I'm a NASA kid originally from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo. My family worked for NASA and/or their contractors, and I watched it all as a kid. And what kid doesn't like rockets?
Currently, I am an IT engineer, a recovered R&D scientist that spent time in laser metrology, fiber optic applications and also lightning protection. I'm also a photographer, a writer and a bad musician.
My favorite things are space, boating, sports, music and traveling. You can find me on Twitter as @TheOldManPar.
Artemis III partners – NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom Space – together conducted a successful pressurized simulation and the first test of its kind since the Apollo era. Courtesy of SpaceX via Axiom Space
Vital Program for Artemis and ISS Loses One of Two Vendors
Though they are often taken for granted, spacesuits are a vital part of US space efforts, both now with the International Space Station, and also later, when astronauts from Project Artemis undertake their EVA duties on the lunar surface. Without spacesuits, many of the necessary maintenance and upgrade duties on ISS cannot be performed, and obviously, without spacesuits, no one will be walking on the moon.
Teams process Dream Chaser Tenacity, Sierra Space’s uncrewed cargo spaceplane, inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, May 20, 2024, following its arrival from the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Dream Chaser Tenacity will eventually undergo final testing and prelaunch processing inside the high bay of the SSPF ahead of its inaugural launch atop a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The reusable transportation system is contracted to perform a minimum of seven cargo missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s efforts to expand commercial resupply services to low Earth orbit. Photo: Sierra Nevada
In an announcement today, United Launch Alliance (ULA) stated that Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser is off of the second flight of ULA’s Vulcan rocket.
A Falcon 9 rises in the distance behind a “ghost boat” on the Banana River. Photo: Charles Boyer FMN
SpaceX will attempt to finally launch Starlink 10-2 tomorrow, after a pair of weather-related scrubs and one abort-at-ignition last week. After the hard shutdown, the company has re-assigned a new booster for the launch and returned the one originally slated for the mission to Hangar X for closer inspection and repairs.
SpaceX Falcon 9 (Ovzon-3) launching from SLC-40 Photo: Charles Boyer/FMN
Weather and technicals permitting, we’ll see three launches from the Space Coast over the next eight days. Today (6/18), SpaceX plans to launch the Astra1P/SES-24 mission from Space Launch Complex 40. At the end of the week, Starlink 10-2 will return to the pad after last week’s unexpected abort at ignition.
It looked like any other day with any other Falcon 9 launch…until it didn’t.
At T-0, Falcon 9’s Merlin engines ignited, but almost immediately shut down with the rocket still on the pad at Space Launch 40. This is a rare occurrence for a SpaceX launch, and it appeared to be an automated shutdown initiated by the rocket itself at a time when the onboard computer system is in control.
Thirteen strains of Enterobacter bugandensis,have mutated and became genetically distinct compared to their Earth counterparts. The study also found that E. bugandensis coexisted with multiple other microorganisms, and in some cases could have helped those organisms survive. So far, NASA, Roscosmos, or any other international partners aboard the ISS have not reported infected astronauts or, worse, transmission of the species from the ISS to Earth.
Starliner arriving at the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday morning. Photo: Richard Gallagher, Florida Media Now
After three weeks of analysis and discussion between Boeing, NASA, and United Launch Alliance following the May 6, 2024 scrub, Boeing’s long road to lofting crew aboard Starliner to low-Earth orbit took a step towards launching this morning when it was moved to its launch pad. Liftoff of Atlas V and Starliner is scheduled for 12:25 PM EDT, Saturday, June 1st, from Space Launch Complex 41.
Smoke from a wildfire at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge obscures NASA’s iconic VAB facility. Photo: Charles Boyer/FMN
A lightning strike from a severe thunderstorm started a conflagration in Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. It is north of Kennedy Space Center, and is currently no threat to property or human endeavor — in other words, the facilities at Kennedy Space Center.
After completing a required environmental review, the US Space Force will permanently base its Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) at Patrick Space Force Base.
Falcon 9 lifts from the Eastern Range’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
One does not have to work in the space industry to know that the Eastern Range is a very busy place these days. Less than ten years ago, the gaps between rocket launches were often measured in weeks or months. For example, in 2016, there were 23 launches from the Space Coast, and only 16 in 2017.
Falcon 9 ascends: the first stage, payload fairings, and second stage were visible in the sky for launch spectators. Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now
Booster B1062 Sets New Record For Reusability: 21 Flights
In perhaps the most vivid launch for spectators so far in 2024, SpaceX launched another twenty-three Starlink Mini V2 satellites to orbit after successfully launching the Starlink 6-59 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station this evening.
Liftoff was at 08:32 PM EDT. Around 8.3 minutes after liftoff, the first-stage booster used for the mission, tail number B1062, touched down safely on ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. After landing, B1062 has now flown to space for a record-setting twenty-one times.
Utopia of the Seas is set to carry passengers for the first time July 19 from Port Canaveral, Florida
When you think of a big ship, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is one of the US Navy’s massive aircraft carriers. Truly a floating air base with a full-length flight deck for aircraft to take off and land, aircraft carriers are indeed huge. Typically 1,092 feet (332.85 meters) long and with a beam of 134 feet (40.84 meters) , they are formidable symbols of naval power worldwide. At the same time, they’re not the only huge ships on the ocean, and in a few weeks, one of the largest afloat will call Port Canaveral home.
Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, Utopia of the Seas, is roughly the same size, and even a bit longer from bow to stern than an aircraft carrier: at 1,188 feet (362 meters) long, 211 feet (64 meters), it is also a huge ship, one devoted to giving its passengers the ultimate vacation experience. While the Utopia is huge, she is edged out slightly by RC’s Icon of the Seas, it is only only 8 feet longer and therefore carries the title of “World’s largest.”
