Red Bull Flugtag Soars into Tampa Bay: A Sky-High Adventure of Wild Designs and Wacky Wings!

Red Bull Flugtag Soars into Tampa Bay: A Sky-High Adventure of Wild Designs and Wacky Wings!

October 31, 2024Posted inEntertainment / Recreation, Florida News, Florida Sports
A stork soars from the runway in a recent Flugtag event. Credit: Redbull Flugtag Media Pool
A stork soars from the runway in a recent Flugtag event. Credit: Redbull Flugtag Media Pool

Get ready, Tampa Bay, because on November 9, the Red Bull Flugtag is taking off at the Tampa Convention Center, bringing with it a spectacle of wild, human-powered flying contraptions and a whole lot of creativity. If you’ve ever wanted to see someone’s dream of flight take off—albeit briefly—then make sure to head down to the water’s edge for a day of outrageous fun, bold leaps, and some unforgettable plunges.

Boeing Starliner

Boeing Reportedly Exploring Sale of Space Division Amid Financial Troubles

October 26, 2024Posted inBoeing, ISS, Space News, Starliner
Boeing's Space Operations have been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and technical challenges such as those experienced by the Starliner program. Photo by Charles Boyer/FMN
Boeing’s Space Operations have been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and technical challenges such as those experienced by the Starliner program. Photo by Charles Boyer/FMN

Oct. 25, 2024 – Boeing, once a cornerstone of U.S. space exploration, is reportedly considering selling parts of its space business, including its NASA operations and the troubled Starliner spacecraft, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The move is seen as part of a broader restructuring effort by new CEO Kelly Ortberg to stabilize the company’s finances and refocus its operations.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Returns Safely After Record 235 Days in Space

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Returns Safely After Record 235 Days in Space

October 25, 2024Posted inISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX
Official SpaceX Crew-8 portrait with (L-R) Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Aleksandr Grebenkin, and Pilot Michael Barratt, Commander Matthew Dominick, and Mission Specialist Jeanette Epps, all three NASA astronauts. Bill Stafford/NASA
Official SpaceX Crew-8 portrait with (L-R) Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Aleksandr Grebenkin, and Pilot Michael Barratt, Commander Matthew Dominick, and Mission Specialist Jeanette Epps, all three NASA astronauts.
Bill Stafford/NASA

Pensacola, Fla. – The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endeavour, returned to Earth early Friday, October 25, safely splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola at 3:29 a.m. EDT. The landing marked the conclusion of NASA’s Crew-8 mission. The Crew-8 team spent a record 235 days in space, setting a record for American crewed space missions.

Weather Delays Continue for Crew-8 As NASA and SpaceX Target New Return Date

Weather Delays Continue for Crew-8 As NASA and SpaceX Target New Return Date

October 20, 2024Posted inISS, NASA, Space News
The four crew members that make up the SpaceX Crew-8 mission aboard the International Space Station are pictured in the vestibule in between the Harmony module’s space-facing port and the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. From top to bottom are, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Mike Barratt, and Matthew Dominick, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. Photo credit: NASA
The four crew members that make up the SpaceX Crew-8 mission aboard the International Space Station are pictured in the vestibule in between the Harmony module’s space-facing port and the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. From top to bottom are, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Mike Barratt, and Matthew Dominick, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. Photo credit: NASA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Sometimes it seems like you can’t catch a break…or at least it must seem that way to a space station full of astronauts who find themselves away from home a lot longer than planned.

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.

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.

Helene Approaches Florida with Potential to Become Major Storm

Helene Approaches Florida with Potential to Become Major Storm

September 25, 2024Posted inFlorida News, Space News
Infrared Satellite view of Helene as it passes over Cozumel, Mexico Wednesday morning. Photo: National Hurricane Center
Infrared Satellite view of Helene as it passes over Cozumel, Mexico Wednesday morning. Photo: National Hurricane Center

Tropical Storm Helene, currently a powerful tropical system, is forecast to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane as it moves toward the Gulf Coast of Florida. As of 6AM EDT this morning, the storm was located near Cozumel, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.

Business and Politics Collide As Cards Against Humanity Files Lawsuit Against SpaceX

Business and Politics Collide As Cards Against Humanity Files Lawsuit Against SpaceX

September 21, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX
SpaceX's Starship stands against a South Texas night sky. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN
SpaceX’s Starship stands against a South Texas night sky. Photo: Richard Gallagher/FMN

The creators of the popular adult party game Cards Against Humanity on Thursday filed a $15 million lawsuit against SpaceX in Cameron County, Texas. In their filing, the company alleges that SpaceX trespassed on and damaged a piece of property the game maker purchased in 2017 to protest former President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.

What Has The FAA Got To Do With It?

What Has The FAA Got To Do With It?

September 20, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News
Pad 39A at KSC. Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Pad 39A at KSC. Photo: Charles Boyer/FMN

If you follow spaceflight at all, you no doubt have heard a lot talk this year about the FAA “grounding” Space X’s Starship and Falcon 9, mishap investigations, and creating delays with a lot of “red tape.” Yet none of that happened after the flight of the beleaguered Boeing Starliner. What’s up with that? Some say it’s political, and they are “out to get Elon Musk.” In truth, it’s not quite that dramatic.

Polaris Dawn Crew Safely Returns to Earth After Historic Five-Day Mission

Polaris Dawn Crew Safely Returns to Earth After Historic Five-Day Mission

September 15, 2024Posted inCrewed, Space News, SpaceX
Infrared camera shows the splashdown of the Polaris Dawn mission early this morning. Photo: Polaris Dawn / SpaceX
Infrared camera shows the splashdown of the Polaris Dawn mission early this morning. Photo: Polaris Dawn / SpaceX

In the early hours of Sunday morning, SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn crew successfully completed their five-day journey in space, capping off the historic mission with a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The Crew Dragon capsule, carrying four astronauts, landed off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, at 3:37 a.m. ET, marking the conclusion of a mission that included the world’s first commercial spacewalk.

History Made! SpaceX Polaris Dawn Astronauts Complete First-Ever Private Spacewalk

History Made! SpaceX Polaris Dawn Astronauts Complete First-Ever Private Spacewalk

September 12, 2024Posted inSpace News, SpaceX
Jared Isaacman emerges from the open hatch of the Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon, becoming the first ever private citizen to walk in space. Photo: SpaceX
Jared Isaacman emerges from the open hatch of the Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon, becoming the first ever private citizen to walk in space. Photo: SpaceX


Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis this morning became the first private citizens in history to conduct a spacewalk. The spacewalk, which lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes from start to finish, seemed to go off without a hitch. Exiting the Polaris Dawn / SpaceX Crew Dragon early Thursday, September 12, 2024, Isacmann’s helmet camera captured a breathtaking view of the spacecraft’s open hatch, followed by the large blue globe that is our home. The landmark event was part of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, designed to test new spacesuits developed by the company and push the boundaries of private space exploration.