William Harwood – Page 20 – Spaceflight Now

Bezos to join first crew for New Shepard suborbital spaceflight

June 7, 2021 William Harwood

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his brother, Mark, will join the winner of an online auction for blast off next month on an up-and-down suborbital flight to the edge of space aboard a New Shepard rocket and capsule built by Blue Origin, the tech billionaire’s space company.

Spacewalkers prepare space station’s Russian Pirs module for disposal

June 2, 2021 William Harwood

Two cosmonauts floated outside the International Space Station early Wednesday to wrap up preparations for detaching the two-decades-old Pirs airlock and docking compartment next month, clearing the way for the long-planned arrival of a new laboratory module.

NASA administrator unveils $24.8 billion 2022 budget request

May 28, 2021 William Harwood

The Biden administration’s $24.8 billion fiscal 2022 budget request for NASA will keep the agency on track to send the the first woman and the next man to the moon as early as 2024, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Friday, but he warned that target date is far from certain.

Whitson to command planned commercial flight to space station

May 25, 2021 William Harwood

Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced astronaut, and veteran GT3-class race car driver John Shoffner, a long-time pilot, will anchor a four-person crew launching to the International Space Station aboard Axiom Space’s second commercial trip to orbit, the company announced Tuesday.

Nelson cites China’s growing space prowess, calls for sustained NASA funding

May 19, 2021 William Harwood

Holding up a photo taken by China’s new Mars lander, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson warned Congress Wednesday that his agency faces increasingly stiff competition on the high frontier and that sustained funding for a new moon lander, infrastructure upgrades and other critical programs is vital for America’s space program.

Russian actress, Japanese entrepreneur cleared for space station visits

May 13, 2021 William Harwood

Russian actress Yulia Peresild and filmmaker Klim Shipenko will join cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station on Oct. 5 to shoot scenes for an upcoming movie, the Russian space agency announced Thursday.

NASA, Axiom sign agreements moving ahead with first commercial station visit

May 10, 2021 William Harwood

NASA and Houston-based Axiom Space have signed a “mission order” setting the stage for four civilians to visit to the International Space Station early next year, the first fully commercial flight to the orbiting lab complex, agency managers said Monday.

Bezos’s Blue Origin auctions seat on first New Shepard spaceflight with passengers

May 7, 2021 William Harwood

Blue Origin plans to begin crew flights of its suborbital New Shepard spacecraft on July 20, launching the highest bidder in an online auction out of the atmosphere and into space for a few minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before returning to Earth.

Crew Dragon brings four astronauts back to nighttime splashdown

May 2, 2021 William Harwood

Four astronauts strapped into their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged to a fiery pre-dawn splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday, closing out the first operational flight of SpaceX’s futuristic touch-screen ferry ship.

Astronauts describe thrilling ride to orbit on Falcon 9 rocket

April 30, 2021 William Harwood

When the countdown hit zero last Friday and the engines powering a previously flown Falcon 9 first stage roared to life for takeoff, the four astronauts strapped into a SpaceX Crew Dragon some 21 stories up started laughing.