SS United States Bound for Florida: It’s a “Done Deal”

SS United States Bound for Florida: It’s a “Done Deal”

October 17, 2024Posted inFlorida News, Florida Wildlife
Workers prepare the iconic SS United States for its final journey from Pennsylvania to Florida. Photo: SSUSC
Workers prepare the iconic SS United States for its final journey from Pennsylvania to Florida. Photo: SSUSC

Iconic Ocean Liner to Become World’s Largest Artificial Reef

In September, FMN reported on an ambitious plan to bring the SS United States to Florida as an artificial reef. At the time, the move seemed almost a certainty, and after one final legal challenge, it has become a reality. The SS United States, a symbol of maritime innovation and American excellence since its 1951 launch, is set to begin its final journey—not across the Atlantic, but toward an extraordinary new life beneath the waves. In a quiet ceremony on October 12, 2024, the SS United States Conservancy transferred ownership of the ship to Okaloosa County, Florida, marking the end of a long and contentious legal battle over the vessel’s future.

Axiom Space Unveils New Lunar Spacesuit

Axiom Space Unveils New Lunar Spacesuit

October 16, 2024Posted inArtemis, Aviation and Space News, Axiom Space, NASA, Space News
Axiom’s AxEMU Lunar EVA Suit Photo: Axiom Space

Houston-based Axiom Space unveiled the flight design of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit for the first time today at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. This new suit is a critical part of the Artemis program — it is what the Artemis astronauts will don to walk on the lunar surface.

Prada, the Italian fashion house, partnered with Axiom to design and construct the AxEMU suit.

NASA Releases 2025 Commercial Crew Plan

NASA Releases 2025 Commercial Crew Plan

October 16, 2024Posted inBoeing, Crewed, Falcon 9, ISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX, Starliner
Commercial crew astronauts, from left, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, pose for a photo in their Dragon spacesuits during a fit check aboard the International Space Station’s Harmony module on April 21, 2022.
Photo: NASA

NASA’s Commercial Crew office released its high-level plan for 2025 today. It has few surprises, with two SpaceX Commercial Crew missions, and offers the slightest of updates for Boeing’s Starliner program and holds out the possibility of a Starliner flight next year.

SpaceX Launches ESA Hera Towards Asteroid System Didymos

SpaceX Launches ESA Hera Towards Asteroid System Didymos

October 7, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, ESA, Falcon 9, NASA, Space News, SpaceX, US Space Force
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off carrying the Hera probe on October 7, 2024 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

Ever the masters of threading the weather needle, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 on its way to orbit and the Hera probe on its way to the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted by NASA’s DART probe on September 26, 2022.

Launch Preview: SpaceX, ESA Planning To Launch Hera Mission Aboard Falcon 9 Monday Morning

Launch Preview: SpaceX, ESA Planning To Launch Hera Mission Aboard Falcon 9 Monday Morning

October 6, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, FAA, Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, US Space Force
Falcon 9 on the launch mount at Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral in August 2024.
Photo: Charle Boyer / Florida Media Now
FAA clears one-off license for Falcon 9 for this launch only

SpaceX and the European Space Agency are planning to launch ESA’s Hera probe from Space Launch Complex 40 on Monday, October 7th. The launch window extends from 10:52 AM – 11:27 AM EDT.

ULA Vulcan Cert 2 Flight Encounters “Off Nominal” SRB During Launch

ULA Vulcan Cert 2 Flight Encounters “Off Nominal” SRB During Launch

October 4, 2024Posted inSpace News, United Launch Alliance, Vulcan
Debris from the left SRB nozzle is visible in this "engine shot" by Chris Leymarie / FMN
Debris from the left SRB nozzle is visible in this “engine shot” by Chris Leymarie / FMN

United Launch Alliances’s CERT-2 flight launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:25 AM EDT this morning. Almost immediately from the point of launch, observers noticed that something didn’t look quite right as Vulcan booster rose from the pad.