Pasadena CA (JPL) May 15, 2023
While the CubeSat couldn't reach the lunar South Pole to help seek ice, it fulfilled several technology goals that will empower future missions for the benefit of humanity. NASA's Lunar Flashlight launched on Dec. 11, 2022, to demonstrate several new technologies, with an ultimate goal to seek out surface ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the Moon's South Pole. Since then, the bri

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 12, 2023
Drilling campaigns force us to sit and stop, whilst the "Ubajara" drill sample is analyzed. This takes a week or two, depending on the types of analysis that CheMin and SAM chose to do. This might sound like we are sitting quietly, just waiting but drill campaigns are furiously busy and "power hungry." CheMin planned the first part of their analysis on Wednesday, and today, they added a se

Long Beach CA (SPX) May 15, 2023
Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc., a responsive space launch provider, has issued an update regarding its ongoing sale process. As part of its court-approved bid procedures, the company has received more than 30 indications of interest as of May 4, 2023. Several potential buyers have proposed to retain the existing business operations and workforce, aiming to operate Virgin Orbit as an ongoing, integr

San Jose CA (SPX) May 15, 2023
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) has announced a significant contract with SpaceX to secure a port on the Transporter-12 mission, anticipated to launch no earlier than October 2024. This new development solidifies Momentus' plans to participate in three missions with SpaceX in 2024. These missions include all Transporter rideshare missions scheduled for the coming year: Transporter-10 in Janua

Washington DC (SPX) May 15, 2023
NASA is set to hold a public meeting concerning the categorization and evaluation of data on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 31. In an effort to ensure transparency and encourage public engagement, NASA has announced it will also host a media teleconference at the conclusion of the meeting. NASA defines UAP as observations of unidentifiable events

Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) May 14, 2023
On Sunday, May 14, at 01:03 EDT (05:03 UTC), SpaceX launched an additional batch of 56 Starlink internet communication satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About 50% of all successful orbital launches so far this year have been conducted by SpaceX. The 56 Starlink satellites will equal the four Fal

Paris (SPX) May 13, 2023
Over three weeks since the initiation of the deployment process for Juice's Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) antenna, the 16-meter-long boom has finally been liberated from its mounting bracket. During the first attempt at stretching out the compacted antenna, only the initial segments of each half were released. The flight controllers theorized that a minuscule stuck pin prevented t

Washington DC (UPI) May 12, 2023
Russian cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev concluded their five-hour spacewalk at the International Space Station Friday. The cosmonauts first spent the day readying their Orlan spacesuits in the Station's Poisk airlock, where they attached batteries, checked for leaks and tested the suits' communications systems. The pair had completed two previous spacewalks since A

Washington DC (UPI) May 12, 2023
As NASA and private industry prepare for a U.S. return to the moon after more than five decades, observers fondly remember early ventures that traveled deep into interstellar space and sparked excitement about exploring cosmic wonders. One of the trailblazers was Pioneer 11, a robotic forerunner of such exploration and the first spacecraft to reach Saturn, the ringed and most iconic pla