NG-21 Resupply Mission Honors Challenger Commander Dick Scobee

July 29, 2024Posted inISS, NASA, Space News
NG-21 Cygnus resupply module will be named in honor of Challenger Commander Dick Scobee Photo: NASA
NG-21 Cygnus resupply module will be named in honor of Challenger Commander Dick Scobee Photo: NASA

It is Northrop Grumman’s tradition to name each Cygnus spacecraft in honor of individuals who have made substantial contributions to human spaceflight. NG-21, the upcoming Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), is now officially named the S.S. Francis R. “Dick” Scobee. Scobee is a former NASA astronaut whose contributions to aeronautics and space exploration have left a lasting legacy. The mission will launch no earlier than Saturday, August 3rd from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX Returns to Launch Status with Successful Mission 

SpaceX Returns to Launch Status with Successful Mission 

July 27, 2024Posted inFalcon 9, KSC, Space News, SpaceX
A long exposure streak image from last night successful SpaceX Falcon 9 return to flight rocket launch. Image by Richard P Gallagher
A long exposure streak image from last night successful SpaceX Falcon 9 return to flight rocket launch. Image by Richard P Gallagher

Cape Canaveral, FL – After a brief grounding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket and deployed its Starlink Group 10-9 satellites early in the morning on July 28, 2024. This launch marked the company’s return to flight status following an anomaly during a mission earlier in the month. 

Big Changes Coming To Crew Dragon Splashdowns

Big Changes Coming To Crew Dragon Splashdowns

July 26, 2024Posted inCrewed, Space News, SpaceX
Workers secure Space X Crew Dragon capsule after Crew 7 astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico last March. Image: NASA
Workers secure Space X Crew Dragon capsule after Crew 7 astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico last March. Image: NASA

NASA’s Crew Dragon spacecraft will be making its final splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean next year . The upcoming Crew-9 mission, set to launch no earlier than August 18, 2024, could be the last to conclude with a landing off the U.S. East Coast.

SpaceX Starlink 10-9 Set For Early Saturday Liftoff

SpaceX Starlink 10-9 Set For Early Saturday Liftoff

July 26, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink
A Falcon 9 launching from LC-39A Photo: Charles Boyer/FMN
A Falcon 9 launching from LC-39A Photo: Charles Boyer/FMN

SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 carrying twenty-three Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad LC-39A early Saturday morning. The launch window for the Falcon 9’s “return to flight” opens at 12:21 AM EDT on July 27 and extends until 04:21 AM the same day. If needed, the company has a backup launch window at the same time, twenty-four hours later, on July 28.

Falcon 9 Cleared To Return To Flight

Falcon 9 Cleared To Return To Flight

July 25, 2024Posted inFalcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Starlink
Falcon 9 launching from Pad LC-39A Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Falcon 9 launching from Pad LC-39A
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX has been cleared to resume launching Falcon 9 by the FAA. Almost immediately afterward, the company announced a launch of the venerable rocket from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center early Sunday morning.The company stated that the Starlink 9-3 mishap in a statement on their website “The cause of the leak was identified as a crack in a sense line for a pressure sensor attached to the vehicle’s oxygen system. This line cracked due to fatigue caused by high loading from engine vibration and looseness in the clamp that normally constrains the line,” SpaceX said.

Boeing And NASA Provide Starliner Update

Boeing And NASA Provide Starliner Update

July 25, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, Boeing, Crewed, ISS, NASA, Space News, SpaceX, Starliner
Starliner docked to the International Space Station photo: NASA
Starliner docked to the International Space Station
photo: NASA
No Return Date Set, Readiness Review May Come Late Next Week

NASA’s Steve Stich and Boeing’s Mark Nappi provided an update on the Boeing Starliner CFT flight today in a teleconference. They stated that while no return date has been set for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return aboard the spacecraft, the agency and Boeing are relatively close to a Readiness Review that must be conducted prior to Starliner undocking from ISS and returning to Earth. According to NASA, that review may come as soon as the end of next week — or August 2, 2024.

“I think we’re starting to close in on those final pieces of the flight rationale to make sure that we can come home safely,” said Steve Stich.

NASA’s Lunar Comeback: Everything You Need to Know 

July 25, 2024Posted inArtemis, NASA, Space News
The SLS core stage for Artemis II enters the VAB. Image by Richard P Gallagher
The SLS core stage for Artemis II enters the VAB. Image by Richard P Gallagher

NASA’s Artemis II mission is progressing steadily with the recent arrival of the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage to the Kennedy Space Center. This event marks the beginning of months of assembly and testing of SLS before its roll out to LC-39B sometime next year.   

The flame plume of a Falcon 9 Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN

SpaceX Performs Falcon 9 Static Fire Last Night

July 25, 2024Posted inAviation and Space News, Falcon 9, Space News, SpaceX, Uncategorized
Closeup of Falcon 9’s Merlin engines as the rocket lifts off. The static fire conducted last night was testing this part of the spacecraft.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

SpaceX conducted a static-firing of the nine Merlin engines of a Falcon 9 booster first stage at SLC-40 last night as the company prepares to return to flight after a very rare in-flight failure on July 11.

Artemis II Core Stage Offloaded, Now In The VAB

Artemis II Core Stage Offloaded, Now In The VAB

July 24, 2024Posted inAerojet Rocketdyne, Artemis, Aviation and Space News, Boeing, KSC, NASA, Space News
Artemis II's Core Stage traveling towards the VAB on July 24, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now
Artemis II’s Core Stage traveling towards the VAB on July 24, 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now

After berthing in the Turn Basin by the Press Center yesterday, the Core Stage of Artemis II was offloaded today and moved into the VAB. The process began around 9 a.m. EDT and took nearly three hours until the 212-foot rocket traveled the relatively short distance—perhaps 1/2 kilometer—to the VAB.

Pegasus Barge Arrives In Port Canaveral Carrying Artemis 2 Core Stage

Pegasus Barge Arrives In Port Canaveral Carrying Artemis 2 Core Stage

July 22, 2024Posted inArtemis, Aviation and Space News, NASA, Space News
The Pegasus Barge carrying the Artemis-2 core stage arriving in Port Canaveral this afternoon. Photo: Richard Gallagher, Florida Media Now
The Pegasus Barge carrying the Artemis-2 core stage arriving in Port Canaveral this afternoon.
Photo: Richard Gallagher, Florida Media Now

Business is picking up for the Artemis teams at Kennedy Space Center — the core stage for Artemis 2 has arrived in Port Canaveral, after it traveled from its manufacturing site in Mississippi.

Timeline of Recovery: When Will SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Fly Again? 

July 20, 2024Posted inFalcon 9, Space News, SpaceX
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars skyward moments after liftoff from launch complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Image by Richard P Gallagher

On July 11, 2024, SpaceX experienced a rare in-flight failure with its Falcon 9 rocket during the Starlink 9-3 mission. This mission aimed to deploy 20 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch initially appeared successful, but the second stage encountered an anomaly during its critical burn phase, which prevented the rocket from achieving its intended orbit.