Tag: NASA
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Jared Isaacman nominated as next NASA administrator
Jared Isaacman has been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump of the United States of America to become the next NASA Administrator after Senator Bill Nelson’s term ends. Isaacman is expected to be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of Trump’s upcoming term. Isaacman has a long history in the aerospace industry. He…
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Trump nominates Jared Isaacman to serve as next NASA administrator
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur with two commercial spaceflights to his credit and strong ties to Elon Musk and SpaceX, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as NASA’s next administrator. Image: John Kraus/Inspiration4 Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, a veteran private astronaut with strong ties to Elon Musk and his rocket company SpaceX,…
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Over a month into mission, Europa Clipper continues deploying instruments
On Oct. 14, NASA’s groundbreaking Europa Clipper mission launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Falcon Heavy’s 27 Merlin engines and single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine sent Europa Clipper on a trajectory out of the Earth-Moon system at a speed of approximately 35 km/s relative…
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NASA awards SpaceX a contract for one of the few things it hasn’t done yet
When you compare SpaceX to the world’s other space enterprises, it’s probably easier to list the things SpaceX hasn’t done instead of reciting all of the company’s achievements. One of these is the launch of nuclear materials. SpaceX has launched a handful of planetary science missions for NASA, but these spacecraft have all used solar…
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New study provides explanation behind origins of Martian moons Phobos and Deimos
Using supercomputer simulations, a team of NASA scientists recently modeled the destruction of an asteroid around Mars to investigate the possible origins of Mars’ two, mysterious moons — Phobos and Deimos. Since their discovery in 1877 and subsequent investigations by telescopes and Martian spacecraft, scientists have pondered how the two moons came to be, and…
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Relativity, Amazon, and NASA continue work on Cape infrastructure
In addition to SpaceX’s work, Cape Canaveral has been busy with Relativity Space focusing on its reusable Terran R rocket, which is being developed at Space Launch Complex-16. Upgrades to this site, including new infrastructure, were documented during a recent NSF flyover. NSF also documented advancements at Amazon’s Kuiper facility, now nearing completion to support…
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NASA is stacking the Artemis II rocket, implying a simple heat shield fix
The Space Launch System rocket that will dispatch four astronauts on the first Moon mission in more than 50 years passed a major milestone Wednesday. NASA said ground teams inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida lifted the aft assembly of the rocket’s left booster onto the mobile launch platform.…
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As NASA increasingly relies on commercial space, there are some troubling signs
When it comes to space policy, a hallmark of the first Trump administration was its embrace of private companies. NASA sought to build fewer expensive things and buy more lower-cost services. In doing so, it aimed to foster a healthy ecosystem of private space companies. Under the leadership of Jim Bridenstine, NASA, during these years,…
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The key moment came 38 minutes after Starship roared off the launch pad
SpaceX launched its sixth Starship rocket Tuesday, proving for the first time that the stainless steel ship can maneuver in space and paving the way for an even larger, upgraded vehicle slated to debut on the next test flight. The only hiccup was an abortive attempt to catch the rocket’s Super Heavy booster back at…
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The ISS has been leaking air for 5 years, and engineers still don’t know why
Officials from NASA and Russia’s space agency don’t see eye to eye on the causes and risks of small but persistent air leaks on the International Space Station. That was the word from the new chair of NASA’s International Space Station Advisory Committee last week. The air leaks are located in the transfer tunnel of…