Articles by William Harwood
607 articles
Musk praises “epic” Super Heavy-Starship launch
The Starship upper stage was equipped with six third-generation Raptor engines and one of three optimized for operating in vacuum shut down early during the climb to space. The flight computer kept the other five engines running longer than originally planned to make up for the shortfall, putting the craft on an acceptable sub-orbital trajectory.
VideoBlue Origin launches third New Glenn rocket, but payload ends up in wrong orbit
Blue Origin launched the company's third New Glenn rocket Sunday, re-flying and successfully recovering a previously used first stage. But the rocket's payload, a direct-to-cellphone communications satellite, ended up in the wrong orbit, the company said.
VideoNASA confident Artemis 2 heat shield will protect crew during re-entry
When the Artemis 2 Orion crew capsule returns to Earth after flying around the moon, it will hit the discernible atmosphere some 75 miles above the Pacific Ocean at a blistering 24,000 mph, fast enough to fly from New York to London in less than 10 minutes.
Artemis astronauts send down Easter message, prep for lunar fly around Monday
Taking time out to send Easter greetings down to Earth, the four Artemis II astronauts closed in on the moon Sunday, already seeing unexpected detail on the surface and giving scientists a taste of things to come during a pass over the lunar far side Monday evening.
Artemis 2 crew blasts off on historic moon mission
A three-man one-woman crew blasted off on a voyage to the moon Wednesday, riding atop the world's most powerful operational rocket as it roared away on a trail-blazing flight to help pave the way for upcoming lunar landings and an American moon base.
NASA outlines ambitious $20 billion plan for moon base
Along with plans for a moon base, senior NASA managers also outlined work to develop nuclear power systems for use on the moon and Mars to keep astronauts, habitats and other equipment warm while providing the electricity needed for research, construction and daily operations.
NASA ready for another shot at launching Artemis 2 moon mission
At the conclusion of a two-day flight readiness review, "all the teams polled 'go' to launch and fly Artemis 2 around the moon, pending completion of some of the work before we roll out to the launch pad," said Lori Glaze, associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development at NASA Headquarters.
NASA inspector general assesses agency’s management of moon lander risk
NASA's Office of Inspector General said that while NASA is working to "mitigate and prevent hazards" associated with lunar landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin, "there are currently gaps in the agency's approach, including in its testing posture and crew survival analyses," including what might happen after a catastrophic but non-fatal event.
NASA announces major overhaul of Artemis moon program: “We’ve got to get back to basics”
New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major overhaul of the agency's Artemis moon program Friday, acknowledging that the agency's plan to land astronauts on the moon in 2028 was not realistic without another preparatory mission first to lay the groundwork.
SLS rocket hauled back to VAB for repairs
A 6.6-million-pound Apollo-era crawler-transporter rolled up the ramp to pad 38B on Tuesday and was positioned directly under the 3.5-million-pound Space Launch System rocket and its 11.3-million-pound mobile launch platform.