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Italian microsatellite promises orbital photo bonanza after Artemis 1 launch
Italian engineers are expecting a series of spectacular photos from a tiny satellite that will be released to fly in sync with the interim cryogenic propulsion stage that propels the Orion capsule and European Service Module to the moon from Earth orbit.
Giant solar sail will propel tiny spacecraft to intercept and study asteroid
Catching a ride on Artemis 1 is a miniaturized CubeSat called NEA Scout that will use a thin, aluminum-coated solar sail about the size of a tennis court to propel it towards the smallest asteroid ever to be studied by a spacecraft.
Russian cosmonauts work on robotic arm outside space station
Two Russian cosmonauts completed a 7-hour, 47-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station Friday to continue testing and readying the European Robotic Arm for regular operations, finishing tasks originally planned for a spacewalk last month that was cut short by a spacesuit battery problem.
NASA proceeding with Saturday launch attempt for Artemis 1 moon mission
Confident that out-of-bounds engine temperature readings during Monday's Artemis 1 countdown came from a bad sensor, NASA officials gave the green light Thursday to move forward with another try Saturday afternoon to launch the agency's giant new moon rocket on an unpiloted test flight from the Kennedy Space Center.
VideoVideo: Replay of Artemis 1 wet dress rehearsal, now with countdown audio
More than two months after a practice countdown for the Artemis 1 launch, NASA has released audio from the launch team after gaining export control clearance. The audio provides a sneak peek of what to expect on launch day.
VideoVideo: Interview with former NASA astronaut Doug Hurley
Former NASA astronaut Doug Hurley visited with Spaceflight Now before the launch of the Artemis 1 lunar test flight. Hurley is a veteran of two space shuttle missions and commanded the first piloted test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2020. He is now a senior director of business development at Northrop Grumman, supplier of the Space Launch System's solid rocket boosters.
NASA targets Saturday for next moon rocket launch attempt
NASA will make a second attempt to launch the agency's giant Space Launch System rocket Saturday on a delayed test flight to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule on a flight around the moon and back, a major milestone in the agency's ambitious Artemis program.
SLS launch scrubbed after weather delay, engine cooling issue
Engineers fueled the Space Launch System moon rocket for blastoff Monday on NASA's long-overdue Artemis 1 test flight, but stormy weather, brief indications of a hydrogen leak, trouble cooling one of the four main engines and then a valve glitch forced managers to call off the countdown.
VideoLive coverage: NASA targets Saturday for next Artemis 1 launch attempt
The countdown for liftoff of NASA's first Space Launch System moon rocket, the most powerful launcher ever to fly from U.S. soil, was scrubbed Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after teams encountered an issue conditioning one of the four main engines. The next opportunity to launch will be Saturday, Sept. 3. The 32-story-tall rocket will boost a human-rated Orion crew capsule on an unpiloted journey around the moon and back to Earth.
Artemis 1 flight to moon depends on precision rocket firings to pull off a complex trajectory
Even using the most powerful rocket NASA's ever built, getting the agency's unpiloted Orion spacecraft to the moon for the Artemis 1 test flight won't be easy. It will hinge on a complex series of precisely orchestrated deep space maneuvers.