William Harwood – Page 20 – Spaceflight Now

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.

In battle with Russian lab module, space station ‘brought a knife to a gun fight’

August 2, 2021 William Harwood

Playing it safe, the seven-member crew of the International Space Station moved into the U.S. segment of the outpost Friday, closed hatches and window shutters and stood by while Russian flight controllers vented helium pressurization lines in the newly arrived Nauka lab module.

GAO dismisses lunar lander contract protests

August 2, 2021 William Harwood

The Government Accountability Office ruled Friday that NASA did not violate procurement law or regulations when it awarded a single $2.9 billion moon lander contract to SpaceX, denying appeals from competitors Dynetics, a Leidos company, and Blue Origin, owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos.

High drama as Russian lab module tilts space station with errant thruster firings

July 29, 2021 William Harwood

A heavyweight Russian laboratory module that experienced a variety of problems after launch last week docked at the International Space Station Thursday, but in a moment of unexpected drama, inadvertent thruster firings briefly knocked the sprawling complex out of its normal orientation.

NASA clears Boeing Starliner for launch on second unpiloted test flight

July 22, 2021 William Harwood

NASA and Boeing held a day-long flight readiness review Thursday and cleared the company’s CST-100 Starliner astronaut ferry ship for launch July 30 on a second unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station.

Mars rover gearing up for first sample collection work

July 21, 2021 William Harwood

Five months after landing on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is gearing up to collect its first core sample next month, mission managers said Wednesday, drilling out a lipstick-size bit of rock from the floor of an ancient lakebed where the remnants of past microbial life might be preserved.

Bezos and excited crewmates eager for blastoff Tuesday

July 19, 2021 William Harwood

Nine days after being upstaged by Richard Branson, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is finally ready for his own flight into history, blasting off Tuesday morning aboard a fully automated spacecraft he believes will usher in a new era of commercial passenger service.

Blue Origin gives green light for Tuesday launch of owner Jeff Bezos

July 18, 2021 William Harwood

While Jeff Bezos and his three crewmates worked through a two-day “astronaut” training course, engineers Sunday tentatively cleared their New Shepard rocket and capsule for blastoff Tuesday on a 10-minute up-and-down flight to the edge of space, matching rival Richard Branson’s feat nine days earlier.