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
406 articles
NASA inspector general says SLS moon rocket costs continue to climb
The powerful Space Launch System rocket being built for NASA's Artemis moon program by Boeing, using solid-propellant boosters from Northrop Grumman and main engines from Aerojet Rocketdyne, will have cost more than $18 billion by the time it blasts off on its maiden flight in 2021, NASA's Office of Inspector General reported Tuesday.
VideoSecond Starship test article implodes during pressure test
A prototype for SpaceX's Starship vehicle imploded during a pressurization test at the company's facility in South Texas Friday night, an event captured on video by local residents.
NASA picks Rocket Lab to launch lunar CubeSat mission
NASA announced Friday that Rocket Lab will launch a 55-pound CubeSat from Wallops Island, Virginia, toward the moon in early 2021 on a demonstration mission to test lunar navigation techniques and scout a unique elliptical orbit for the planned Gateway mini-space station.
Trump administration requests funding boost for NASA’s Artemis moon program
The Trump administration is requesting $25.2 billion for NASA in fiscal 2021, a 12 percent increase that includes $3.3 billion to kickstart development of a human-rated lander for the Artemis moon program. Nearly half of the budget request, $12.3 billion, is devoted to new and ongoing projects focused on the return to the moon and eventual flights to Mars.
Bipartisan House bill spurns 2024 moon landing goal, favoring focus on Mars
A NASA authorization bill released by the House Science Committee Friday proposes major changes to the direction of the agency’s human spaceflight programs, with a goal to land crews on the moon by 2028, not the 2024 schedule set by the Trump administration.
NASA expected to detail costs for fast-track moon landing program next month
NASA will release a budget profile with a cost estimate for the agency's Artemis moon program in February in conjunction with the White House's fiscal year 2021 budget request, according to NASA's deputy administrator.
Dynetics, Sierra Nevada partnering on human-rated lunar lander proposal
Dynetics, an Alabama-based company with broad experience as a supplier of aerospace components and systems, is seeking a major role in NASA's Artemis moon program with a proposal for a human-rated lunar lander developed in partnership with Sierra Nevada Corp. and other companies.
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.
SpaceX drawing up plans for mobile gantry at launch pad 39A
With construction already underway at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A on facilities for SpaceX's next-generation Starship vehicle, another new fixture could soon rise at the seaside launch complex to satisfy U.S. military requirements to vertically integrate sensitive top secret spy satellites with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.