Tag: NASA

NASA Says SLS Megarocket Performed as Planned in First-Ever Launch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPACE reports that NASA officials said the agency’s “Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket hit all of its marks during its first-ever liftoff two weeks ago.” The Nov. 16 launch “kicked off NASA’s highly anticipated Artemis 1 mission, sending an uncrewed Orion capsule on a nearly 26-day trek to the moon and back. The SLS appeared to perform exactly as planned during the liftoff, and further analyses support those initial impressions, NASA officials announced on Wednesday.” Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said in a statement, “The first launch of the Space Launch System rocket was simply eye-watering. … While our mission with Orion is still underway and we continue to learn over the course of our flight, the rocket’s systems performed as designed and as expected in every case.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Helium Leak Presents No Safety Threat to Boeing’s Starliner Capsule According to NASA

CBS News reports that engineers are confident the leak will not worsen in flight, and even if it does, the Starliner can safely launch June 1. The article cites Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, who said that “even if a suspect shirt-button-size rubber seal in the plumbing leading to one specific thruster failed completely in flight — resulting in a leak rate 100 times worse than what’s been observed to date — the Starliner could still fly safely.”
Full Story (CBS News)

Boeing to Launch First Crewed Test Flight Tonight

The Washington Post reports, “A decade after NASA awarded Boeing a contract to fly astronauts to the ISS, Boeing will finally attempt to fly its Starliner spacecraft with people onboard. If all goes to plan, at 10:34 p.m. on Monday, the company is set to fly a pair of veteran astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, on a mission that will be one of the most significant tests for Boeing’s space division — and for NASA — in years.”
Full Story (Washington Post)

Boeing Starliner Crewed Test Flight Passes Critical Review

Space News reports, “The first crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is a step closer to launch after completing a major pre-launch review April 25. NASA announced at an April 25 briefing that, at the completion of the two-day Flight Test Readiness Review, officials approved plans to proceed with the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, with a launch scheduled for 10:34 p.m. Eastern May 6 from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Ready to ‘Touch the Sun’

The Washington Post reports that a risky NASA mission is about to send a spacecraft hurtling practically within spitting distance of the sun. The Parker Solar Probe is designed to “touch the sun,” as NASA puts it. On Dec. 24 the probewill make its closest pass, coming within 3.8 million miles of the surface, having been accelerated by gravity to more than 430,000 miles per hour.
Full Story (Washington Post – Subscription Publication)

AIAA Congratulates SpaceX and NASA on Successful Crew-1 Launch

Reston, Va. (November 16, 2020) — The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates SpaceX, its aerospace industry suppliers, NASA and all those who supported the Crew-1 mission for the successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the recovery of its booster rockets.

“Last night we witnessed the next step toward flying humans regularly to space from American soil on American rockets,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “We are all inspired by the journey NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are taking.”

“Missions like this continue to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station, which is key to building our off-world future,” Dumbacher concluded.

AIAA is the world’s largest and most influential aerospace technical society, and our members have been involved in nearly every advancement in modern U.S. aerospace – including the NASA Commercial Crew program.

Will China Beat US in Race to Return Mars Samples to Earth?

SPACE reports, “It appears that China has moved up its agenda for bringing Mars samples to Earth, and aims to do so before the U.S. achieves this same goal. NASA’s Mars sample return plan, a joint effort with the European Space Agency (ESA), continues to be scrutinized. A newly launched strategy review team will advise agency leadership about what to do now and offer recommendations by year’s end, or early next year.”
Full Story (SPACE)

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures Stunning View of Big Mars Crater

SPACE reports, “NASA’s Perseverance rover took a break from its Mars mountaineering expedition recently to survey its old stomping grounds. The car-sized Perseverance landed on the floor of the 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer-wide) Jezero Crater in February 2021 to hunt for signs of past Mars life and collect dozens of samples for future return to Earth.
Full Story (SPACE)

NASA Determines Cause for Orion Heat Shield Charring

Aviation Week reports, “NASA says it has determined why its Orion spacecraft returned from its 25-day Artemis I flight test around the Moon with unexpected charring in its heat shield. Agency officials, however, declined to release its findings, pending ongoing internal discussions about next steps.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Intelsat’s IS-33e Satellite a ‘Total Loss’ After Breaking Up in Orbit

Via Satellite reports, “Intelsat confirmed on Monday the Intelsat-33e satellite is a “total loss” after a recent anomaly. Intelsat first reported a service outage on the satellite on Oct. 19. U.S. Space Forces-Space (S4S) on Saturday confirmed the satellite broke up in orbit. S4S is currently tracking 20 pieces of debris while conducting ongoing analysis and reported no immediate threats.”
Full Story (Via Satellite)

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Eutelsat Satellites from California

Reuters reports, “Eutelsat, the world’s third-biggest satellite operator by revenue, launched 20 satellites for its communications network on Sunday, using Elon Musk’s SpaceX in its first move since the merger of two European companies last year. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off with Eutelsat satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 0513 GMT. ‘This is the first OneWeb launch of the satellites since the merger,’ CEO Eva Berneke told Reuters in an interview. ‘We will be launching more satellites over the coming years.’”
Full Story (Reuters)

Video

NASA’s Europa Clipper Launch (Launch at 1:06:40 mark)
(NASA; YouTube)

NASA Looking at Options for Continuous Human Presence in LEO After ISS

Space News reports, “NASA is rethinking its desire for a ‘continuous human presence’ in low Earth orbit during the transition from the International Space Station to commercial platforms to include options where, at least temporarily, the agency may not always have astronauts in orbit. In a talk at the International Astronautical Congress here Oct. 16 on NASA’s development of a low Earth orbit microgravity strategy, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy mentioned what she called the ‘elephant in the room’ of a desired continuous human presence in LEO. NASA has had astronauts in orbit on the ISS continuously since 2000.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA Launches Europa Clipper Mission to Explore Jupiter’s Moon

Ars Technica reports, “NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, kicking off a $5.2 billion robotic mission to explore one of the most promising locations in the Solar System for finding extraterrestrial life. The Falcon Heavy rocket fired its 27 kerosene-fueled engines and vaulted away from Launch Complex 39A at 12:06 pm EDT (16:06 UTC) Monday. Delayed several days due to Hurricane Milton, which passed through Central Florida late last week, the launch of Europa Clipper signaled the start of a five-and-a-half year journey to Jupiter, where the spacecraft will settle into an orbit taking it repeatedly by one the giant planet’s numerous moons.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
More Info (AIAA Statement)

 

Video

NASA’s Europa Clipper Launch (Launch at 1:06:40 mark)
(NASA; YouTube)

Space Station Cracking Presents “Highest” Risk and Consequence Problem, NASA Confirms

Ars Technica reports, “US space officials do not like to talk about the perils of flying astronauts on the aging International Space Station, elements of which are now more than a quarter of a century old. However, a new report confirms that NASA managers responsible for operating the space station are seriously concerned about a small Russian part of the station, essentially a tunnel that connects a larger module to a docking port, which is leaking. … A new report, published Thursday by NASA’s inspector general, provides details not previously released by the space agency that underline the severity of the problem.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

NASA Turns Off Voyager 2 Instrument to Save Power

AP News reports, “NASA has switched off another scientific instrument on its Voyager 2 spacecraft to save power. The space agency said Tuesday that Voyager 2’s plasma science instrument — designed to measure the flow of charged atoms — was powered down in late September so the spacecraft can keep exploringfor as long as possible, expected into the 2030s.”
Full Story (AP News)