NASA – Page 21 – Spaceflight Now

Hubble resumes science observations after software error

March 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA has partially restored the Hubble Space Telescope to science mode after a software error temporarily halted observations, but engineers continue studying a problem that kept the telescope’s aperture door from closing and a separate concern with Hubble’s main camera.

Stacking complete for SLS boosters

March 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

The twin 177-foot-tall solid-fueled boosters for the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System have been stacked inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center to await arrival of the rocket’s cryogenic core stage, which is set for a second engine test on a firing stand in Mississippi later this month.

NASA astronaut joins Russian Soyuz crew for April flight to space station

March 9, 2021 William Harwood

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, veteran of a 168-day stay in space in 2017-18, will join two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft April 9 for a flight back to the International Space Station in a deal brokered through Houston-based Axiom Space, NASA and the Russian space agency announced Tuesday.

Launch of asteroid deflection demonstrator slips to November

March 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

The launch of a NASA spacecraft designed to smash into an asteroid to try out a technique that could protect Earth from threatening space rocks has slipped from July until November, at the earliest, after development delays partially caused by coronavirus-related work slowdowns.

Perseverance rover aces first test drive on Mars

March 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

Two weeks into its mission of exploration on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is doing an “exceptional job” and has completed its first test drive, mission managers said Friday.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter camera spots Perseverance rover after landing

March 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

A high-resolution camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the Perseverance rover after landing on the Red Planet last month, showing the nuclear-powered robot sitting on the Martian surface with its supersonic parachute and other landing system components scattered nearby.

Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array support fixtures outside space station

March 5, 2021 William Harwood

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday and completed assembly of two solar array support fixtures, part of a $100 million power system upgrade.

Launch companies, range teams reassessing Cape Canaveral weather rules

March 3, 2021 Stephen Clark

Launch companies and U.S. Space Force range officials at Cape Canaveral are reassessing long-standing weather rules, looking at beefing up rocket defenses against lightning, and considering strategies to prepare for two different launch windows on a given day to guard against weather delays, something SpaceX may demonstrate with a Falcon 9 launch early Thursday.

Boeing’s next Starliner test flight delayed after SpaceX crew rotation

March 2, 2021 Stephen Clark

An unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station will be delayed from its previous target launch date of April 2 until at least May, after the arrivals of Russian Soyuz and SpaceX Crew Dragon ships bringing fresh crew members to the orbiting complex, NASA officials said Monday.

Component fatigue caused early shutdown of Merlin engine on last SpaceX launch

March 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has concluded fatigue on an engine cover caused one of the nine Merlin 1D first stage engines on the company’s most recent launch to shut down early during ascent, leading to the loss of the booster during an offshore landing attempt in the Atlantic Ocean, an official said Monday.