Human Spaceflight – Page 43

Cosmonauts complete tasks outside space station, honor spacewalk pioneer

May 29, 2019 William Harwood

Two Russian cosmonauts stepped outside the International Space Station Wednesday, sent birthday greetings to former cosmonaut Alexey Leonov, the first man to walk in space, and then carried out a full slate of maintenance work.

NASA says SpaceX readying Crew Dragon capsule for possible piloted test flight by end of year

May 28, 2019 William Harwood

In parallel with an on-going failure investigation, SpaceX is readying downstream Crew Dragon spacecraft for flight in hopes that corrective actions can be implemented in time to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station before the end of the year, a senior NASA manager said Tuesday.

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule completes major propulsion test

May 25, 2019 Stephen Clark

Boeing engineers have completed hotfire testing on a flight-like model of the Starliner crew capsule, clearing a major hurdle before a pad abort test and a demonstration flight to the International Space Station later this summer, Boeing announced Friday.

NASA chooses Maxar to build keystone module for lunar Gateway station

May 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA has selected Maxar Technologies for a $375 million contract to design, build and launch the core element of a mini-space station in orbit around the moon that will double as a deep space research outpost and a staging point for future human expeditions to the lunar surface.

Trump adds $1.6 billion to NASA budget request to kick start ‘Artemis’ moon mission

May 13, 2019 William Harwood

The Trump administration is adding an additional $1.6 billion to NASA’s $21 billion 2020 budget request to kick start plans to return American astronauts to the moon in 2024, four years earlier than previously planned, NASA announced Monday.

Virgin Galactic to move remaining SpaceShipTwo test flights to New Mexico

May 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

Virgin Galactic will conduct the remaining test flights for the company’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket plane from southern New Mexico after moving staff and equipment from California over the next few months, officials announced Friday.

Jeff Bezos unveils ‘Blue Moon’ lander

May 9, 2019 Stephen Clark

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, discussed his vision for spaceflight and lunar exploration Thursday in Washington, revealing new details about a privately-developed lunar lander he said will help NASA achieve the Trump administration’s goal of returning astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2024.

Commercial crew capsules still beset by parachute problems

May 9, 2019 Stephen Clark

A malfunction during a drop test over Nevada last month for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon program has engineers re-examining the crew capsule’s parachutes, and Boeing has also encountered parachute failures during testing for its commercial crew capsule, a senior NASA official confirmed Wednesday.

SpaceX clears cargo mission for launch, confirms destruction of crew capsule

May 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

While recovery teams continue combing through the test site at Cape Canaveral where SpaceX’s first space-worthy Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed in an explosive accident last month, engineers a few miles away are pressing ahead with the company’s 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station set for launch early Friday.

NASA begins outlining roadmap for 2024 moon landing

May 1, 2019 Stephen Clark

A senior NASA official said Tuesday that the Space Launch System, a huge heavy-lift rocket years behind schedule, could launch astronauts on a moon landing mission in 2024 on just its third flight to meet a goal announced last month by Vice President Mike Pence, while commercial companies will be entrusted with more responsibility to develop a lunar lander and a modest mini-space station, or Gateway, in lunar orbit.