Atlas V Valve Issue Scrubs Starliner; Launch Date Now NET May 17

Atlas V Valve Issue Scrubs Starliner; Launch Date Now NET May 17

May 7, 2024Posted inAtlas V, Aviation and Space News, ISS, NASA, Space News, United Launch Alliance
Atlas V and Starliner sits on Launch Complex 41 Monday night.
Photo: United Launch Alliance

UPDATE: Several sources are now reporting that Starliner will have to be rolled back from the pad with a new launch date NET May 17th.

Cape Canaveral It was all going well until it wasn’t. That’s often the story with launch attempts: tens of thousands of things must work perfectly, perform as planned, and operate normally, and only one thing has to go wrong for the attempt to be called off.

Starliner Calypso Poised To Become NASA’s Second Certified Crew Vehicle Design

Starliner Calypso Poised To Become NASA’s Second Certified Crew Vehicle Design

May 3, 2024Posted inNASA, Space News, United Launch Alliance
The Crew Access Arm enables the astronauts to board the spacecraft. Photo by United Launch Alliance
The Crew Access Arm enables the astronauts to board the spacecraft. Photo by United Launch Alliance

NASA’s Commercial Crew program will take a big step forward on Monday, May 6th with the launch of the Boeing Starliner Calypso’s Crewed Flight Test (CFT-100). Scheduled for a 10:34 PM EDT liftoff, Starliner Calypso will carry its first-ever crew to the ISS on an important test flight. (The spacecraft was named in honor of the research vessel Calypso, used by famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau from 1950-1996.)

SpaceX Planning Starlink 6-55 Launch For Tonight

SpaceX Planning Starlink 6-55 Launch For Tonight

May 2, 2024Posted inFalcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink

Another 23 Starlink satellites are set to be sent to orbit aboard a Falcon 9 this evening from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch window opens at 09:49 PM EDT and extends until 01:17 AM EDT Friday.

If tonight’s planned liftoff does not happen, according to SpaceX, “If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Friday, May 3, starting at 9:03 p.m. ET.”

Axiom Space Tests Lunar EVA Suit At Neutral Buoyancy Lab In Houston

Axiom Space Tests Lunar EVA Suit At Neutral Buoyancy Lab In Houston

April 29, 2024Posted inArtemis, Aviation and Space News, Axiom Space, NASA, Space News
Unoccupied AxEMU lunar EVA suit underwater at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas. Date unknown.
Photo: Axiom Space on X.com

Houston, Texas One of the critical tasks for the upcoming Artemis missions is completing new spacesuits for astronauts to wear while on the lunar surface. The suits are critical, as they must protect astronauts from severe temperatures, the moon’s lack of a meaningful atmosphere, and sharp, jagged lunar regolith. In September 2022, NASA awarded Axiom Space a $228.5 million contract to develop the next-generation spacesuit for the Artemis III mission to the moon. 

Astroscale Japan Catches Up To Space Junk, Will De-Orbit It

Astroscale Japan Catches Up To Space Junk, Will De-Orbit It

April 27, 2024Posted inSpace News
A spent second stage as imaged by Astroscale Japan’s Adras-J spacecraft in April 2024. Photo: Astroscale Japan
A spent second stage as imaged by Astroscale Japan’s Adras-J spacecraft in April 2024.
Photo: Astroscale Japan

In his classic book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” writer Douglas Adams once said that “Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.”

Starliner Flight Test Readiness Review: “Go” For Launch

Starliner Flight Test Readiness Review: “Go” For Launch

April 26, 2024Posted inSpace News, United Launch Alliance
Starliner's second uncrewed flight test launched last year. Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test launched last year. A crewed flight test is scheduled for May 6, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

NASA’s Commercial Crew directorate has announced the results of the Readiness Review for the planned launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner flight test: they are “go” for launch at 10:34 PM EDT on May 6.

SpaceX To Launch Critical Navigation Satellites Saturday Night

April 26, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX
Timing Suggests Possibility of Jellyfish Phenomenon
Model of a Galileo Navigation Satellite.
Model of Galileo Communications Satellite Photo: Wikipedia

SpaceX is set to launch a pair of long-delayed navigation satellites tomorrow night (April 27) at 8:34PM from Pad 39A at KSC. 

The satellites, FM25 and FM27, are being launched aboard a Falcon 9 booster as part of Europe’s MEO Galileo constellation. They will join 26 other satellites that began launching in 2011 to form part of a high-precision navigation system for the European Union. 

Astronauts Wilmore and Williams Arrive At KSC For First Starliner Mission

Astronauts Wilmore and Williams Arrive At KSC For First Starliner Mission

April 25, 2024Posted inNASA, Space News, United Launch Alliance
Astronauts arrive for test flight of Boeing Starliner
Astronauts Willmore and William pose for photographs after arriving at the Shuttle Landing Facility in NASA T-38 jet trainer aircraft. Image by Richard P. Gallagher

Kennedy Space Center, FL – Greeted by members of the press, Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the KSC Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) aboard a NASA T-38 jet Thursday afternoon. The two NASA astronauts will be aboard the first crewed launch of the new Boeing Starliner crew module early next month.

Launching atop a ULA Atlas V booster no earlier than May 6th at 10:34 PM EDT, the pair will head to the ISS for a 10-day stay on what will effectively be a “shakedown cruise” for the Starliner. Otherwise known as a flight certification test, a successful flight will see the Starliner routinely used to send astronauts to low Earth orbit.

US Watches Closely As China Launches Shenzhou-18 Mission

US Watches Closely As China Launches Shenzhou-18 Mission

April 25, 2024Posted inSpace News
Shenzouh 18 on the pad
A Chinese Long March 2F/G stands on its pad during prelaunch testing for the Shenzhou 18 mission. Photo: CNSA

JIUQUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER, China — In another step toward enhancing its space capabilities, China launched three astronauts to the Chinese Space Station aboard the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft on Thursday evening. The mission, part of China’s rapidly advancing space program, aims to reinforce its position in the global space race with ambitious plans including lunar expeditions.

Next Stop: ISS—Wilmore and Williams Prep for Starliner’s First Crewed Test Flight

Next Stop: ISS—Wilmore and Williams Prep for Starliner’s First Crewed Test Flight

April 24, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, NASA, Space News, United Launch Alliance
The official crew portrait for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Left is Suni Williams, who will serve as the pilot, and to the right is Barry “Butch” Wilmore, spacecraft commander. Photo credit: NASA
The official crew portrait for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Left is Suni Williams, who will serve as the pilot, and to the right is Barry “Butch” Wilmore, spacecraft commander. Photo credit: NASA

It’s getting real y’all. In less than two weeks, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will climb aboard the new Boeing Starliner crew capsule for a test flight that will carry them to the International Space Station for a 10-day stay. Launching no earlier than 10:34 PM EDT on May 6th, the flight represents the first crewed flight test of the Starliner.

Scales and Tailwinds: Alligator Mistakes Air Base for Swamp Resort

Scales and Tailwinds: Alligator Mistakes Air Base for Swamp Resort

April 23, 2024Posted inAviation, Florida News, Florida Wildlife
A large alligator rests near the landing gear of a KC-135 at Macdill AFB, Florida on Monday.
A large alligator rests near the landing gear of a KC-135 at MacDill AFB, Florida on Monday. Photo: MacDill AFB

TAMPA, Fla. – An unexpected visitor found his way onto the tarmac at MacDill Air Force Base yesterday, prompting a swift response from Florida Fish and Wildlife authorities. After crawling out of a nearby marsh, the nearly 10-foot alligator promptly did what gators do…. found a nice cool spot to get out of the hot Florida sun. Unfortunately for the busy airmen at the base, the gator apparently claimed “squatter’s rights” in front of the landing gear of a huge KC-135 tanker aircraft.