Tag: NASA
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NASA is ready to start buying Vulcan rockets from United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance is free to compete for NASA contracts with its new Vulcan rocket after a successful test flight earlier this year, ending a period where SpaceX was the only company competing for rights to launch the agency’s large science missions. For several years, ULA was unable to bid for NASA launch contracts after…
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NASA, SpaceX conduct prelaunch activities as Tropical Storm delays Crew-9 mission
SpaceX static fires its Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in preparation for the Crew-9 mission on Saturday, Sept. 28. The test came following a dry dress rehearsal of launch activities earlier in the day. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now NASA and SpaceX pushed ahead with planned prelaunch activities Cape Canaveral Space Force…
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Two-member SpaceX Crew-9 prepares for late week Dragon launch
Representatives from NASA participate in a media event at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 21, upon the arrival of NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, in advance of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew…
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Launch Roundup: NASA Crew-9 flies half-empty, Starlink and Chinese launches continue
NASA and SpaceX’s launch of the Crew-9 mission took center stage this week. The launch of two new International Space Station crew members took place on Saturday from the recently crew-certified Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). Meanwhile, in California, another Falcon 9 lifted the only scheduled Starlink…
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NASA has a fine plan for deorbiting the ISS—unless Russia gets in the way
A little more than two years ago, Dmitry Rogozin, the bellicose former head of Russia’s space agency, nearly brought the International Space Station partnership to its knees. During his tenure as director general of Roscosmos, Rogozin was known for his bombastic social media posts and veiled threats to abandon the space station after Russia’s invasion…
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A key NASA commercial partner faces severe financial challenges
Axiom Space is facing significant financial headwinds as the company attempts to deliver on two key commercial programs for NASA—the development of a private space station in low-Earth orbit and spacesuits that could one day be worn by astronauts on the Moon. Forbes reports that Axiom Space, which was founded by billionaire Kam Ghaffarian and…
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NASA and ESA missions unexpectedly collaborate to reveal what accelerates solar winds
As the solar wind moves away from the Sun, it cools slower than expected and accelerates. Where the energy that powers this phenomenon comes from has long been unknown. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Solar Orbiter, when they coincidentally lined up to observe the same solar wind stream, provided scientists…
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Navy captains don’t like abandoning ship—but with Starliner, the ship left them
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are no strangers to time away from their families. Both are retired captains in the US Navy, served in war zones, and are veterans of previous six-month stays on the International Space Station. When they launched to the space station on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, the…
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NASA astronaut Don Pettit makes fourth trip to the International Space Station
NASA astronaut Don Pettit is seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 a the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Image: NASA/Bill…
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Soyuz MS-26 launches NASA and Roscosmos crew to ISS
The Soyuz MS-26 crewed mission has flown NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner to the International Space Station (ISS). Launch took place on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 16:23 UTC from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft has reached the ISS just over three hours…