Tag: NASA
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NASA holds up InSight lander mission to Mars due to leaky seismic instrument
An artist’s conception shows the InSight lander on the surface of Mars. The SEIS instrument is the light-colored dome at lower left. (Credit: NASA) NASA says it’s putting off next year’s scheduled launch of its InSight lander mission to Mars until at least 2018, due to a persistent leak in the spacecraft’s main seismic-sensing instrument.…
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For the first time in 27 years, U.S. produces plutonium-238 to power space missions
By producing 50 grams of plutonium-238, Oak Ridge researchers have demonstrated the ability to resume providing an energy source for deep-space missions. (Credit: ORNL) After a 27-year gap, the U.S. Department of Energy has resumed producing plutonium-238, the radioactive fuel that powers NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars and the New Horizons mission to Pluto and…
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Spacewalkers free up jammed rail car, get set for Russian cargo delivery
NASA astronaut Tim Kopra conducts a spacewalk at the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA TV) Two NASA spacewalkers executed a quick fix at the International Space Station today, moving a stuck rail car to clear the path for a robotic Russian cargo ship that was launched just hours before. The 3-hour, 16-minute spacewalk was put on…
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SpaceX gets set for Falcon 9’s return to flight – and Florida landing attempt
SpaceX is getting ready to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. (Credit: SpaceX) SpaceX is planning to launch its Falcon 9 rocket for the first time in nearly six months on Sunday, and says it will try flying the first-stage booster back to Florida for a landing for the first time. The Falcon 9…
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New Horizons probe sends more amazing pics of Pluto and a tiny moon called Nix
The New Horizons probe got a look at craters containing dark material during its July 14 Pluto flyby. (Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI) The hits just keep on coming from NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto: This week’s stunners include views of the surface that look weirder than the terrain in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,”…
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Congress’ omnibus bill gives NASA a Christmas bonus: a bigger $19.3 billion budget
An artist’s conception shows an orbiter at Europa, a mysterious moon of Jupiter. (Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech) The 2,009-page omnibus bill that’s been crafted by Congress for the current fiscal year boosts NASA’s budget to $19.3 billion, which is $756 million more than the White House asked for. The big winners include NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System and its planetary…
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Live coverage: Russian-American-British crew launches toward space station
Live coverage of the Expedition 46 mission on the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Watch a replay of Soyuz crew’s blastoff from Kazakhstan
Three crewmen from Russia, the United States and Great Britain blasted off toward the International Space Station on Tuesday, rocketing into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in pursuit of the orbiting research lab. This video from Roscosmos — the Russian space agency — shows the Soyuz rocket carrying the three-man crew launching at 1103 GMT…
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Space station gets its first ‘official’ British astronaut (plus an American and Russian)
British astronaut Tim Peake gets a welcoming hug from NASA’s Scott Kelly at the International Space Station. (Credit: ESA) Today the International Space Station’s crew welcomed aboard its first “official” British astronaut, Tim Peake, just hours after he blasted off in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft alongside U.S. and Russian spacefliers. Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra…
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Three crew members trek from Earth to space station
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft lifted off at 1103:09 GMT (6:03 a.m. EST; 5:03 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky A Russian Soyuz spacecraft streaked into space and chased down the International Space Station Tuesday, but a problem with the ferry ship’s automated…