacecraft “will fire its main engines off-Earth for the first time since its launch in Aug. 2021.” The firing of Lucy’s main engines “will see the spacecraft burn through around half of its onboard fuel.” This will be “followed by a second, larger maneuver, which NASA says is currently set for Saturday (Feb. 3).” The aim “of these two early 2024 operations is to change Lucy’s velocity by around 2,000 miles per hour (3,217 kilometers per hour).”
Full Story (SPACE)

Boeing Flies Upgraded AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopter for First Time

Defense News reports Boeing announced at the AUSA conference that it has “flown a new version of the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter with upgraded capabilities.” Boeing said in a statement that the “Version 6.5 attack helicopter, which Boeing went under contract to produce with the U.S. Army in December 2021, includes software updates and improvements to the pilot interface.” According to Boeing, “some upgrades are an optimized route and attack planning capability, enhanced Link 16 features, and an open-systems architecture that will allow for easy technology insertion later on.” 
Full Story (Defense News)

NASA’s Artemis II Astronauts Head to Launch Pad for First Time

Florida Today reports that on Wednesday, the four person crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission “had a first chance to practice what their launch day will feel like.” In what is “called a dry dress rehearsal, the astronauts got suited up and took their new electric crew transportation vehicles for a spin to the launch pad.” Since the mission’s SLS rocket “is still in production at other NASA facilities nationwide, Wednesday’s practice run focused on preparing ground team support of the crew.” Slated to “launch from KSC as early as November of next year, Artemis II – the first lunar human spaceflight mission since 1972 – will send the four crew members on a trip around the moon and back deeper into space than any mission ever before.” This week’s launch day rehearsal “marked only the second time the prime crew of the Artemis II lunar mission has traveled to KSC since being announced in April.”
Full Story (Florida Today – Subscription Publication)

Sierra Space Powers Up Dream Chaser in its Assembly Facility for First Time

Space News reports Sierra Space announced May 31 that it has powered up its Dream Chaser spaceplane “in its assembly facility for the first time [in a key test], feeding electrical power into the vehicle that, in space, would be generated by its solar panels and turning on flight computers and other components.” Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice said in a statement that “this is a milestone that points to the future and is a key moment in a long journey for Dream Chaser.” According to Space News, the “test comes as the company prepares to ship the first Dream Chaser, called Tenacity, to NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio, the former Plum Brook Station. There, the spacecraft will go through thermal vacuum tests before shipping to Cape Canaveral for final launch preparations.”
Full Story (Space News)

A380 Flies for the First Time on 100% SAF

Aviation International News reports that Airbus, “for the first time, has performed an A380 flight powered by 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in one of its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, the company said Monday. A380 test aircraft MSN 1 took off from Blagnac Airport in Toulouse, France, at 8:43 am on Friday, remaining in the air for about three hours” on Friday.
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Boeing Positive on T-7 Potential

Air Force Times reported that Boeing Company officials are confident that the “high-tech methods Boeing used to design and build the T-7 are saving time, simplifying processes, improving quality and cutting down on defects.” Boeing Vice President and T-7 Program Manager Paul Niewald said, “Everything’s in 3D, everything’s digital. It’s an authoritative source of data. So our technical publications, our flight manuals, our service manuals, they all use the same data that the engineers are using, that our mechanics are using to build the airplane.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)

Airline Industry Warns 5G Could Disrupt Air Travel

CNET News reports airline industry executives “say that if US wireless carriers push forward with plans to begin deploying a specific type of 5G service early next year in spite of interference concerns brought to light by the Federal Aviation Administration, travelers could see delays and other disruptions in air travel starting Jan. 5.”
Full Story (CNET News)