“Weird Science”: Remembering STS-46, Thirty Years On

On this day, 30yrs ago, the crew of shuttle Atlantis began a mission like no other. In the words of STS-46's Marsha Ivins, theirs was a mission of "Weird Science". The post “Weird Science”: Remembering STS-46, Thirty Years On first appeared on AmericaSpace. from AmericaSpace https://ift.tt/c3XtwZV via World Space In...

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South Korean spacecraft fueled for ride from Cape Canaveral to the moon

The Korea Lunar Pathfinder Orbiter spacecraft undergoing testing in South Korea before shipment to Florida for launch preparations. Credit: KARI A South Korean spacecraft set for launch to the moon next week from Cape Canaveral has been loaded with the fuel it needs to maneuver into a low-altitude lunar orbit for image-taking and scientific observations. The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, or KPLO, spacecraft is set for launch at 7:08 p.m. EDT...

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Masten Space Systems, a NASA moon landing contractor, files for bankruptcy

A prototype vertical takeoff/vertical landing demonstrator undergoing testing at Masten Space Systems. Credit: Masten Space Systems Masten Space Systems, a private California company focused on developing lunar and planetary landing vehicles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday after recent layoffs and funding problems. Founded in 2004, Masten won a contract with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program in April 2020 to...

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Large Chinese rocket booster expected to fall back to Earth today

This map shows the ground track of the Long March 5B core stage during the two-hour re-entry window as of Saturday morning. The re-entry and debris footprint could occur anywhere along the track. Credit: Aerospace Corp. The 22-ton core stage of a Chinese rocket is expected to fall back to Earth some time Saturday, the third time in two years China has allowed such a large booster to re-enter the atmosphere uncontrolled. The unguided re-entry poses...

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NASA taps Draper for first U.S. landing on far side of the moon

An illustration of Draper’s SERIES-2 lunar lander, which will deliver science and technology payloads to the moon for NASA in 2025. Credit: Draper NASA has awarded Draper a $73 million contract to deliver science instruments to the far side of the moon on a commercial robotic lander in 2025, the eighth award through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Officials with the companies flying the first two CLPS missions, Astrobotic...

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OneWeb to merge with Eutelsat, needs five more launches to complete network

File photo of 36 OneWeb satellites stacked on a Soyuz rocket’s Fregat upper stage inside a processing facility at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Credit: Roscosmos OneWeb and Eutelsat announced plans to merge Tuesday, bringing together OneWeb’s network of internet satellites in low Earth orbit with Eutelsat’s fleet of larger video, data relay, and broadband platforms in geostationary orbit. OneWeb’s chairman also said Tuesday the company is on track...

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Russia says it will pull out of space station project after 2024

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION A Russian Progress cargo freighter approaches the International Space Station in the background, while a Soyuz crew ferry spacecraft is docked to the Prichal module on the Russian segment of the complex. Credit: NASA Russia will pull out of the International Space Station project after 2024, the new director of the Russian space program said Tuesday, but no firm dates or plans were...

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Comment on SpaceX Launches Third Falcon 9 in 36 Hours, as Multi-Mission June Continues by Elon Musk’s Twitter chaos is consuming SpaceX too – The Verge – Best Soundcloud Rappers 2019

[…] also the US military, though, unlike NASA, the military has options. Just last weekend, SpaceX launched a communications satellite called Globalstar-2, but satellite trackers believe the mission also carried covert payloads, which […] from Comments for AmericaSpace https://ift.tt/dtvWZjh via World Space In...

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SpaceX’s next crew launch delayed by booster damage

A Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft launched April 8 on the Ax-1 commercial crew mission for Axiom Space. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX and NASA have delayed the launch of the next U.S. crew flight to the International Space Station from early September to no earlier than Sept. 29, allowing time for ground teams to replace an interstage on the mission’s new Falcon 9 booster after it was damaged during transport. The Falcon 9 booster stage, riding...

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Wentian science module docks with China’s space station

This illustration shows the configuration of the Tiangong space station after docking of the Wentian module (left) to the Tianhe core module (right). A Shenzhou crew spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo ship are also docked at the station. Credit: China Manned Space Agency China’s Tiangong space station received a new room Sunday with the docking of the Wentian laboratory module, a half-day after launching on a heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket. The three-person...

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SpaceX launches sixth mission in 17 days

SpaceX’s 33rd mission of the year lifted off Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography Continuing a record-breaking launch cadence, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket aloft Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with 53 more satellites for the company’s Starlink internet network, the sixth Falcon 9 launch in 17 days and 33rd overall this year. The launch Sunday was the...

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Comment on SpaceX Launches 25th Dragon Cargo Mission, Heads for Saturday ISS Docking by Crew-5 Targets 29 September Launch, Second Flight for Dragon Endurance - isbiu news media

[…] did not come a moment too soon. In remarks delivered before 14 July’s launch of the CRS-25 cargo mission, Deputy ISS Program Manager Dana Weigel remarked that a decision on integrated crewing had to be […] from Comments for AmericaSpace https://ift.tt/BqjXM8e via World Space In...

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Comment on OFT-2 Returns Safely Home, Completing Successful ISS Mission by Crew-5 Targets 29 September Launch, Second Flight for Dragon Endurance - isbiu news media

[…] Orbital Flight Test (OFT-1) in December 2019 was followed by a lengthy NASA/Boeing investigation and a second OFT last May. That correspondingly extended Mann and Cassada’s wait for their first flight into […] from Comments for AmericaSpace https://ift.tt/1lRJYmb via World Space In...

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Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket set to launch SpaceX’s next Starlink mission

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starlink 4-25 mission will launch SpaceX’s next batch of 53 Starlink broadband satellites. Follow us on Twitter. SFN Live  SpaceX plans to send another cluster of 53 Starlink internet satellites in orbit Sunday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, the company’s 33rd mission of the year and sixth launch...

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Watch live: New science lab for China’s space station poised for launch Sunday

EDITOR’S NOTE: The English-language live broadcast of the Wentian module’s launch is embedded on this page. The video feed comes from China’s CGTN television network.  China’s heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket was fueled for launch early Sunday with the second major element of the Chinese Tiangong space station, adding a new working compartment for the three astronauts living on the orbiting research lab. The Wentian lab module is buttoned...

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