Spaceflight

The NASA SpaceX Crew-5 mission docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday evening, beginning a six-month stay for NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The mission, which used SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, Endurance, launched from the […]

NASA wrapped up its first-ever planetary defense technology demonstration on Monday evening, crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid with the goal of altering its orbit. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) targeted the asteroid Dimorphos, which measures 530 feet (160 meters) in diameter and orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos. The 1,260-pound (570-kilogram) spacecraft hit […]

NASA has waved off its third attempt at launching the Artemis I uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft. Scheduled for Sept. 27, the launch was postponed due to weather conditions related to the approach of Hurricane Ian, which is currently forecast to make landfall in Florida on Thursday. […]

NASA is considering Sept. 27 for its third attempt to launch the Artemis I uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft. According to the agency, the date, which is still under review, will allow time for a cryogenic demonstration test to be conducted no earlier than Sept. 21 as […]

NASA has signed on with SpaceX for five additional missions to transport crew to the International Space Station (ISS). The missions are a modification to NASA’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract with the company, which originally covered nine missions. The fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract modification is valued at $1.4 billion. “The amount includes ground, launch, […]

NASA’s planned launch of the Artemis I uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft was called off on Monday. According to the agency, the launch was scrubbed after one of the SLS’s four RS-25 engines failed to reach the correct temperature range for liftoff. While a date has not […]

NASA has identified 13 potential landing regions for Artemis III, which is expected to be the first crewed mission to land on the lunar surface since 1972. The regions measure approximately 15 by 15 kilometers (9.3 by 9.3 miles) and are all located within 6 degrees of latitude of the Moon’s South Pole. According to […]

With tensions over the war in Ukraine and economic strains caused by sanctions, Russia announced Tuesday that it will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024. The head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos said the company will instead pursue building its own orbital station. “We will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, […]

NASA has assigned astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams to its Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Wilmore will serve as mission commander and Williams as pilot with Williams taking the place of Nicole Mann, who was reassigned to the SpaceX Crew-5 mission […]

The FAA is requiring SpaceX to take more than 75 actions to mitigate the potential environmental impact of its planned Starship/Super Heavy launch operations in Boca Chica, Texas, the agency announced on Monday. The requirements are the result of a recently completed environmental assessment conducted by the FAA as part of the decision-making process for […]