Mission Reports
Month: October 2020
Mission Reports
How OSIRIS-REx will snag a sample from asteroid Bennu
Mars rovers go through seven minutes of terror when they plunge into the Martian atmosphere at hypersonic speed. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will take a more glacial approach to its asteroid target Tuesday, and the event will be more akin to four-and-a-half hours of mild anxiety for ground teams, according to the mission’s operations manager.
Mission Reports
Members
Falcon 9
Members
Falcon 9
Delta 4
ULA’s Delta 4-Heavy rocket still grounded by launch pad problem
United Launch Alliance engineers have resolved the problem that triggered an abort of a planned Delta 4-Heavy rocket launch Sept. 30, but the company said Friday it is continuing to evaluate a concern with the launch pad swing arm retraction system at Cape Canaveral. ULA said the Delta 4-Heavy’s mission to launch a classified National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite will be postponed beyond next week.
Mission Reports
News
NASA selects proposals to demonstrate in-space refueling and propellant depot tech
NASA has selected 14 companies for contracts of more than $370 million to advance technology for human missions to the moon and Mars. Most of the money will support flight demonstrations by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and other companies that could lead to in-space refueling and propellant depots for reusable lunar landers and deep space transportation vehicles.