Tag: NASA
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Perseverance! NASA reveals the name of its next Mars rover, suggested by a seventh-grader
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s next rover at work on the Martian surface. (NASA Illustration) NASA’s next Mars rover was named Perseverance today, following up on a suggestion made by a seventh-grader in Virginia. More than 28,000 entries were submitted in NASA’s “Name the Rover” contest, and internet users racked up 770,000 online votes for their…
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NASA astronaut and Seattle schoolkids celebrate the science of socks in space
A student from Seattle’s Rainier Prep listens to NASA astronaut Jessica Meir answer a question posed via an Earth-to-space video link. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) Astronauts on the International Space Station get thick calluses on the tops of their feet instead of the bottoms, but today students tried out ways to make the final…
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Boeing says thorough testing would have caught Starliner software problems
The crew module for the next test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is pictured inside the company’s factory and processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Boeing The program manager in charge of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule program said Friday that additional checks would have uncovered problems with the spaceship’s software that…
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Watch Seattle students chat with orbiting NASA astronaut Jessica Meir about socks in space
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir sports green-toed socks during an earlier Earth-to-space chat with students. (NASA via UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography) Hundreds of middle-school and high-school students will gather at Seattle’s Museum of Flight on Monday to chat with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir on the International Space Station while the world watches on the Web.…
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Boeing acknowledges shortcomings in Starliner spaceship testing and vows to fill the gaps
Engineers inspect the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft that went through a less-than-perfect test flight in December. (Boeing Photo) The program manager for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi acknowledges that more rigorous testing might have turned up the software glitch that spoiled plans to rendezvous with the International Space Station during an uncrewed test flight in…
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OceanGate and NASA are teaming up to build better carbon-fiber pressure vessels
OceanGate’s Titan submersible takes advantage of carbon-fiber technology. (OceanGate Photo) Everett, Wash.-based OceanGate says it’s forged an agreement with NASA to support the development of carbon-fiber pressure vessels that could handle the crushing demands of deep-sea exploration — as well as the strains encountered in the vacuum of space. The agreement calls for NASA’s Marshall…
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GeekWire Calendar Picks: Meet Charles Simonyi; cosmic rays; Star Brews Beer Festival; and more
Charles Simonyi aboard the International Space Station. (NASA Photo) — Not many people can say they’ve traveled to space. Not many can say they were also the original developer of software so prevalent today that most people wouldn’t be able to work without them. But Charles Simonyi can claim both of those accomplishments, along with…
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Phobos sample return mission enters development for 2024 launch
Artist’s concept of the Japanese MMX spacecraft near Mars and Phobos. Credit: JAXA Japan’s space agency has approved a robotic mission to retrieve a sample from the Martian moon Phobos for return to Earth to begin full development for a planned launch in 2024, officials said Thursday. The Martian Moon eXploration, or MMX, spacecraft will…
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Photos: Antares rocket lifts off with station-bound Cygnus supply ship
Powered by two Russian-made RD-181 main engines, a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket fired into a mostly sunny sky Saturday afternoon over Virginia’s Eastern Shore carrying nearly 7,500 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station. The twin-engine first stage ignited and throttled up to produce more than 860,000 pounds of thrust, pushing the 139-foot-tall (42.5-meter)…
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Third time’s the charm: Cygnus cargo ship finally gets launched to the space station
Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after two launch postponements. The Cygnus lifted from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 3:21 p.m. ET (12:21 p.m. PT) today atop Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket. The launch was delayed twice: The first attempt was scrubbed six days ago…