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323 articles
NASA names new chief of human space operations
Douglas Loverro, a veteran manager with broad experience in national security space operations, has been selected by NASA to lead the agency's human space flight programs. He takes over at a critical moment as the agency assesses the readiness of new commercial crew ships amid a full-court press to land astronauts on the moon in 2024.
SpaceX’s next launch to mark another incremental step in rocket reusability
SpaceX next launch, slated to carry the company's second set of Starlink broadband satellites into orbit, will be the first to fly with a reused Falcon 9 booster making its fourth flight when it takes off in the coming weeks.
NASA opens competition to build human-rated lunar landers
Companies have until Nov. 1 to submit proposals to NASA for a human-rated lander that could be ready in time to carry astronauts to the moon's surface by the end of 2024, and the agency is leaving open the option for contractors to develop a descent craft that would bypass the planned Gateway mini-space station in lunar orbit, at least for the first landing attempt.
Relativity scores $140 million funding round for smallsat launcher
Relativity Space says it has secured $140 million in new funding from venture capital firms and private investors, enough to carry the company's 3D-printed small satellite launcher through its first orbital flight from Cape Canaveral in early 2021.
Intuitive Machines selects SpaceX to launch commercial lunar lander
Intuitive Machines confirmed plans Wednesday to launch a commercial lunar lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Space Coast in 2021 on a mission to deliver multiple payloads to the moon, including up to five science instruments for NASA.
SLS pathfinder stage arrives at Florida launch site
A steel tube built as a stand-in for the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center for a series of rehearsals to hone the skills of technicians before the real rocket reaches the spaceport, an oft-delayed milestone that could still be a year or more away.
Photos: SpaceX’s first full-size Starship prototype
SpaceX's first full-size stainless steel Starship test vehicle stands some 164 feet tall and measures wider than the cabin of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. If Elon Musk has his way, it will fly to an altitude of 65,000 feet before the end of the year.
Elon Musk wants to move fast with SpaceX’s Starship
Standing in front of a shiny full-scale prototype of SpaceX's Starship vehicle in South Texas, Elon Musk said Saturday night he wants the company's gigantic next-generation rocket to fly into orbit within six months, a bold schedule that he acknowledged requires "exponential" improvements in design and manufacturing.
NASA announces funding for moon and Mars mission tech
NASA announced agreements worth a combined $43.2 million with 14 commercial partners Friday -- including Blue Origin and SpaceX -- to fund experiments in propellant and power generation, in-space refueling, efficient propulsion systems, and lunar rover technology.
VideoElon Musk to provide update on SpaceX’s Starship this weekend
In the last few months, teams of SpaceX engineers working on the flat coastal plains of South Texas and in a nondescript industrial yard on Florida's Space Coast have been building two futuristic-looking stainless steel rockets -- or Starships -- prototypes for a reusable vehicle the company claims could one day ferry people to Mars.