William Harwood – Page 12 – Spaceflight Now

NASA’s most powerful rocket poised for launch on Artemis 1 moon mission

August 27, 2022 William Harwood

Five decades after the final flight of NASA’s legendary Saturn 5 moon rocket, the U.S. space agency is poised to launch its most powerful rocket yet Monday for a critical, long-overdue test flight, sending an unpiloted Orion crew capsule on a 42-day voyage around the moon.

Countdown begins for maiden launch of Artemis moon rocket

August 27, 2022 William Harwood

Countdown clocks began ticking Saturday for the maiden launch of NASA new Space Launch System rocket Monday on a long-awaited mission to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule around the moon and back.

NASA managers give “go” for Artemis 1 launch after flight readiness review

August 22, 2022 William Harwood

With one week to go until launch, NASA managers met at the Kennedy Space Center, reviewed flight preparations and cleared the agency’s huge $4.1 billion Space Launch System rocket for blastoff next Monday on a test flight heralding an American-led return to the moon.

Russia says it will pull out of space station project after 2024

July 26, 2022 William Harwood

Russia will pull out of the International Space Station project after 2024, the new director of the Russian space program said Tuesday, but no firm dates or plans were revealed and it was not immediately clear what, if anything, might change in the near term.

NASA tentatively targeting Aug. 29 for maiden flight of SLS moon rocket

July 20, 2022 William Harwood

NASA is tentatively targeting Aug. 29 for the long-awaited maiden flight of the agency’s huge Space Launch System moon rocket, officials said Wednesday. But they cautioned major challenges remain for the oft-delayed mega rocket and an official date will not be set until later this summer.

Russian space chief dismissed; NASA gets deal for joint crews

July 15, 2022 William Harwood

Dmitry Rogozin, the bellicose director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos who has railed against NASA and its western space allies over sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is stepping down under orders from President Vladimir Putin. NASA also announced Friday it has finalized a no-funds-exchanged agreement with Roscosmos to allow Russian cosmonauts to launch to the International Space Station on U.S. crew vehicles and U.S. astronauts to fly on Russian Soyuz capsules.

NASA unveils new ‘first light’ images from Webb

July 12, 2022 William Harwood

NASA unveiled more spectacular “first light” pictures from the James Webb Space Telescope Tuesday, showcasing interacting galaxies, the death throes of a doomed star and a stellar nursery where massive young suns are being born, blazing with gale-force solar winds that sculpt vast clouds of gas and dust.

Astronomers eagerly await first images from the James Webb Space Telescope

July 10, 2022 William Harwood

After six months of tests and checkout, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready to open a new window on the universe, capturing the faint light of the first stars and galaxies, probing the mysteries of black holes and studying the atmospheres of alien worlds.

NASA tries again to complete moon rocket’s practice countdown

June 18, 2022 William Harwood

Countdown clocks began ticking Saturday for NASA’s fourth attempt to complete a dress-rehearsal countdown and fueling test of its Space Launch System moon rocket, a requirement before the huge booster can be cleared for launch on its long-awaited maiden flight.

NASA assesses micrometeoroid impact on James Webb mirror segment

June 8, 2022 William Harwood

A high-speed dust-size micrometeoroid slammed into one of the James Webb Space Telescope’s 18 primary mirror segments last month, causing a slight but noticeable effect on the segment’s performance, NASA said Wednesday. It was the fifth such impact detected since Webb’s Christmas Day launch.