Tag: NASA

Live Coverage: Crew-11 Scheduled for Launch at 12:09 p.m. EDT

Update 12:16 p.m. EDT
NASA and SpaceX delayed the Crew-11 launch to the ISS at T-minus one minute before liftoff due to weather concerns. The next launch opportunity is scheduled for Friday, August 1, at 11:43 a.m. EDT.

Spaceflight Now reports, “A group of astronauts and a cosmonaut originally slated to fly on other missions are finally getting their ticket to ride. The quartet, led by NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, will head to the International Space Station beginning with a launch scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The SpaceX Crew-11 mission will launch onboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)



 Live Coverage

Crew-11 Scheduled for Launch at 12:09 p.m. EDT
Spaceflight Now; YouTube

‘Skyfall’ Mars Mission Proposes to Drop 6 Scout Helicopters onto Mars

SPACE reports, “AeroVironment of Arlington, Virginia and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory today debuted ‘Skyfall,’ a concept for deploying next-generation Mars helicopters that could help pave the way for human landing on Mars through autonomous aerial exploration.”
Full Story (SPACE)



Video

Skyfall – Future Mission Concept for Next-gen Mars Helicopters and Exploration
(Aerovironment; YouTube)

SpaceX Launches NASA’s TRACERS Mission to Study the Origins of Space Weather

Ars Technica reports, “Two NASA satellites rocketed into orbit from California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday, commencing a $170 million mission to study a phenomenon of space physics that has eluded researchers since the dawn of the Space Age. The twin spacecraft are part of the NASA-funded TRACERS mission, which will spend at least a year measuring plasma conditions in narrow regions of Earth’s magnetic field known as polar cusps.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

NASA, SpaceX Aim for July 31 for Launch of Crew-11 Astronaut Mission

SPACE reports NASA and SpaceX are targeting July 31 for the launch of the four-astronaut Crew-11 mission, which will fly a mix of rookies and spaceflight veterans to the ISS. “The flight, called Crew-11, will lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex-39A (LC-39A), at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending the Crew Dragon Endeavour to low Earth orbit (LEO).”
Full Story (SPACE)

NASA Shares Side-by-Side Views of Spectacular Star Clusters Captured by Webb and Hubble

Ars Technica reports, “NASA has shared side-by-side views of these clusters taken in visible light by the Hubble Space Telescope and in infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope. Hubble’s image captures the glowing, ionized gas as stellar radiation produces what look like bubbles in the clouds of gas and dust, whereas Webb highlights the clumps and delicate filamentary structures of dust.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Reignites Thrusters After Switching to Backup Mode

Ars Technica reports, “A NASA spacecraft bound for an unexplored metal-rich asteroid has reignited its plasma thrusters, continuing its cruise deeper into the Solar System after switching to a backup fuel line. The $1.4 billion Psyche mission, built to explore an asteroid with the same name, has four electric thrusters fueled by xenon gas. Psyche’s solar-electric propulsion system is more fuel-efficient than conventional rocket thrusters, and it works by flowing xenon through an electromagnetic field, which ionizes the gas and expels the ions at high speed to produce thrust.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

NASA Set to Launch Ax-4 Mission to ISS as Soon as June 19

Space News reports, “NASA says a private astronaut mission could launch to the International Space Station as soon as June 19 as it works to understand an air leak on the Russian segment of the station. In a June 14 statement, NASA said it is working with Axiom Space and SpaceX on ‘reviewing launch opportunities’ for the Ax-4 mission, with the earliest such opportunity on June 19.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA Delays Commercial Crew Launch to Inspect Space Station Leaks

The Washington Post reports, “NASA said Thursday it was postponing a launch of private astronauts to the International Space Station while it works with its Russian counterparts to investigate persistent leaks on the orbiting laboratory. In a statement, NASA said that Russian cosmonauts recently sealed ‘some areas of interest’ in a module on the Russia side of the space station. As a result, ‘the segment is holding pressure,’ NASA said. It added that crews also noticed a ‘new pressure signature,’ and need additional time ‘to evaluate the situation and determine whether any additional troubleshooting is necessary.’”
Full Story (Washington Post – Subscription Publication)
More Info (CBS News)

NASA Astronauts Perform 5th All-Female Spacewalk Outside International Space Station

AP News reports, “An astronaut who missed out on the first all-female spacewalk because of a spacesuit sizing issue got her chance six years later on Thursday. NASA’s Anne McClain emerged from the International Space Station alongside Nichole Ayers. Both military officers and pilots, they launched to the orbiting lab in March to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts, who are now back home.”
Full Story (AP News)