The New York Times reports, “On Wednesday, NASA announced the end of a more than 11-year mission aimed at solving a key mystery about Mars: What happened to the air that once made the planet habitable? The NASA spacecraft MAVEN, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, had been orbiting around the Red Planet since 2014. NASA last received a signal from MAVEN on Dec. 6, shortly before the spacecraft passed behind Mars.”
Full Story (New York Times – subscription publication)
Tag: Retires
Virgin Galactic Retires Its Space Tourism Vehicle ‘Unity’ – Plans for Larger Replacement
Flying Magazine reports, “Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space tourism vehicle has been retired after its seventh flight on Saturday, and it will be at least two years before replacement craft are ready.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
US Air Force Retires 17 B-1B Bombers
Air Force Times reported that the US Air Force “finished retiring 17 B-1B Lancer bombers this week, its first step toward divesting the entire fleet within the next two decades.” The US Air Force announced Friday that the 17 bombers left Edwards Air Force Base on Thursday for the aviation graveyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Of the original 100 B-1Bs, 45 are still operational “and are housed at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and Dyess AFB, Texas.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)