News Archive
Browse every article published on Spaceflight Now, from launch reports and mission previews to spacecraft development coverage. Use the filters to narrow by topic or search by keyword.
Matching Articles
51 articles
Countdown begins for maiden launch of Artemis moon rocket
Countdown clocks began ticking Saturday for the maiden launch of NASA new Space Launch System rocket Monday on a long-awaited mission to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule around the moon and back.
NASA managers give “go” for Artemis 1 launch after flight readiness review
With one week to go until launch, NASA managers met at the Kennedy Space Center, reviewed flight preparations and cleared the agency's huge $4.1 billion Space Launch System rocket for blastoff next Monday on a test flight heralding an American-led return to the moon.
NASA tentatively targeting Aug. 29 for maiden flight of SLS moon rocket
NASA is tentatively targeting Aug. 29 for the long-awaited maiden flight of the agency's huge Space Launch System moon rocket, officials said Wednesday. But they cautioned major challenges remain for the oft-delayed mega rocket and an official date will not be set until later this summer.
VideoNASA tries again to complete moon rocket’s practice countdown
Countdown clocks began ticking Saturday for NASA's fourth attempt to complete a dress-rehearsal countdown and fueling test of its Space Launch System moon rocket, a requirement before the huge booster can be cleared for launch on its long-awaited maiden flight.
NASA plans Artemis 1 moon rocket retest around June 19
NASA plans to haul its huge Space Launch System moon rocket back to the launch pad June 5-6 for a fourth attempt to load it with 730,000 gallons of supercold propellants in a dress-rehearsal countdown to clear the way for a maiden test flight later this summer, officials said Friday.
Nelson cites China’s growing space prowess, calls for sustained NASA funding
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.
Biden to nominate former Sen. Bill Nelson as NASA administrator
Former Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, a longtime space advocate whose district included the Kennedy Space Center and who flew aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1986 as a congressional observer, is President Biden's choice to serve as NASA's next administrator, the White House announced Friday.
NASA’s huge moon rocket faces critical test-firing before first launch
A critical test firing Saturday of the four main engines powering the first stage of NASA's gargantuan Space Launch System moon rocket is the final major hurdle before the fully assembled booster's costly, oft-delayed launch late this year on an unpiloted test flight.
NASA names 18 astronauts for Artemis moon missions
Eighteen astronauts have been selected -- nine men and nine women -- to begin training for upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, NASA announced Wednesday. The list includes the as-yet-unnamed next man and first woman who will set foot on the lunar surface later this decade.
Water molecules detected on moon’s sunlit surface, adding impetus to Artemis
Water molecules have been directly detected across sunlit regions of the moon, not just in ultra-cold, permanently shadowed polar craters, scientists announced Monday, indicating the precious resource may be more easily accessible to future astronauts than previously thought.