Space Flight

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is calling for an investigation into SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s alleged association with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing national security concerns. On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk and Putin have spoken over the phone multiple times since 2022. It said unnamed former government officials from the U.S., Europe […]

The Space Force is taking its X-37B space plane for a high-tech dump run that it’s billing as “groundbreaking innovation as it conducts national security missions in space.” In a rare news release about the hypersecret mission of the X-37B, the Space Force said it will employ aerobraking to rapidly change orbits using the drag […]

SpaceX succeeded with its most audacious feat to date, using mechanical arms deployed from its Texas launch tower to capture and hold the enormous Starship booster a few minutes after it launched a capsule to space. The 250-foot booster hovered above the Boca Chica launch pad before settling into the waiting arms of the tower […]

For the second time in a week, a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral had an anomaly but got the job done on Friday. The Boeing/Lockheed Martin United Launch Alliance Vulcan system launch was the second of two certification flights, and it appears something on the lower end of one of the two solid rocket boosters […]

The FAA announced yesterday (Sept. 17) it has proposed fining SpaceX $633,000 for allegedly failing to adhere to licensing requirements. Elon Musk responded on X (formerly Twitter) that he plans to push back in court. “SpaceX will be filing suit against the FAA for regulatory overreach,” he wrote. Musk’s company is also on the FAA […]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is drawing criticism from both industry stakeholders and members of Congress regarding its handling of commercial space launch licensing During a House space subcommittee hearing this week, industry officials and  lawmakers called out the agency on its implementation of new launch licensing regulations known as Part 450. According to SpaceNews, […]

Technology entrepreneur and space/aviation enthusiast Jared Isaacman launched Tuesday (Sept. 10) on the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. Powered by a Falcon 9 rocket, Polaris Dawn is the first of three privately funded flights. Isaacman is joined by fellow crew members Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a close friend and retired USAF pilot, along with SpaceX engineers Sarah […]

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule suffered a sixth thruster issue and a temporary blip in its guidance system on its way empty from the International Space Station to the New Mexico Desert on Saturday. The capsule is scheduled to launch next August and questions remain about whether it will be crewed. Meanwhile, a week after Boeing […]

NASA confirmed Boeing’s Starliner will undock from the International Space Station and make its return to earth on Friday evening without astronauts onboard. Boeing and NASA expressed confidence that Starliner would not encounter any issues before making a planned parachute landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. However, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch […]

In space no one can hear Starliner pulse anymore. The cause of the strange pulsing noise in one of the speakers on the Boeing crew capsule reported by astronaut Butch Wilmore on Saturday has been found and turned off. “The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station […]