Solar System – Page 30 – Spaceflight Now

NASA to decide soon whether flying drone will launch with Mars 2020 rover

March 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

Testing of a lightweight robotic helicopter designed to fly in the alien atmosphere of Mars has produced encouraging results in recent months, and NASA officials expect to decide soon whether the aerial drone will accompany the agency’s next rover to the red planet set for liftoff in 2020.

New Horizons spacecraft’s next distant destination gets a nickname

March 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

The frozen faraway miniature world targeted for a high-speed flyby by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on Jan. 1, 2019, now has a nickname: Ultima Thule.

Musk: Atmospheric tests of interplanetary spaceship could happen next year

March 13, 2018 Stephen Clark

A team of SpaceX engineers is building a prototype of the spaceship Elon Musk hopes will one day carry people and cargo deep into the solar system, and it could begin low-altitude testing next year, kicking off a multi-step test campaign before eventually going into space, then perhaps the moon or Mars.

Europe’s ExoMars orbiter nears start of methane-sniffing science mission

March 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

Nearly a year-and-a-half after arriving at the red planet, Europe’s ExoMars orbiter is finally approaching a planned perch around 250 miles over the rust-colored world after repeatedly dipping into the Martian atmosphere to lower its orbit.

InSight lander flown to California for final launch preps

March 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s robotic InSight Mars lander arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this week aboard a U.S. Air Force cargo plane, ready for final testing, fueling and launch aboard an Atlas 5 rocket May 5, two years later the originally planned.

Saturn’s night side caught in “ringshine”

February 19, 2018 Stephen Clark

In the final hours of its pioneering mission, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft opened its cameras to gaze down on Saturn, recording views of a nighttime cloudscape illuminated by sunlight reflected off countless tiny ice particles in the planet’s rings.

Photos: SpaceX’s imagery of Falcon Heavy test flight

February 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX this week released a new batch of photos showing the Feb. 6 liftoff of the company’s first Falcon Heavy rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by landing of the launcher’s two side boosters around eight minutes later at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Elon Musk’s Tesla will have a close encounter with Earth in 2091

February 14, 2018 William Harwood

Even though it doesn’t obey any earthly speed limit and has a space-suited mannequin for a driver, Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster won’t drive up his insurance rates anytime soon. Researchers say the sports car won’t have a really close encounter with Earth until 2091 and could last millions of years before getting totaled in a planetary crackup.

Photos: More images of Falcon Heavy’s launch and booster landings

February 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

These additional views of the Falcon Heavy’s maiden liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, and landing of its two side boosters at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, come from locations across the Florida spaceport.

Photos: Launch pad cameras capture Falcon Heavy’s fiery liftoff

February 8, 2018 Stephen Clark

This up-close sequence of photos shows the Falcon Heavy rocket lifting off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with nearly 5 million pounds of ground-shaking thrust.