Vast, the aerospace company best known for building one of the first commercial space station segments, announced today that they have secured a deal with SpaceX for two Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station…
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have had their missions extended yet again, this time until at least March, and possibly April 2025. Originally planned as an eight-day mission, Williams and Wilmore’s straightforward task was to take Boeing’s Starliner on its debut flight with crew, dock at ISS for a brief visit before returning home. That was not meant to be.
An artist’s rendering of how Pad 39A could look if SpaceX begins launching Starship there. Credit: Creative Commons
Whatever it is, it’s big. On December 18, 2024, Space Florida’s board of directors approved a substantial investment in “Project Hinton,” signifying a major development for Florida’s Cape Canaveral Spaceport.
Jared Isaacman prior launching on the Polaris Dawn mission earlier this year. Photo: John Kraus/Polaris Program
In an announcement that has sparked widespread interest in both political and aerospace circles, former President Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX partner Jared Isaacman as the next NASA Administrator. The announcement was made during a press conference today at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump praised Isaacman’s leadership in private space exploration and innovation.
Jared Isaacman after his return to Earth following the Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024. Photo: John Kraus / Polaris Dawn
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist, and private astronaut, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the next Administrator of NASA. Isaacman, best known to the general public as the commander of both the groundbreaking Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn space missions and the first private citizen to conduct a spacewalk, is also the CEO of the payment processing giant Shift4, a rapidly growing company that Isaacman started when he was sixteen years old.
Some weeks, they say, are better than others. In terms of Spaceflight in the US, this week was one of those better ones, as there has been major activities and milestones set this week:
NASA’s SLS Artemis 1 and Orion Capsule front and center. Photo by TJ Waller
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), a centerpiece of the Artemis program, may face cancellation as rising costs and delays spark calls for reevaluation. SpaceX’s Starship, a fully reusable spacecraft under development, is emerging as a strong candidate to replace SLS for the program’s lunar missions, potentially marking a significant shift in NASA’s approach to deep space exploration.
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.
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.
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’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.
