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132 articles
NASA, Boeing aim to deliver first SLS core stage to Kennedy Space Center by this fall
After years of delays, the core stage for NASA’s first Space Launch System moon rocket rolled out of its New Orleans factory Wednesday, heading for a NASA site in Mississippi for a test-firing before engineers hope to ship the rocket to its Florida launch base by this fall.
First SLS core stage departs factory
The heart of NASA's first flight-ready Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket emerged from its factory in New Orleans Wednesday morning for a barge trip to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for an eight-minute test-firing of its space shuttle-era hydrogen-fueled engines.
NASA declares first SLS core stage complete
NASA has declared assembly complete on the core stage for the first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket in New Orleans, signaling a long-awaited transition from manufacturing to testing as the core stage is set to move to the nearby Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for a hold-down firing next year of its four shuttle-era main engines.
Q&A with John Shannon, Boeing’s SLS vice president and program manager (members only)
In nearly five years on the job as Boeing's Space Launch System program manager, John Shannon has presided over the completion of the first SLS core stage inside a cavernous factory in New Orleans.
SpaceX offering Starship to NASA for lunar landing missions
SpaceX is eligible to propose using its next-generation Starship vehicle to carry NASA robotic science payloads to the lunar surface, the U.S. space agency announced Monday, on missions that could precede future Starship flights with people on-board. SpaceX is one of five companies NASA selected Monday to join a roster of commercial transportation providers to deliver scientific instruments and technology demonstration packages to the moon as soon as 2022.
NASA’s VIPER rover in development for scouting mission to moon’s south pole
Building on a mission canceled last year, NASA is developing a mobile robot named VIPER for launch in 2022 to scout for water ice at the moon's south pole, the same region where the agency aims to land astronauts by 2024.
Q&A with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (members only)
Speaking with Spaceflight Now on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress this week, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine offered his assessment on the status of a budget battle to secure funding for the agency's Artemis program, which seeks to achieve the next human landing on the moon by the end of 2024.
Bezos says space industry stalwarts will help Blue Origin build moon lander
Blue Origin has partnered with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to build elements of the company's human-rated lunar lander, and Draper will lead development of the lander's avionics and guidance systems, with an aim to be ready to land a crew on the moon by 2024, company founder Jeff Bezos announced Tuesday.
NASA’s moon program winning international support
While Congress considers whether to provide funding NASA says it needs for a moon landing with astronauts before the end of 2024, several international partners voiced their intentions Monday to participate in the U.S.-led lunar exploration program.
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.