Spaceflight Now – Page 18 – Spaceflight Now

NASA Administrator speaks about Orion test flight

December 3, 2014

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden speaks to Spaceflight Now’s Stephen Clark about the upcoming test flight of the Orion space capsule on the EFT-1 mission.

Live coverage: Orion lands in Pacific

December 2, 2014

NASA’s first space-worthy Orion capsule blasted off atop a Delta 4-Heavy booster rocket for a two-orbit, four-hour shakedown cruise in orbit. Liftoff occurred at 7:05 a.m. EST (1205 GMT), with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 11:29 a.m. EST (1629 GMT).

New Mars lander takes shape

November 17, 2014

The next Mars lander — a platform to drill beneath the surface of the red planet — has begun its assembly phase in preparation for launch in March 2016.

Rosetta imagery shows Philae at first landing site

November 16, 2014

Images recorded by Rosetta’s navigation camera appear to show the lander, its shadow and the dust cloud kicked up by its first touchdown.

Lander manager says Philae is doing well but battery life is low

November 14, 2014

The lander project manager Stephan Ulamec says tremendous science has been collected during Philae’s short time on the surface but battery life is now limited and it is unlikely to last much longer.

Mission scientist reacts to historic first images from the surface of a comet

November 13, 2014

Rosetta mission scientist Matt Taylor says the science team is jubilant after the Philae lander captured the historic, first close up images of the surface of a comet and began returning data from its science instruments.

Rosetta camera captures Philae’s descent to the comet

November 13, 2014

Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera witnessed Philae’s descent to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Top ten Rosetta images from 10km

November 11, 2014

On the eve of Philae’s landing, the European Space Agency has released its top ten images of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera from its lowest orbit just 10 kilometres from the centre of the nucleus.

Video: Learn about the Orion flight test launching in December

November 6, 2014

NASA flight director Mike Sarafin describes the timeline of Orion Exploration Flight Test 1, the crew capsule’s first space mission set for launch Dec. 4 on a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket. The test flight will verify the craft’s heat shield, computers and avionics, and key separation events to be used on piloted missions to deep space.

VIDEO: NTSB news conference on start of SpaceShipTwo investigation

November 2, 2014

The NTSB’s Acting Chairman Christopher Hart holds a news conference to discuss the start of the investigation into the loss of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane over the Mojave Desert.