Tag: Coronavirus
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In parallel with rocket development, Firefly launches lunar lander initiative
Artist’s illustration of Firefly’s Genesis moon lander. Credit: Firefly Aerospace A souped-up version of the Israeli Beresheet moon lander built in Texas could be ready to carry NASA science and technology payloads to the lunar surface before the end of 2022, according to officials from Firefly Aerospace. Firefly’s Genesis lander is one of several major…
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Lean team readies ESA’s Mercury-bound BepiColombo for planetary flyby
Artist’s illustration of the BepiColombo spacecraft during its gravity assist flyby of Earth. Credit: ESA/ATG Medialab One job deemed essential by the European Space Agency during the coronavirus pandemic involves shepherding the BepiColombo spacecraft through a high-speed flyby of planet Earth next month, an immovable event on the $1.8 billion mission’s seven-year journey to Mercury.…
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Back in Florida, Orion capsule nears readiness for Artemis test flight
NASA’s Orion spacecraft, perched on top of its European-built service module, is pictured inside an environmental test chamber at Plum Brook Station in Ohio. Credit: NASA/GRC/Marvin Smith The Orion spacecraft slated to fly around the moon on an unpiloted mission next year has arrived back at the Kennedy Space Center following an environmental test campaign…
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Citing coronavirus concerns, Rocket Lab pauses launch operations
This aerial view of Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand earlier this year shows an Electron rocket on one launch pad, and the site’s second launch pad under construction. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab says it has paused launch operations after the government of New Zealand this week ordered most businesses closed and…
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Astra suffers “anomaly” during pre-launch test in Alaska
File photo of Astra’s first orbital-class small satellite launcher during pre-flight testing last month at the Pacific Spaceport Complex at Kodiak Island, Alaska. Credit: DARPA A small satellite launcher built by Astra “experienced an anomaly” Monday on a launch pad at Kodiak Island, Alaska, forcing the cancellation of a planned orbital launch attempt this week,…
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NASA confirms work stoppage on James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope is seen during a sunshield deployment test in 2019 at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Redondo Beach, California. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn NASA and Northrop Grumman are “suspending integration and testing operations” on the James Webb Space Telescope in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a decision that officials said is likely to…
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Astra readies for possible launch attempt next week
Astra’s first satellite launcher stands on a portable launch mount at Kodiak Island, Alaska, during flight preps last month. Credit: DARPA After missing out on an opportunity to win up to $12 million in prize money through DARPA’s Launch Challenge earlier this month, Astra is gearing up for another possible orbital launch attempt next week…
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Amid bankruptcy reports, OneWeb plans launch of 34 more satellites
The base of the Soyuz-2.1b booster set to launch 34 more OneWeb satellites is seen Wednesday as the rocket was erected vertical on its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos OneWeb is gearing up for launch of 34 more satellites for its broadband Internet network Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in…
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Facing pandemic, NASA shutters rocket factory, halts SLS and Orion testing
The core stage for NASA’s first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket was hoisted into a vertical test stand in January at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Credit: NASA NASA announced Thursday that work on the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and Orion crew capsule at facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi is being halted due…
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Astronaut’s family won’t attend launch next month due to coronavirus threat
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy (left), Russian Soyuz commander Anatoly Ivanishin (center), and flight engineer Ivan Vagner (right) during training March 11 in Star City, Russia. Credit: Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy’s family will be watching remotely from halfway around the world when he blasts off April 9 from Kazakhstan to begin…