Boeing's first Starliner mission with humans set for historic Space Coast launch tonight
Monday, 06 May 2024 18:10
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The stage is set for some space history to be made tonight as two veteran NASA astronauts aim to launch in a spacecraft that has never flown with humans before.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will climb aboard Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule and lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 at 10:34 p.m. on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station.
NASA's live coverage of the leadup to launch will begin on NASA TV and its social media channels beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The pair, along with 750 pounds of supplies, would arrive to the station early Wednesday—at 12:46 a.m—to begin an eight-day stay before a return flight home as early as May 15 that would have a primary landing site of White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
"This is a test flight. That brings to bear all the things that the title implies," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "Because it is a test flight, we give extra attention. They're checking out a lot of the systems—the life support, the manual control, all of those things that you want to be checked out.
China publishes world's first high-definition lunar geologic atlas
Monday, 06 May 2024 18:02 Write a comment
China has released a geologic atlas set of the global moon with a scale of 1:2.5 million, which is the first complete high-definition lunar geologic atlas in the world, providing basic map data for future lunar research and exploration.
This geologic atlas set, available in both Chinese and English, includes the Geologic Atlas of the Lunar Globe and the Map Quadrangles of the Geologic Atlas of the Moon, according to the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
"The geologic atlas of the moon is of great significance for studying the evolution of the moon, selecting the site for a future lunar research station and utilizing lunar resources. It can also help us better understand the Earth and other planets in the solar system, such as Mars," said Ouyang Ziyuan, who is a CAS academician and a well-known lunar scientist.
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Boeing's Starliner set for first crewed mission to ISS
Monday, 06 May 2024 15:54 Write a comment
After years of delays, Boeing's Starliner capsule is set to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) Monday, a milestone for the US aerospace giant and NASA.
The flight, a final test before Starliner takes up regular service for the space agency, is critical for Boeing, whose reputation has suffered of late due to safety issues with its passenger jets.
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Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components and payload with two boosters – blue background
Monday, 06 May 2024 13:39 Write a comment
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Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components and payload with two boosters – blue background Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components with two boosters
Monday, 06 May 2024 13:39 Write a comment
Image:
Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components with two boosters Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components with two boosters – blue background
Monday, 06 May 2024 13:39 Write a comment
Image:
Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components with two boosters – blue background Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components and payload with two boosters – white background
Monday, 06 May 2024 13:39 Write a comment
Image:
Artist's view of the Ariane 6 components and payload with two boosters – white background 
China’s Chang’e-6 is carrying a surprise rover to the moon
Monday, 06 May 2024 10:22
Boeing faces critical launch ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station
Monday, 06 May 2024 10:06 Write a comment
Ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station has almost become routine—but not for Boeing and not on Monday, when after years of delay it's finally set to launch two crew members to the orbiting platform on a critical test flight.
The Arlington, Virginia-based aerospace giant was awarded a $4.2 billion contract in 2014 to build and operate a spacecraft to service the station, while El Segundo rival Space X received $2.6 billion to do the same.
Both were given out under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, established to have American companies taxi astronauts to the station.
The stakes are particulary high for Boeing. Since 2020, SpaceX completed its crewed test flight and has ferried eight operations crews to the base—while Boeing has managed only two unmanned flights, including one that docked remotely in May of last year.
Boeing has long-standing and historic ties to the aerospace industry in Southern California—the Apollo command and service modules were built at North American Aviation's plant in Downey. Its current operations include a satellite facility in El Segundo.
Boeing's new Starliner capsule was scheduled to launch with a crew last summer, but a problem was discovered with its parachute system and the use of flammable tape in the craft, a mile of which was removed.