William Harwood – Page 19 – Spaceflight Now

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.

Boeing opts to haul Starliner back to hangar, delays flight indefinitely

August 13, 2021 William Harwood

Around-the-clock work to fix valve problems that derailed an Aug. 3 attempt to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule on an unpiloted test flight was called off Friday, delaying another try until after NASA launches a higher-priority asteroid probe in mid-October.

Ultra-precise tracking virtually rules out near term impact by asteroid Bennu

August 13, 2021 William Harwood

In September 2135, the 1,600-foot-wide asteroid Bennu will pass between the Earth and the moon and while scientists said Wednesday there is no chance of a collision, Earth’s gravity will alter the interloper’s trajectory, raising the possibility of an impact during a subsequent close encounter.

Virgin Galactic re-opens ticket sales, first commercial flight slips to late ’22

August 5, 2021 William Harwood

Virgin Galactic, buoyed by a successful July 11 suborbital test flight with founder Richard Branson on the company’s winged rocket plane, re-opened ticket sales Thursday for rides to space starting at $450,000 per seat.

Boeing crew capsule set for launch Tuesday on test flight to space station

August 2, 2021 William Harwood

An Atlas 5 rocket was hauled back to its seaside firing stand Monday for launch Tuesday on a flight to boost Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule into orbit for a second unpiloted test to prove the commercial ferry ship is ready to carry astronauts.