Starliner: A Risky Return

Starliner: A Risky Return

Starliner pictured docked to the ISS, will undock later tonight and prepare to land at the White Sands Missile Range. Credit: NASA.
Starliner pictured docked to the ISS, will undock later tonight and prepare to land at the White Sands Missile Range. Credit: NASA.

Tonight, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is set to return to Earth. Whether or not it will be a safe return depends on who you ask. In one corner, we have Boeing, who publicly at least, stands 100% behind their crew capsule. In the other corner, NASA’, who is confident in Starliner, but not confident enough to risk the lives their astronauts.

From Marstinis to Meteor Meatballs: Taste of Space is Florida’s Most Unique Foodie Festival

KSC Visitors Center Announces Taste of Space 2024. Credit KSCVC Video
KSC Visitors Center Announces Taste of Space 2024. Credit KSCVC Video

Calling all foodies!

For Florida residents and visitors who enjoy sampling fine and unusual cuisine at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, there’s another similar theme park venue that beats many of the Disney offerings, and at a lower admission price.   It’s the annual Taste of Space coming up at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex!  This year there are five distinct culinary opportunities available, all located amidst exclusive and intriguing space-related exhibits, attractions, and yes, real live astronauts (not animatronics).

Artemis Hardware Arrives At Kennedy Space Center

Artemis Hardware Arrives At Kennedy Space Center

The Canopee transport carrier containing the European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis III mission arrives at Port Canaveral in Florida, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024,
The Canopee transport carrier containing the European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis III mission arrives at Port Canaveral in Florida, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, before completing the last leg of its journey to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout via truck.
Photo: NASA

NASA’s spacecraft factory inside Kennedy Space Center’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building is set to become a very busy place in the coming months, as several pieces integral to the Artemis program, including parts for the SLS rocket, have arrived by boat and barge at the Florida facility. The new hardware will be assembled with other existing Artemis pieces already on site at KSC there and in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in the coming months.

NASA Reveals Details on Upcoming Starliner Return from ISS

NASA Reveals Details on Upcoming Starliner Return from ISS

In anticipation of what will now be the uncrewed return of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft from the International Space Station (ISS), NASA held a pre-departure briefing on Wednesday, September 4, from its Johnson Space Center in Houston. The briefing featured Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Dana Weigel, manager of the ISS at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and ISS Flight Director Anthony Vareha. The officials shared critical updates and a refined timeline for Starliner’s return mission to Earth, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 6.

SpaceX Set To Launch Starlink 8-11 Thursday (Updated)

SpaceX Set To Launch Starlink 8-11 Thursday (Updated)

Falcon 9 launching from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral
Falcon 9 launching from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Update: Wednesday’s Starlink launch attempt was called off with slightly more than two minutes left in the countdown due to weather in the booster landing zone. Florida is experiencing a rather stormy week, leading to a high degree of uncertainty in the week’s launch schedule.

SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 Thursday morning from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, carrying another group of Starlink satellites. According to SpaceX, “Liftoff is targeted for 8:35 a.m. ET, with additional opportunities available until 12:31 p.m. ET.”

NASA Announces Crew Revision for SpaceX Crew-9 Mission to ISS

NASA Announces Crew Revision for SpaceX Crew-9 Mission to ISS

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. (Credit: NASA)
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. (Credit: NASA)

Houston, TX — NASA has announced a revised crew lineup for the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). According to a news release today,the mission, now scheduled to launch no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, will feature NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as the primary crew members. Hague will serve as the mission commander, while Gorbunov will take on the role of mission specialist.

Falcon 9 Booster Lost After Successful Starlink Deployment

Falcon 9 Booster Lost After Successful Starlink Deployment

Booster B1059 propels a batch of Starlink satellies to orbit on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. It was the booster's 23rd mission, a new record for reuseability. Photo: SpaceX Video feed
Booster B1062 propels a batch of Starlink satellites to orbit on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. It was the booster’s 23rd mission, a new record for reusability. Photo: SpaceX Video feed

Fresh off of the announced delay of the Polaris Dawn’s 3:38AM launch Wednesday morning, SpaceX made the decision to continue with the launch of Starlink mission 8-6, slated for launch at 3:48 AM. While the launch went off without a hitch, it would not prove to be a great morning for SpaceX.

Polaris Dawn Delayed Until At Least Friday Due To Abort Zone Weather

Polaris Dawn Delayed Until At Least Friday Due To Abort Zone Weather

Polaris Dawn sitting atop Falcon 9 and LC-39A on June 26.
Polaris Dawn sitting atop Falcon 9 and LC-39A on June 26.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now

SpaceX has called off the Polaris Dawn launch of Falcon 9 until at least Friday, August 29th. The company announced shortly after 10 PM EDT that it was standing down for the night, and stated on its website that the next launch attempt would be no earlier than the end of the week.