Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jul 02, 2024
ispace, inc. (ispace)(TOKYO: 9348) report that the flight model of its HAKUTO-R Mission 2 RESILIENCE lunar lander has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing and remains on schedule for a Winter 2024 launch. The testing was completed at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center in Tsukuba, Japan, where the agency operates a large testing facility. The flight

St. Louis MO (SPX) Jul 02, 2024
Lunar swirls are light-colored, sinuous features on the Moon's surface, bright enough to be visible from a backyard telescope. Some people think they look like the brushstrokes in an abstract painting. But these are not mere artistic flourishes: NASA images show that the tendrils from some lunar swirls extend for hundreds of miles. Lunar swirls have defied easy explanation, but recent mode

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 3, 2024
NASA on Wednesday named Andre Douglas as a backup crewmember for its Artemis II test flight. Douglas, a recent graduate of NASA astronaut training school, holds four post-graduate degrees. He had worked as a staff member at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he worked on maritime robotics, planetary defense and space exploration missions for NASA. "Andr

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 03, 2024
For the benefit of all, the space agency released a summary Thursday of the fifth biennial Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise. the space agencys Planetary Defense Coordination Office, in partnership with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State Office of Space Affairs, convened the tabletop exercise to inform and assess our a

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 02, 2024
Hainan - China's first commercial spacecraft launch site is ready for operations in South China's Hainan province as of Sunday, having completed a rocket launch simulation rehearsal using its two launch pads. According to the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co Ltd (HICAL), which built and operates the launch site, the exercises performed using the launch pads included wate

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 03, 2024
Four dedicated explorersJason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekarajust returned from a 45-day simulated journey to Mars, testing the boundaries of human endurance and teamwork within the space agencys HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Their groundbreaking work on HERAs Campaign 7 Mission 2 contributes to the s

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 03, 2024
An initial eight-day Boeing Starliner test mission to the International Space Station will be extended indefinitely to test the spacecraft's thrusters. Test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely aboard the ISS and are not stranded in space, NASA commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said during a briefing Friday. But there is no targeted return date "until we get th

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 03, 2024
Space Renaissance International (SRI) is proud to announce it has been granted provisional observer status for three years at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). This milestone decision was achieved during the 67th COPUOS General Assembly held from June 19-28, 2024, in Vienna, Austria.SRI joins four other newly approved non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

Houston TX (SPX) Jul 03, 2024
NASA is asking American companies to provide input on the agency's requirements for end-to-end services as part of the Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development Program. In the future, the agency plans to transition its operations in low Earth orbit to commercially owned and operated destinations to ensure continued access and presence in space for research, technology development, and intern

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 03, 2024
Chinese commercial company Space Pioneer issued an apology to the public on Tuesday after a test of the first stage engines of the Tianlong-3 rocket failed in Henan province causing explosions in the mountainous area and disturbances to people's lives. Tianlong-3, a two-stage kerosene-liquid oxygen rocket comparable to SpaceX's Falcon 9, experienced the failure during a test of its nine en