NASA Selects SpaceX To Deorbit the ISS
The day is coming, sooner rather than later, when the ISS will have outlived its design life. NASA sees it coming and has already started the wheels turning to send the multi-national behemoth to a fiery end.
Dream Chaser Won’t Be Ready for ULA’s Vulcan CERT-2 Flight
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.
NOAA Successfully Deploys GOES-U Satellite, Signals Nominal Functioning
Only 10 minutes into Tuesday’s 2-hour launch window, a SpaceX Falcon heavy lifted off carrying the last of a series of new weather satellites to orbit. The GOES-U weather satellite launch was the last of a series designated GOES-R.
GOES-U Satellite Launch: Advancing the Future of Weather and Environmental Monitoring
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is set to launch its latest geostationary weather satellite, GOES-U, on June 25, 2024, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission, the final installment in the GOES-R series, will dramatically advance weather observation and environmental monitoring technology.
SpaceX Plans Starlink 10-2 Launch Sunday, Weather Likely To Interfere
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.
Launch Outlook: Two Launches Slated For This Week, Falcon Heavy Next Tuesday
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.
Falcon 9 Aborts Launch After Ignition, Is Safe On The Pad
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.
It Sure Wasn’t A Standard Week On The ISS
By any objective standard, it’s been an insane week in space….or at least far from “routine”. From a faux “ISS Emergency” to scuttled spacewalks to hints of yet more Starliner problems, the week’s news has been anything but boring.
Drug Resistant “Superbug” Has Evolved On ISS
A National Institute of Health paper released in March has identified previously unseen and unknown variants of a bacterium known for being multi-drug resistant, have been isolated from the ISS.
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.
NASA Astronauts Continue Critical Starliner Tests
June 11, 2024 – Orbiting Earth as part of the nine-person crew of the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are actively engaged in testing Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. This mission marks Starliner’s first flight with astronauts and is a critical step in the data collection process for NASA certification, aiming to establish regular crewed missions to the orbital complex.
Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders Dies in Plane Crash at 90
Maj. General (Ret.) William Anders, a celebrated NASA astronaut and a pivotal figure in the historic Apollo 8 mission, tragically lost his life on June 7th at the age of 90 in a plane crash off the coast of Jones Island, Washington. The incident, witnessed by several bystanders, brought a somber end to the life of a man who had spent much of it reaching for the skies.
Elon Musk Deep Fake Hits The Internet During Starship Launch
If you were watching SpaceX’s live launch coverage of the Starship launch this morning on any one of a several dozen Youtube Channels, you may have gotten a big surprise. The channels, which appeared high in Youtube’s rankings, carried SpaceX’s legitimate broadcast down to just a few minutes before launch when they smoothly transitioned to a video of Elon Musk, presumably at Starbase.
