William Harwood – Page 16 – Spaceflight Now

Blue Origin sends William Shatner to the final frontier

October 13, 2021 William Harwood

William Shatner, the 90-year-old veteran of countless imaginary space voyages playing Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, blasted off for real Wednesday, becoming the oldest person to reach the final frontier in a PR bonanza for Jeff Bezos and his rocket company Blue Origin.

‘Captain Kirk’ heading to space on Blue Origin’s second human launch

October 12, 2021 William Harwood

Fifty-five years after his debut as Captain Kirk in the cult-classic TV series Star Trek, William Shatner, now 90, is finally launching to the final frontier for real Wednesday, becoming the oldest person to fly in space courtesy of Jeff Bezos and his rocket company Blue Origin.

Soyuz arrives at space station for out-of-this-world film shoot

October 5, 2021 William Harwood

Chalking up a space first of sorts, a Russian actress, her director-cameraman and a veteran cosmonaut rocketed into orbit, chased down the International Space Station and successfully docked Tuesday, setting the stage for an out-of-this-world movie shoot.

Russian actress, director set for Tuesday launch to space station

October 4, 2021 William Harwood

America won the race to the moon, but Russia still proudly claims the most space “firsts,” including the first satellite, the first man in space, the first woman, the first spacewalk, the first multi-member crew and the first space station. Now, with commercial spaceflight blasting off in the United States, Russia aims to chalk up another first Tuesday, launching a Russian actress and director to the International Space Station to film scenes for a feature-length movie.

All-civilian crew prepares for Saturday evening splashdown

September 18, 2021 William Harwood

The Inspiration4 crew members wrapped up their third and final day in orbit Saturday and set their sights on an automated plunge back to Earth, a steep descent to an evening splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral to wrap up a history-making flight.

Inspiration4 crew chats with Elon Musk, works through first full day in space

September 16, 2021 William Harwood

The first all-civilian, privately-funded crew to reach orbit came through their initial hours in weightless environment of space “healthy, happy and resting comfortably,” SpaceX reported Thursday.

All-civilian flight to orbit blazes new trail for charity with this week’s SpaceX launch

September 13, 2021 William Harwood

An all-civilian, non-astronaut crew, including a childhood cancer survivor, is ready for blastoff this week on a history-making SpaceX flight. Launch is scheduled for Wednesday evening for the first fully commercial, non-government flight to orbit, a charity-driven mission proponents say will open the door for “everyday people” to fly in space.

Spacewalking astronauts continue solar array upgrade work

September 12, 2021 William Harwood

Three days after a Russian spacewalk, Japanese space station commander Akihiko Hoshide and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet floated outside for their own excursion Sunday, building a support fixture for a roll-out solar array blanket that will be attached later.

Russian spacewalkers begin outfitting new lab module

September 3, 2021 William Harwood

Two Russian spacewalkers connected a new laboratory module to the International Space Station’s power grid Friday, routing and plugging in eight cables to tap into electricity generated by NASA’s solar power system.

Development of spacesuits for Artemis moonwalks lagging

August 15, 2021 William Harwood

The next-generation spacesuits needed by the first moonwalkers in NASA’s Artemis program will not be available until 2025 at the earliest and will have cost more than $1 billion to develop, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.