Tag: NASA
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Three spacefliers get a wintry homecoming after leaving International Space Station
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik is helped out of a Russian Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft just minutes after he and two other spacefliers landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls) News Brief: Three spacefliers landed safely in the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan today after riding their Russian Soyuz spacecraft down from the…
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Tethers Unlimited wins NASA grant to work on future FabLab for 3-D printing in space
Tethers Unlimited’s Refabricator is a recycler and 3-D printer in one unit, which is about the size of a dorm-room refrigerator. This is the tech demonstration unit that’s been undergoing tests at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The unit is to go to the space station next year. (NASA Photo / Emmett Given)…
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UW team wins NASA’s nod for small satellites with magnetic braking systems
Magnetoshell aerocapture could help ease interplanetary spacecraft into orbit. (Credit: MSNW) NASA says it’ll provide resources for a University of Washington research team that’s working on a concept to put small satellites in orbit around other worlds using magnetic interactions. The concept, known as magnetoshell aerocapture, is one of nine university-led technology development projects winning…
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NASA turns to Voyager’s dormant thrusters for first time in 37 years – and they work!
An artist’s conception shows the Voyager spacecraft pointing its antenna back toward Earth. (NASA / JPL-Caltech Illustration) Imagine you had a car sitting in storage since 1980, and suddenly you needed to start it up. Now imagine that it revs up like a charm as soon as you turn the key. That’s the scenario NASA…
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Thanksgiving on the space station: Just another day at the office, but with turkey
Space station astronauts Joe Acaba, Randy Bresnik, Paolo Nespoli and Mark Vande Hei show off pouches filled with turkey, mashed potatoes and cornbread stuffing. (NASA via YouTube) Thanksgiving Day is a workday on the International Space Station, but it’s still a special day for the station’s six crew members — even for the ones who…
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Night launch sends next-gen JPSS-1 weather satellite (and more) into orbit
A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket sends the JPSS-1 satellite into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (ULA Photo) The first in a series of four next-generation weather satellites, known as the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 or JPSS-1, is in orbit after a twice-delayed liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.…
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Get a double dose of ‘Year in Space’ lore from astronaut (and author) Scott Kelly
Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly recounts his “Year in Space” mission during an event at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in May 2016. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls) Space fans are used to seeing double when they’re keeping track of twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, but this week Seattleites can get a double helping…
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SNC shows off video of what could be Dream Chaser space plane’s last test flight
In a nod to test-pilot tradition, two fuzzy dice hang on the flight deck of Sierra Nevada Corp.’s pilotless Dream Chaser prototype space plane. (NASA Photo via SNC) Last weekend’s drop test of a prototype Dream Chaser space plane went so well that the next flight might be the one that goes all the way…
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Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket sends Cygnus cargo ship to space station with a ‘nation’
Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket lifts off from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. (Orbital ATK Photo / Thom Baur) Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket today sent a Cygnus cargo spacecraft on the first step of its journey to the International Space Station with 7,400 pounds of supplies and experiments, including a nanosatellite that its backers say will…
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NASA’s Juno orbiter delivers a fresh batch of blimmin’ beauties from Jupiter
Jupiter’s northern hemisphere is featured in this processed view captured by the Juno orbiter’s JunoCam imager during the probe’s close flyby on Oct. 24. (NASA / JPL / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstadt Photo) Artistic amateur astronomers have started leveraging the latest looks from NASA’s Juno orbiter to produce fresh views of Jupiter, including…