NASA – Page 18 – Spaceflight Now

Intuitive Machines targets launch to the Moon in mid-January

October 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The first lunar lander aiming for a touchdown at the Moon’s south pole has a new launch date. Intuitive Machines said Friday it is targeting the launch of its Nova-C lander on the IM-1 mission for no earlier than January 12, 2024.

NASA begins to chart path forward on its Mars Sample Return architecture following independent review

October 24, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA is aiming to make a determination about the path forward for Mars Sample Return by the end of March 2024.

Falcon Heavy launches NASA’s Psyche asteroid probe

October 13, 2023 William Harwood

Getting off to a ground-shaking start, NASA’s $1.2 billion Psyche asteroid probe roared into space atop a Falcon Heavy rocket Friday, setting off on a 2.2-billion-mile voyage to a rare, metal-rich asteroid that may hold clues about how the cores of rocky planets like Earth first formed.

Live coverage: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches NASA’s Psyche on mission to a metal asteroid

October 13, 2023 Spaceflight Now

NASA’s $1.2 billion Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid has lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is occurred at 10:19 a.m. EDT (1419 UTC) Friday.

Weather delays launch of NASA’s billion-dollar Psyche mission to Friday

October 11, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Due to a poor weather forecast for the Thursday launch attempt, NASA and SpaceX are rescheduling the Psyche asteroid mission launch to Friday morning at 10:19 a.m. EDT (1419 UTC).

Russian space station laboratory module coolant leak under investigation

October 9, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

An apparent exterior coolant leak from a Russian laboratory module at the International Space Station has been reported by the crew. It follows similar leaks that struck a Russian Soyuz crew ferry craft and a Progress cargo ship within the past year.

Northrop Grumman leaves behind solo commercial space station venture, partners with Nanoracks on ‘Starlab’

October 5, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

About a year and a half after signing a Space Act Agreement with NASA to develop a commercial space station, Northrop Grumman formally withdrew from its solo plans in order to partner with Nanoracks, a subsidiary of Voyager Space.

Crew-7 mission to the Space Station given green light for launch by NASA, partners

August 22, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA, SpaceX and its international partners met at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday and gave the go ahead for the launch of the seventh operational Crew Dragon mission to the space station.

Delayed Falcon Heavy launch pushes back Crew 7 mission

August 1, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The next quartet bound for the International Space Station will wait a bit longer before they can punch their ticket to space after Falcon Heavy delays pushed back the launch of the next Crew Dragon mission, NASA said Tuesday.

NASA concerned SpaceX’s Starship schedule could delay moon landing

June 7, 2023 Stephen Clark

A senior NASA official raised concerns Wednesday that “difficulties” with SpaceX’s development of the huge new Starship rocket could delay the Artemis program’s first moon landing with astronauts from late 2025, a mission that will use a derivative of the Starship vehicle to ferry a two-person crew to and from the lunar surface.