BREAKING NEWS
SpaceX CRS-31 docks at International Space Station following supply run
Read full article: SpaceX CRS-31 docks at International Space Station following supply runSpaceX’s Falcon 9 recently launched its 31st Dragon Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
US company's lunar lander rockets toward the moon for a touchdown attempt next week
Read full article: US company's lunar lander rockets toward the moon for a touchdown attempt next weekAnother private U.S. company is taking a shot at the moon, launching a month after a rival's lunar lander missed its mark.
Astronauts from Turkey, Sweden and Italy launch to space station on latest chartered flight
Read full article: Astronauts from Turkey, Sweden and Italy launch to space station on latest chartered flightSpaceX has launched Turkey's first astronaut along with a Swede and Italian to the International Space Station.
No launches tonight: SpaceX, scrubs both Monday night launches, aims for Tuesday
Read full article: No launches tonight: SpaceX, scrubs both Monday night launches, aims for TuesdaySpaceX delayed the launch of its Falcon Heavy on Monday, ending its hope for a spectacular double-dip of rocket launches, the agency announced.
Did you see it? Early morning rocket launch had some viewers rattled
Read full article: Did you see it? Early morning rocket launch had some viewers rattledA SpaceX Falcon 9 launch that sent 53 Starlink satellites into orbit this morning at 5:42 a.m. left some News4JAX scrambling to get photos of the unexpected object in the sky this morning.
NASA launches spacecraft to test asteroid defense concept
Read full article: NASA launches spacecraft to test asteroid defense conceptNASA has launched a spacecraft on a mission to smash into an asteroid and test whether it would be possible to knock a speeding space rock off course if one were to threaten Earth.
SpaceX launches 4 amateurs on private Earth-circling trip
Read full article: SpaceX launches 4 amateurs on private Earth-circling trip.SpaceX’s first private flight has streaked into orbit with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts. SpaceX’s recycled rocket soared Wednesday night from the same Kennedy Space Center pad used by the company’s three previous astronaut flights for NASA. But this time, the Dragon capsule aimed for an unusually high orbit, 100 miles higher than the International...
World's space achievements a bright spot in stressful 2020
Read full article: World's space achievements a bright spot in stressful 2020The European and Russian space agencies skipped the 2020 Mars launch window, their life-sniffing Mars rover grounded until 2022 because of technical issues and COVID-19 restrictions. Three weeks later, SpaceX launched its biggest cargo shipment yet to the space station for NASA. If the repairs work and the capsule finally reaches the space station, the first Starliner astronauts could be flying by summer. The actor was in talks with NASA this year about filming a movie at the space station. “Whatever else can be said about the four years of the Trump administration, they have been positive for the U.S. civilian space program,” noted John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch scrubbed
Read full article: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch scrubbedA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to launch the SXM-7 satellite for SiriusXM on Friday out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida was scrubbed at the last minute. The backup launch opportunity is set for Saturday, Dec. 12. The hour-long launch window is set to open at 11:21 a.m.
Liftoff! SpaceX launches 4 astronauts on 6-month journey
Read full article: Liftoff! SpaceX launches 4 astronauts on 6-month journeyIt is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. NASA policy at Kennedy Space Center requires anyone testing positive for coronavirus to quarantine and remain isolated. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “I didn’t start breathing until about a minute after it took off,” Pence said during a stop at SpaceX Launch Control to congratulate the workers. The four astronauts will be joining two Russians and one American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan.
Crew climbs aboard SpaceX with 50/50 chance of launch this evening
Read full article: Crew climbs aboard SpaceX with 50/50 chance of launch this eveningNASA and SpaceX will have to thread the needle to launch the SpaceX Crew-1 Sunday evening. The SpaceX launch that was supposed to take place Saturday evening was pushed back 24 hours due to strong onshore winds. The mission, called Crew-1, will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on an 8.5-hour trip to the International Space Station. It will be the first fully-crewed SpaceX launch since the inaugural May 2020 SpaceX demonstration mission that sent astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the International Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule. NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in September 2014 to transport crew to the International Space Station from the United States.
'Back in the game': SpaceX ship blasts off with 2 astronauts
Read full article: 'Back in the game': SpaceX ship blasts off with 2 astronautsFor the first time in nearly a decade, astronauts will blast into orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil, a first for a private company. SpaceX becomes the first private company to launch people into orbit, a feat achieved previously by only three governments: the U.S., Russia and China. Thanks for the great ride to space, Hurley told SpaceX ground control. A SpaceX capsule exploded on the test stand last year. For SpaceX and the future of public-corporate space exploration, the stakes on Saturday were extraordinarily high.
Heres everything you need to know about SpaceXs historic astronaut launch
Read full article: Heres everything you need to know about SpaceXs historic astronaut launchOn Wednesday, the company will attempt to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in a mission called Demo-2. The launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft is moving forward despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shuttered both private and government operations across the US. NASA had already put money toward SpaceX's development of the Dragon spacecraft used for transporting cargo. But one astronaut who worked on the Crew Dragon program said he has seen the design and said the accommodations are "perfectly adequate for that task." Each Crew Dragon spacecraft could also make multiple trips to space, the company has suggested.
For launch spectators, storms more worrisome than virus
Read full article: For launch spectators, storms more worrisome than virusThe two astronauts are set to travel on the SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)TITUSVILLE, Fla. For the spectators gathered along the Space Coast on Wednesday for an astronaut launch, the rumbling thunder and darkening clouds were more worrisome than any pandemic. They turned out to watch the first launch with astronauts from Florida in almost a decade, and the first by a private company, SpaceX. About half of the spectators at the Titusville park wore masks as encouraged by health officials to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. I wanted them to see the flip side and get to see the next era of space travel," said Gatz, who lives about an hour away in Deltona.
SpaceX ready to launch NASA astronauts, back on home turf
Read full article: SpaceX ready to launch NASA astronauts, back on home turf(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A SpaceX rocket is ready to boost two NASA astronauts into orbit Wednesday, the first launch of Americans from the U.S. in nearly a decade. Riding aboard the brand new SpaceX Dragon capsule for the historic flight: veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. SpaceX is controlling the vehicle, theres no fluff about that, said Norm Knight, a NASA flight operations manager. The last time astronauts launched from Florida was on NASAs final space shuttle flight in July 2011. Development of SpaceXs Dragon and Boeings Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.
Weather better for historic SpaceX launch of NASA astronauts
Read full article: Weather better for historic SpaceX launch of NASA astronautsVeteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were set to make history Wednesday afternoon, riding SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on a test flight. On the eve of the launch, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said from Kennedy Space Center that both the space agency and SpaceX have been diligent about making sure everyone in the launch loop knows they're free to halt the countdown if there's a concern. SpaceX has been launching cargo capsules to the space station since 2012. NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station, after commercial cargo shipments had taken off. Development of SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.
Stormy weather puts damper on SpaceX's 1st astronaut launch
Read full article: Stormy weather puts damper on SpaceX's 1st astronaut launch(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Stormy weather is threatening to delay SpaceXs first astronaut launch. It will be the first time astronauts launch from Florida in nine years and a first for a private company. We're continuing to be vigilant and careful and make sure we do this right.Forecasters put the odds of acceptable launch weather at 40%. Hans Koenigsmann, a vice president for SpaceX, said the launch control team will incorporate global weather patterns and models to determine whether it's safe to launch. If the weather gods are working with us," he said, liftoff will occur at 4:33 p.m. SpaceX has a split-second launch window.