NASA – Spaceflight Now

After redesigns, the finish line is in sight for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship

December 7, 2019

Five-and-a-half years ago, SpaceX founder Elon Musk revealed SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, a sleek-looking human-rated spaceship with 3D-printed engines, a roomy stylized interior and touchscreen controls. Now SpaceX’s first ship to ferry astronauts — with numerous design changes introduced since 2014 — is about to leave the company’s factory for final testing before launching early next year.

ULA rehearses countdown for first Starliner launch on Atlas 5 rocket

December 6, 2019

United Launch Alliance teams ran through an 11-hour countdown Friday at Cape Canaveral to rehearse procedures before the first flight of a modified Atlas 5 rocket with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule Dec. 20.

Live coverage: Practice countdown completed for Starliner and Atlas 5

December 6, 2019

An 11-hour practice countdown was completed Friday at Cape Canaveral’s launch complex 41 for the planned launch of an Atlas 5 rocket and Boeing’s Starliner capsule later this month. The rocket was loaded with super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in a full dress rehearsal for launch day.

Photos: Starliner makes first appearance on launch pad

December 4, 2019

This gallery of photos shows the rollout Tuesday of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket and Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, plus additional views of the 172-foot-tall launcher standing next to the crew access tower Wednesday as teams prepared for a countdown rehearsal.

Launch of first Starliner orbital test flight slips to Dec. 19

December 3, 2019

The first launch of Boeing’s Starliner space capsule aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket has been delayed to Dec. 19, officials announced Tuesday.

Live coverage: Atlas 5, Starliner spacecraft readied for launch day dress rehearsal

December 3, 2019

United Launch Alliance teams transferred the company’s next Atlas 5 rocket to its seaside launch pad at Cape Canaveral Tuesday in preparation for a comprehensive launch day dress rehearsal with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft later this week.

Amateur sleuth helps locate crash site of India’s Vikram moon lander

December 2, 2019

An Indian software developer and mechanical engineer combing through high-resolution imagery captured by a NASA spacecraft has located debris scattered on the lunar surface in September by the crash of the Vikram lander, India’s first probe to attempt a soft touchdown on the moon, NASA said Monday.

Astronauts perform third spacewalk to fix cosmic ray detector

December 2, 2019

After prepping their patient — a $2 billion cosmic ray detector — during two earlier spacewalks, two space station astronauts ventured back outside for a third outing Monday to carry out what amounted to transplant surgery, installing replacement coolant pumps in a bid to revive the costly instrument and extend its life.

After quiet autumn, SpaceX preps for busy December launch schedule

November 25, 2019

After a lull in launch activity this fall, SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral are preparing for up to four Falcon 9 missions in December to close out 2019 with a surge of launches.

Spacewalkers continue repair of cosmic ray detector

November 22, 2019

In a complex bit of orbital surgery, two spacewalking astronauts cut into a $2 billion cosmic ray detector Friday, venting away life-sustaining carbon dioxide refrigerant and then snipping eight coolant lines the size of soda straws to prepare the high-tech “patient” for a coolant pump transplant.