Starliner Crew Capsule on the Move 

April 16, 2024Posted inAtlas V, KSC, NASA
Starliner Crew Capsule being moved to the vertical integration facility. Image by: Richard P Gallagher

As the aerospace community looks toward the future of crewed space travel, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is poised to become a pivotal player in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This morning’s rollout of the crew capsule ahead of the first crewed launch marks a significant milestone for Boeing.  The Starliner spacecraft was moved from the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center this morning at 4am to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in order to be attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.  

NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara and International Crew Return to Earth

NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara and International Crew Return to Earth

April 7, 2024Posted inISS, NASA, Space News
The MS-24 Soyuz capsule returns to Earth on April 6, 2024. Astronaut Loral O'Hara and two cosmonauts were in good health.
The MS-24 Soyuz capsule returns to Earth on April 6, 2024. The three crew members were all reported as being in good health (Image credit: NASA/Roscosmos)

In the quiet, expansive steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Expedition 70 to the ISS officially ended. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarus, concluded their space mission with a parachute-assisted landing in the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft at 3:17 a.m. EDT on Saturday, April 6 (12:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time).

NASA Rent-a-Car May Greet Lunar Astronauts

NASA Rent-a-Car May Greet Lunar Astronauts

April 4, 2024Posted inNASA, Space News
An initial rendering from the team led by Intuitive Machines. Photo Credit: Intuitive Machines.
An initial rendering from the team led by Intuitive Machines.  Photo Credit: Intuitive Machines.

At an April 3, 2024, news conference, NASA announced its approach for the development, construction, and fielding of one (or potentially more) lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) as one more element of the Artemis Program.  As opposed to selecting one company to produce an LTV, three “awardees” were selected to compete in a rather complicated process for the final project award. 

NASA Set to Announce Lunar Rover Winner(s) Today

NASA Set to Announce Lunar Rover Winner(s) Today

April 3, 2024Posted inArtemis, Aviation and Space News, NASA, Space News
Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan is seen test driving the “stripped down” Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV)
prior to loading the LRV up. Equipment later loaded onto the LRV
included the ground controlled television assembly, the lunar communications
relay unit, the hi-gain antenna, the low-gain antenna, aft tool pallet, and
lunar tools and scientific gear.
Photo: NASA

One of the most iconic parts of the Apollo missions were videos and photos of astronauts driving around a lunar rover on the moon’s surface. Used for the final three Apollo missions — Apollo 15, 16, and 17 — the 462-pound rovers were built by Boeing and had a top speed of 6 MPH. They were used for mobility and transporting astronauts and equipment, and were also equipped with a color television camera that showed live views to audiences back on Earth of the astronauts driving on the lunar surface. The cameras also provided remote views of the liftoff of the Lunar Module’s ascent module, and provided the only views of humans lifting off of the surface of the moon as they began their return to Earth.

Space Debris from International Space Station Crashes into Florida Home

Space Debris from International Space Station Crashes into Florida Home

April 2, 2024Posted inISS, Space News
Space Debris, believed to be a discarded battery from the ISS, crashed into a home in Naples, Florida last month. Photo: Alejandro Ortero
Space Debris, believed to be a discarded battery from the ISS, crashed into a home in Naples, Florida last month. Photo: Alejandro Ortero

In a bizarre incident, a piece of space debris from the International Space Station (ISS) plummeted through the roof of a Florida home last month. The unsuspecting homeowner, Alejandro Otero, was fortunate to be away at the time, but his son was inside when the nearly 2-pound object tore through the roof and both floors of their two-story house in Naples, Florida.

Former Astronaut and KSC Director Bob Cabana Joining IBX As Senior Advisor

Former Astronaut and KSC Director Bob Cabana Joining IBX As Senior Advisor

April 1, 2024Posted inAxiom Space, KSC, NASA, Space News
Astronaut Robert D. Cabana, mission commander on Shuttle Orbiter
Endeavour’s flight deck, logs a note regarding operations with Unity in 1998.
Photo: NASA

Robert D. “Bob” Cabana, a former NASA astronaut, NASA Associate Administrator (the agency’s third highest-ranking executive) and Director of Kennedy Space Center, has joined IBX, a firm that invests in and fosters innovation in space-related companies. Founded by engineer and entrepreneur Kam Ghaffirian, IBX supports companies Ghaffirian helped found: Axiom Space, Intuitive Machines, Quantum Space and X-energy along with other ventures. Cabana will serve as a Senior Advisor with the company.

Soyuz MS-25 Launches Saturday Morning; On Its Way To ISS

Soyuz MS-25 Launches Saturday Morning; On Its Way To ISS

March 23, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, ISS, NASA, Space News
Soyuz MS-25 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 23. 2024.
Photo: NASA

The Russian Federation’s Roscosmos launched a Soyuz capsule on the MS-25 mission to the International Space Station Saturday morning. Three crew members including NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson successfully launched at 8:36 a.m. EDT Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.

Boeing Starliner Launch Now NET May 1st

Boeing Starliner Launch Now NET May 1st

March 22, 2024Posted inAtlas V, Aviation and Space News, ISS, NASA, Space News, United Launch Alliance

Boeing’s Crewed Flight Test of Starliner has pushed a little further to the right again and is now scheduled to launch no earlier than May 1st. That shift is not due to any concerns with the vehicle or its readiness, but instead, ISS scheduling, specifically docking port availability, when astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Willmore arrive at the orbiting outpost.

NASA’s SpaceX 30th Resupply Mission Heads For the International Space Station

March 22, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, ISS, Space News

CRS-30 Launches to the ISS
CRS-30 Launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, March 21, 2024. Photo: Ed Cordero/FMN

NASA’s 30th commercial resupply mission was successfully launched Thursday, embarking on a journey to deliver a new round of scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station (ISS). This mission includes critical studies focusing on sea ice measurement technologies and plant growth in space, signaling a significant leap forward in our understanding of Earth and space environments.

Soyuz MS-25 Aborts At T-Minus 20 Seconds; Crew Safe

March 22, 2024Posted inISS, NASA, Space News
MS-25 sits on the pad in Russia
MS-25 sits on the pad Thursday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Photo: Roscosmos

Yesterday’s planned launch of Soyuz M-25 to the International Space Station was aborted with twenty seconds left in the countdown. NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus are fine, and were evacuated from the Soyuz capsule shortly afterwards.

Coffee and Bees: CRS-30 Cargo to ISS

March 20, 2024Posted inISS, Space News
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough poses aboard the International Space Station with all three Astrobee robotic free-flyers. Photo Credit: NASA/Shane Kimbrough
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough poses aboard the International Space Station with three Astrobee robotic free-flyers.
Photo Credit: NASA/Shane Kimbrough

Like many of us, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station  (ISS) crave their morning coffee.  Consequently, that’s one of the food treats, along with fresh citrus, apples, and cherry tomatoes that are aboard the SpaceX CRS-30 mission to the ISS scheduled for launch March 21 at 4:55 pm from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. 

SpaceX and NASA Prepare for Next Resupply Mission to ISS from Cape Canaveral

March 20, 2024Posted inNASA, Space News, SpaceX
Cargo Dragon sits atop a Falcon 9.
A Cargo Dragon sits atop a Falcon 9 booster. Image: SpaceX

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – SpaceX, in collaboration with NASA, is gearing up for its 30th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying an uncrewed SpaceX Cargo Dragon, is slated for Thursday, March 21, at 4:55 p.m. EDT.