Goddard Space Flight Center – Page 2

After four-year journey, NASA spacecraft ready to touch an asteroid

October 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

Flying on autopilot more than 200 million miles from Earth, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on track for a daring touch and go landing on an asteroid Tuesday to grab a sample for return to scientists eager to scan the specimens for clues about the history of the solar system.

Coronavirus delays push back launch of next Landsat to September 2021

September 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

The launch of the next Landsat land imaging mission — a joint project between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey — has been delayed until around September 2021 after the effects of the coronavirus pandemic slowed work on the spacecraft in Arizona, NASA officials said.

NASA asteroid explorer aces final rehearsal before sampling run

August 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft moved within about 131 feet, or 40 meters, of asteroid Bennu this week in the $1 billion mission’s final practice run before a touch-and-go landing on the asteroid in October to collect samples for return to Earth.

Hubble still going strong 30 years after launch

April 24, 2020 William Harwood

Thirty years ago Friday, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the shuttle Discovery with a famously flawed mirror, the opening chapter in an improbable saga of redemption and scientific discovery that revolutionized humanity’s view of the cosmos with jaw-dropping images now familiar to millions.

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft carries out first of two rehearsals before sampling asteroid

April 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Operating with on-board autonomy more than 140 million miles from Earth, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft succeeded Tuesday in a rehearsal for the sample return mission’s touch-and-go landing on an asteroid later this year.

NASA to consider WFIRST launch options after mission passes key review

March 11, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA expects to select a launch vehicle next year to carry the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope — a multibillion-dollar flagship astrophysics observatory targeted for cancellation by the Trump administration — into space in 2025 after the mission passed a key review last month, agency officials said.

SpaceX wins contract to launch NASA’s PACE Earth science mission

February 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has won an $80 million contract to launch a NASA environmental research satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in late 2022 to collect data on ocean ecosystems and clouds, a mission that the Trump administration wished to cancel.

Government watchdog warns of another JWST launch delay

January 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

The James Webb Space Telescope is at risk of another launch delay beyond the mission’s current target launch date in March 2021, the Government Accountability Office said this week.

NASA selects site for OSIRIS-REx to collect asteroid samples

December 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Using precise autonomous navigation algorithms, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will descend to the surface of an asteroid next year, aiming to retrieve rock specimens for return to Earth from a gravelly pit flanked by hazardous boulders, scientists said Thursday.

10 years since its launch, NASA lunar orbiter remains crucial for moon landings

June 18, 2019 Stephen Clark

Scientists marked the 10th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Tuesday, celebrating a mission that has greatly outlived its original one-year design life and continues taking high-resolution pictures to help U.S. companies and international space agencies select destinations for moon landers.