Workers removed the protective wrap that has cocooned space shuttle Atlantis while its $100 million new home was built around it at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Tim Macy, director of project development for the visitor complex describes the work and looks ahead to the opening of the new exhibit this June.
Falcon 9
Crew-rated SpaceX booster returns to Cape Canaveral with a lean
The Falcon 9 booster that launched four astronauts toward orbit last weekend arrived back on Florida’s Space Coast Thursday aboard a SpaceX drone ship, sailing into Port Canaveral with a lean but otherwise in seemingly good shape after it apparently slid across the ship’s deck in high winds and rough seas. Assuming post-flight inspections reveal no major issues, SpaceX aims to reuse the booster to launch the next Crew Dragon mission in 2021.
News
Former astronaut Bruce McCandless dies
Former astronaut Bruce McCandless II, a retired Navy captain and son of a Medal of Honor winner who joined NASA during the buildup to the Apollo program, served as capsule communicator when Neil Armstrong took his historic first step on the moon and later flew in space twice during the shuttle program, died Thursday. He was 80.
