NASA/SpaceX Launch Supplies To ISS

NASA/SpaceX Launch Supplies To ISS

Falcon 9 Carrying the NASA CRS-2 SpX CRS-31 Mission to ISS launches on November 4, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Falcon 9 Carrying the NASA CRS-2 SpX CRS-31 Mission to ISS launches on November 4, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX launched the latest resupply mission for the International Space Station this evening with a Falcon 9 launch from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff was at 9:29 PM EDT into skies that cleared just in time for the launch.

NASA and SpaceX Planning To Send Supplies To ISS This Evening

NASA and SpaceX Planning To Send Supplies To ISS This Evening

A Falcon 9 lifting off in 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
A Falcon 9 lifting off in 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX and NASA are planning to launch a Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station this evening aboard a Falcon 9. Launch is scheduled for 9:29 PM EST from Pad LC-39A, in an instantaneous window. The booster used for the mission will return to Cape Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1, several miles south of the launch site. As such, the Space Coast can expect a sonic boom to reverberate across the area at around 9:37 PM.

The Sharpest Eye On The Sky: Pete Carstens And Max Q Productions

The Sharpest Eye On The Sky: Pete Carstens And Max Q Productions

Pete Carstens' photo.
Pete Carstens

Pete Carstens is a man who can see things almost no one else can. Long after launch spectators and even launch photographers have called it a day, Pete continues tracking the launch, watching the streaking rocket sometimes almost all the way to orbit. Fortunately, he shares everything he sees, making space flight journalism all the better for it.

Boeing Reportedly Exploring Sale of Space Division Amid Financial Troubles

Boeing Reportedly Exploring Sale of Space Division Amid Financial Troubles

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: An American Economic Engine

NASA: An American Economic Engine

Artemis I prior to its launch from Kennedy Space Center in 2022. 
Photo: Charles Boyer, FMN
Artemis I prior to its launch from Kennedy Space Center in 2022.
Photo: Charles Boyer, FMN

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has long been a cornerstone of American ingenuity and exploration. Established in 1958, NASA’s mission extends beyond the bounds of space; it significantly contributes to the American economy through job creation, technological innovation, and the stimulation of various industries. While some American taxpayers claim NASA is a “waste of money” and that the funds allocated to NASA “would be better used elsewhere,” when measured, it does not take one very long at all to realize that NASA largely pays for itself and that it holds a vital role in the American — and global — economy.

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

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

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.

Axiom Space Unveils New Lunar Spacesuit

Axiom Space Unveils New Lunar Spacesuit

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

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.