Space community ponders right-of-way rules for space traffic
Sunday, 19 September 2021 16:01The growing number of satellites in orbit is leading to calls to develop formal “right of way” rules, although there is no consensus on what those rules should be and how they should be established.
SpaceX all-civilian orbital crew completes historic mission
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48Four SpaceX tourists returned to Earth safely on Saturday after spending three days in space, successfully concluding the first orbital mission in history with no professional astronauts on board. The SpaceX Dragon capsule, whose heat shield allowed it to withstand descent, was slowed down by four large parachutes before splashing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida at 7:06 pm (
China prepares to launch Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48The combination of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y4 carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Thursday. The CMSA said the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time. The facilities and equipment at the Wenchang Spacecraft L
NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Captures a Mars Rock Feature in 3D
Sunday, 19 September 2021 10:48NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter provided a 3D view of a rock-covered mound during its 13th flight on Sept. 4. The plan for this reconnaissance mission into the "South Seitah" region of Mars' Jezero Crater was to capture images of this geologic target - nicknamed "Faillefeu" (after a medieval abbey in the French Alps) by the agency's Perseverance rover team - and to obtain the color pictures fro
Space Force grappling with aging infrastructure used to operate satellites
Sunday, 19 September 2021 09:00The ground stations and tracking antennas the U.S. military relies on to communicate with its satellites — known as the Satellite Control Network, or SCN — are decades old and short of the capacity needed to keep up with the projected growth in space activities.
Trailblazing tourist trip to orbit ends with splashdown
Sunday, 19 September 2021 07:45Crew Dragon splashes down to conclude Inspiration4 mission
Saturday, 18 September 2021 22:29SpaceX’s first private crewed mission ended with the splashdown of the Crew Dragon spacecraft off the Florida coast Sept. 18.
SpaceX to launch Turksat 6A
Saturday, 18 September 2021 19:40Turksat will launch its first domestically built communications satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9, the Turkish government announced Sept. 17.
SpaceX Inspiration4 mission sent 4 people with minimal training into orbit
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03Just after 8 p.m. EST on Sept. 15, 2021, the next batch of space tourists lifted off aboard a SpaceX rocket. Organized and funded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the Inspiration4 mission touts itself as "the first all-civilian mission to orbit" and represents a new type of space tourism. The four crew members are not the first space tourists this year. In the past few months, the world wit
SKorea plans to launch solid-propellant space launch vehicle in 2024, Defence Ministry says
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03South Korea's Institute for Defense Analyses managed to carry out successful firing tests of a solid-propellant engine for a new space launch vehicle already on 29 July, paving way for commercial launches of this type of rockets to start as early as in 2024, the defense ministry said on 16 September. The new engine will allow launching small satellites and groups of extra-small satellites
ABL Space selected for NASA Cryogenic Demonstration Mission
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03ABL Space Systems announced that is has been selected as the launch provider for the NASA Cryogenic Demonstration Mission. Developed under a NASA Tipping Point contract awarded in 2020, the Cryogenic Demonstration Mission will launch in 2023 and demonstrate in-space transfer of cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2), the most challenging but highest-performing propellant for lunar and deep space explor
What life is like aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03The first space tourism mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX blasted off from Florida on Wednesday and the four crew members - a billionaire and three other Americans - have already seen more than 25 sunsets and sunrises. SpaceX has released few details about their adventure since they reached an orbit which is more distant than that of the International Space Station. Here's what we know abo
SpaceX tourists talk to Tom Cruise from orbit, provide update on flight
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03Four space tourists orbiting the Earth in a SpaceX capsule at 17,500 miles per hour (28,162 kph) talked to movie star Tom Cruise on Friday and provided a live update about life aboard the spacecraft. The first space tourism mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX blasted off from Florida on Wednesday for a three-day voyage that is to end with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean at 4:06 pm Pacific time
Inspiration4 civilian mission plans splashdown Saturday evening
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03The crew of the first all-civilian orbital space mission, Inspiration4, plans to splash down off the coast of Florida on Saturday evening. SpaceX plans a 7:06 p.m. EDT return to Earth, but hasn't announced the exact location. That will depend on weather and wave heights in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. "We're seeing the world every 90 minutes. That's how fast we're trave
Russian Gov't allocates $60Mln to build Soyuz for tourist flights
Saturday, 18 September 2021 08:03The Russian government has allocated more than 4.4 billion rubles ($60.6 million) to space company Glavkosmos, a subsidiary of the Roscosmos state corporation, for the production of a rocket and spaceship for tourist flights by 2024. "To allocate in 2021 budget funds ... of 4,412,660 thousand rubles for the expenses of State Space Corporation Roscosmos", the government said in a decree, wh