William Harwood – Page 38 – Spaceflight Now

Fate of mystery Zuma satellite in question

January 9, 2018 William Harwood

A classified satellite code-named Zuma, launched Sunday night atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, may have suffered a mission-ending failure during or shortly after the climb to space, according to news accounts Monday evening.

Legendary astronaut John W. Young dies

January 6, 2018 William Harwood

Legendary astronaut John Young, who twice ventured into space in pioneering two-man Gemini capsules, orbited the moon and then walked on its cratered surface before commanding two space shuttle missions, including the program’s maiden flight, has passed away, ending one of the most storied careers in space history.

Former astronaut Bruce McCandless dies

December 22, 2017 William Harwood

Former astronaut Bruce McCandless II, a retired Navy captain and son of a Medal of Honor winner who joined NASA during the buildup to the Apollo program, served as capsule communicator when Neil Armstrong took his historic first step on the moon and later flew in space twice during the shuttle program, died Thursday. He was 80.

Soyuz with three-man crew docks with space station

December 19, 2017 William Harwood

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian commander, a NASA flight engineer and a Japanese physician-astronaut docked with the International Space Station early Tuesday, capping a smooth two-day rendezvous to boost the lab’s crew back to six.

Soyuz blasts off on two-day flight to space station

December 17, 2017 William Harwood

While a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship closed in on the International Space Station early Sunday, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off from frigid Kazakhstan, boosting a fresh three-man crew into orbit for a two-day flight to the lab complex.

Soyuz carries three station crew members back to Earth

December 14, 2017 William Harwood

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three space station crew members hurtled back to Earth Thursday, completing a fiery plunge back through the atmosphere before settling to a frigid touchdown on the snowy steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 139-day mission.

Space station crew returns Thursday, replacements launch Sunday

December 13, 2017 William Harwood

In a rapid-fire crew rotation, a Russian cosmonaut, a NASA astronaut and an Italian flier plan to close out a 139-day mission aboard the International Space Station with a fiery plunge back to the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft early Thursday.

Blue Origin launches New Shepard test flight

December 13, 2017 William Harwood

Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, launched a reusable New Shepard sub-orbital rocket from the company’s west Texas launch site Tuesday, boosting an unpiloted crew capsule out of the dense lower atmosphere for a brief foray into space before a parachute descent to Earth.

President Trump makes moon missions NASA’s near-term goal

December 11, 2017 William Harwood

In a brief White House ceremony Monday, President Trump formally directed NASA to set its sights on sending astronauts back to the moon followed by eventual flights to Mars as part of a new national space policy intended to make sure America “once again leads and inspires all of humanity” on the high frontier.

Astronauts wrap up spacewalk, accomplishing all primary tasks

October 20, 2017 William Harwood

Staging NASA’s third spacewalk in 15 days, two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station Friday and installed a new high definition camera, replaced a degraded camera on a recently attached robot arm grapple fixture, finished lubricating the mechanism and carried out a variety of other “get-ahead” tasks.