William Harwood – Spaceflight Now

NASA names 18 astronauts for Artemis moon missions

December 9, 2020

Eighteen astronauts have been selected — nine men and nine women — to begin training for upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, NASA announced Wednesday. The list includes the as-yet-unnamed next man and first woman who will set foot on the lunar surface later this decade.

Arecibo Observatory faces demolition after cable failures

November 19, 2020

After withstanding hurricanes and earthquakes, playing central roles in movies like “GoldenEye” and “Contact,” Puerto Rico’s famed Arecibo Observatory, once the largest radio telescope in the world, will be demolished because of cable failures that left its huge detector platform too unstable to attempt repairs.

Spacewalkers prep for arrival of new Russian module

November 18, 2020

Two Russian cosmonauts used the International Space Station’s Poisk docking compartment as an airlock for the first time Wednesday in a six-hour 48-minute spacewalk to begin preparing the nearly identical Pirs module for removal next year. A new laboratory module will be parked in its place later.

Offshore conditions bump crew launch to Sunday

November 13, 2020

Originally expected to take off Saturday, the launch of SpaceX’s first operational Crew Dragon mission was delayed to Sunday because of expected high winds at the Kennedy Space Center and weather off-shore where the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage will attempt to land on a SpaceX droneship. The company plans to re-use the booster for the next Crew Dragon flight.

Water molecules detected on moon’s sunlit surface, adding impetus to Artemis

October 26, 2020

Water molecules have been directly detected across sunlit regions of the moon, not just in ultra-cold, permanently shadowed polar craters, scientists announced Monday, indicating the precious resource may be more easily accessible to future astronauts than previously thought.

Soyuz brings three space station fliers back to Earth

October 22, 2020

One week after two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut arrived at the International Space Station, the three crew members they’re replacing strapped into their own Soyuz spacecraft, undocked and returned to Earth Wednesday with a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 196-day mission.

Space station crew preps for re-entry, landing

October 21, 2020

One week after two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut arrived at the International Space Station for a six-month stay, the three crew members they’re replacing packed up their Soyuz spacecraft for a fiery plunge back to Earth Wednesday evening to close out a 196-day mission.

Soyuz crew docks with International Space Station

October 14, 2020

In a mission marking the end of an era, NASA astronaut and former virus hunter Kate Rubins, using NASA’s last currently contracted seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, rocketed into orbit Wednesday with two cosmonaut crewmates on a record-setting flight to the International Space Station.

NASA uses final purchased Soyuz seat for Wednesday flight to station

October 13, 2020

In a mission marking the end of an era, NASA astronaut and former virus hunter Kate Rubins, using NASA’s last currently contracted seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, blasts off Wednesday with two cosmonaut crewmates on a flight to the International Space Station.

Commander of first piloted Starliner test flight steps down from mission

October 7, 2020

Christopher Ferguson, commander of the final space shuttle flight and now a Boeing executive, has stepped down as commander of the first piloted test flight of the company’s troubled CST-100 Starliner commercial spacecraft, he and Boeing announced Wednesday. He has been replaced by NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore.