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41 articles
VideoMike Fincke, a 30-year astronaut with experience across four spacecraft, retires from NASA
Mike Fincke trained on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner side of the Commercial Crew Program from January 2019 until his reassignment to the SpaceX Crew-11 mission. His fourth and final mission to the International Space Station launched on Aug. 1, 2025.
VideoRepublican-backed reconciliation bill passes, includes funding for ISS, Artemis programs, Space Shuttle relocation
This bill, H.R. 1, is separate from the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills. Those include the FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) bill, which will be marked up by the House Appropriations Committee at a later time.
VideoSpaceX breaks Space Shuttle pad record with Falcon 9 Starlink mission
SpaceX’s launch of the Starlink 6-56 mission will move the company past the total number of Space Shuttle Program missions from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff is set for 2:42 p.m. EDT (1842 UTC).
VideoApril 12 marks 60 years since Gagarin’s spaceflight, 40 years since shuttle debut
Sixty years ago Monday, a 27-year-old Russian test pilot named Yuri Gagarin strapped into a Vostok capsule in Central Asia and rode into orbit atop a launcher derived from a Soviet nuclear missile, becoming the first human to travel into the void of space. Twenty years later, in 1981, the era of reusable spacecraft dawned with the first launch of NASA’s space shuttle.
VideoRapid-fire engine tests raise hopes for DARPA’s planned reusable spaceplane
A series of unprecedented back-to-back test-firings of a rocket engine originally developed for NASA's space shuttle concluded earlier this month, giving engineers data crucial to achieving rapid 24-hour turnarounds planned for a U.S. military-funded reusable winged booster under construction at Boeing, government and industry officials said.
VideoApril 14, 1981: Landing of Columbia on STS-1
VIDEO: The winged spaceship Columbia returned to Earth with a pinpoint landing at Edwards Air Force Base on this day 35 years ago, concluding the maiden flight of the space shuttle.
VideoFinal space shuttle fuel tank in existence heads to California museum
On the 35th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch, the last remaining external fuel tank set sail today from its factory in New Orleans to Los Angeles and a remarkable museum attraction in the making.
VideoApril 12, 1981: 35 years since the maiden space shuttle launch
America's first space shuttle launched on this day 35 years ago as the reusable flying machine, Columbia, lifted off from Kennedy Space Center with John Young and Bob Crippen aboard.
VideoOTD…March 9 and STS-133 landing
Today in 2011, shuttle Discovery made a graceful landing at Kennedy Space Center, returning from her final voyage after a remarkable three-decade life of service.
VideoFamilies, NASA honor fallen astronauts
On the 30th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, crew families, friends and space workers gathered Thursday to remember the 17 men and women who lost their lives on the high frontier, 14 in two space shuttle disasters and three in an Apollo-era launch pad fire 49 years ago Wednesday.