NASA – Page 27 – Spaceflight Now

Cargo Dragon heads for splashdown off Florida’s west coast

January 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first upgraded Cargo Dragon spaceship departed the International Space Station Tuesday morning with more than 4,400 pounds of research specimens and other equipment, heading for splashdown Wednesday night in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida.

James Webb, OneWeb highlight Arianespace’s 2021 launch schedule

January 11, 2021 Stephen Clark

The planned Halloween launch of the James Webb Space Telescope — one of eight Ariane 5 launches left before the rocket’s retirement — and a series of flights to build out OneWeb’s satellite internet network highlight Arianespace’s schedule this year.

NASA mission extension enables first flybys of Jupiter’s moons in 20 years

January 11, 2021 Stephen Clark

In a pair of mission extensions, NASA has cleared the way for more seismic observations on Mars with the robotic InSight lander and approved plans for the Juno spacecraft to alter its orbit and perform close flybys of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, Ganymede, and the volcanic moon Io.

Cargo Dragon return delayed by poor weather

January 11, 2021 Stephen Clark

Poor weather in the offshore recovery zone east of Florida forced SpaceX and NASA to delay the departure of an upgraded Cargo Dragon spaceship from International Space Station Monday. The capsule is bringing home several tons of research equipment, specimens, and other equipment.

Smallsat launch providers readying for first missions of 2021

January 10, 2021 Stephen Clark

Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab teams are gearing up for their first missions of the year in the coming days, with Virgin’s air-launched rocket set for its second demonstration flight and Rocket Lab’s Electron booster poised to launch a small German-owned communications satellite.

NASA sets mid-January target for SLS hot fire test

January 6, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA is moving forward with a crucial test-firing of the core stage of the first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket as soon as Jan. 17 after engineers were satisfied with the results of a fueling test last month.

Northrop Grumman cargo ship concludes three-month stay at space station

January 6, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo freighter departed the International Space Station Wednesday after delivering more than 7,800 pounds of equipment and experiments, heading for an extended mission with payloads to study fire behavior in microgravity and test a next-generation radio system.

Chinese mission returned nearly 4 pounds of lunar samples

January 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

Chinese officials say they plan to share a portion of the nearly 4 pounds of lunar material returned by the Chang’e 5 mission with other countries, but an allocation for U.S. scientists will hinge on a change in U.S. policy restricting cooperation between NASA and China’s space program.

Three astronauts assigned to Crew Dragon mission in late 2021

December 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rookie astronaut Raja Chari — a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot — veteran physician-astronaut Tom Marshburn, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer have been assigned to fly to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship in the fall of 2021.

Canadian astronaut to join NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission around the moon

December 21, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Canadian space flier will join three NASA crew members on the first piloted flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft around the moon, becoming the first non-U.S. astronaut on a lunar voyage, officials announced last week.