Tag: ISS

NASA to Evaluate Astronaut Launch Schedule In Wake of SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Failure

SPACE reports, “NASA is waiting to see if there will be “schedule impacts” for its next astronaut mission aboard SpaceX after a rocket failure last week, the agency said in a recent statement. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket had a rare anomaly during a Starlink satellite launch on Thursday (July 11). The second stage on the rocket failed to work as planned, stranding the broadband satellites in an unusual orbit. As SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigate why this occurred, an International Space Station (ISS) mission is under scrutiny.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

Video

SpaceX Experiences Engine Failure In Flight
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)

Opinion: “Transferring the International Space Station into the Future”

In an op-ed in Space News, Jean-Jacques Dordain and Michael Griffin suggest that when it’s time to retire the ISS, it should be moved to higher orbit, so that it may one day be made useful again, rather than incinerated. They write, “As lifelong space professionals who have worked together from different positions in ESA and NASA on the redesign, assembly and operation of the ISS, we fully share the objective to cease ISS operations at the end of the decade, but we believe that destroying it would be a pointless loss for the future.”
Full Story (Space News)

Boeing Starliner Docks with Space Station

The Washington Post reports, “Boeing’s Starliner capsule, carrying a pair of NASA astronauts, docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, completing the first leg of an important test flight after several of its thrusters went offline, forcing a dramatic, last-minute scramble to troubleshoot the issue.”
Full Story (The Washington Post)

Opinion: After the ISS, America Must Continue to Lead in LEO, Cislunar to Maintain Supremacy

Space News reports, “As the International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its service life and the United States commercial space industry continues to push past old technological boundaries, America needs new orbital destinations to remain the world’s leader in space. Low-Earth orbit, or LEO, is of tremendous strategic significance. It is not only where a fast-growing number of satellites operate, but it is also where humans have lived and worked continuously on the ISS since 2000.”
Full Story (Space News)

Sierra Space Prepares Dream Chaser for Pre-launch Trek to KSC

Spaceflight Now reports, “Sierra Space is getting one step closer to finally seeing its Dream Chaser spaceplane reach the launch pad. The spacecraft completed its environmental testing at NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility last week … Sierra Space is now preparing to load up Dream Chaser and Shooting Star for shipment down to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Once it arrives, teams will finish adding the thermal protection tiles and perform additional checkouts, like acoustic testing.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Finish Line for Dream Chaser Now in Sight

Ars Techica reports, “There is still some work to do to prepare Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane for its first mission, but the company says the winged resupply craft for the ISS will soon ship to its launch site in Florida. The Dream Chaser will take off on top of a ULA Vulcan rocket to head for the space station. A spokesperson for Sierra Space told Ars the spaceplane’s launch is scheduled for the third or fourth quarter of this year.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

US Space Force Turns to Commercial Satellites to Meet Demand for Global Insights

Space News reports, “A U.S. Space Force online marketplace that taps into commercial satellite data has executed around $8 million worth of contracts over the past four months. About 25 defense, intelligence, and civilian federal agencies are now buying data and analytic services from the Space Force-run marketplace, said Col. Richard Kniseley, senior materiel leader of the Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office.”
Full Story (Space News)

Russia Launches One-man, Two-woman Crew to Space Station

CBS News reports, “Two days after a rare last-second launch abort, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off Saturday on a flight to the International Space Station, carrying two short-duration crew members and a NASA astronaut bound for a six-month tour of duty.” The Soyuz is expected to catch up with the space station Monday, “moving in for docking at a port on the station’s Earth-facing Prichal module at 11:09 a.m. local time.”
Full Story (CBS News)

SpaceX’s Crew-8 Dragon Capsule Arrives at ISS

SPACE reports, “SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronaut mission arrived at the International Space Station early Tuesday morning (March 5).”  The Dragon capsule docked with the orbiting outpost at 2:28 a.m. EST, as the station soared “above the central North Atlantic just east of New Foundland at the time.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

Video

SpaceX/NASA – SpaceX Crew 8 – Rendezvous & Docking ISS – March 5, 2024
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)