SpaceX launches ants, avocados, robot to space station
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:51
A SpaceX shipment of ants, avocados and a human-sized robotic arm rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday.
The delivery—due to arrive Monday—is the company's 23rd for NASA in just under a decade.
A recycled Falcon rocket blasted into the predawn sky from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. After hoisting the Dragon capsule, the first-stage booster landed upright on SpaceX's newest ocean platform, named "A Shortfall of Gravitas." SpaceX founder Elon Musk continued his tradition of naming the booster-recovery vessels in tribute to the late science fiction writer Iain Banks and his Culture series.
The Dragon is carrying more than 4,800 pounds (2,170 kilograms) of supplies and experiments, and fresh food including avocados, lemons and even ice cream for the space station's seven astronauts.
The Girl Scouts are sending up ants, brine shrimp and plants as test subjects, while University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are flying up seeds from mouse-ear cress, a small flowering weed used in genetic research. Samples of concrete, solar cells and other materials also will be subjected to weightlessness.
A Japanese start-up company's experimental robotic arm, meanwhile, will attempt to screw items together in its orbital debut and perform other mundane chores normally done by astronauts.
SpaceX launches Dragon Cargo mission to ISS
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:44
A SpaceX rocket from Florida carrying part of a robot that could help perform routine tasks for astronauts on the International Space Station was launched early Sunday morning from the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center.
Launch of the resupply mission, with 4,800 pounds of goods for the space station, was at 3:14 a.m. EDT Sunday.
The robotic arm is the feature of the resupply mission Space Systems Command declares three GPS III space vehicles "Available for Launch"
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:44
The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command recently declared the eighth GPS III satellite as "Available for Launch." This significant accomplishment officially marks the third space vehicle within the GPS III program to be declared available for launch in the past three months.
GPS III SV06, SV07, and SV08 are now awaiting official call up for launch in Lockheed Martin's GPS III Processi SwRI tests liquid acquisition device aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:44
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) experiment was performed aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital rocket, which launched from Van Horn, Texas Thursday. Five variations of the tapered liquid acquisition device (LAD), which is designed to safely deliver liquid propellant to a rocket engine from fuel tanks, were aboard the rocket to evaluate their performance in microgravity.
The tap Orbit Logic adds augmented reality to SpyMeSat
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:44
Orbit Logic's award-winning SpyMeSat mobile app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play) now includes an augmented reality (AR) interface for better awareness of overflying imaging satellites!
The AR view overlays the orbit and position of satellites that can image your location, providing a better understanding of satellite viewing geometry and potential obstructions; e.g., to k Astroscale's ELSA-d demonstrates repeated magnetic capture
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:44
Astroscale's End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) successfully tested its ability to capture its client spacecraft using the servicer's magnetic capture system, in a demonstration performed on Wednesday, August 25 (UTC).
A major challenge of debris removal, and on-orbit servicing in general, is docking with or capturing a client object; this test demonstration served a Bacterial bloom as the earth thawed: Photosynthetic organisms during the snowball earth
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:44
Some researchers hypothesize that ice sheets enveloped the earth during the Marinoan glaciation (650-535 million years ago) in what is dubbed the "Snowball Earth." The glaciation also impacted the climate and chemical compositions of the oceans, restraining the evolution of early life. Yet, as the earth warmed, and the Ediacaran period dawned, biotic life began to evolve.
A research team f Space Development Agency transitioning to US Space Force
Sunday, 29 August 2021 06:44
The Space Development Agency has already started the process of transitioning from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to the U.S. Space Force, said the agency's director.
Derek M. Tournear spoke yesterday at the U.S. Space Foundation's 36th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The SDA, established in March 2019, will fully transition t SpaceX launch of robotic arm to space station reset for Sunday
Sunday, 29 August 2021 01:23
Launch of a SpaceX rocket from Florida carrying part of a robot that could help perform routine tasks for astronauts on the International Space Station was postponed early Saturday morning because of storms near the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center.
"Weather is not in our favor today," SpaceX production supervisor Andy Tran said during a live webcast of the launch attempt. "The vehicl Astra rocket fails after liftoff from Alaska
Sunday, 29 August 2021 01:23
California-based Astra Space, a small, relatively new rocket company, failed in flight Saturday after a launch from Alaska supported in part by the U.S. Space Force.
The rocket "suffered an anomaly" about 2 1/2 minutes after liftoff from Kodiak shortly after 6:30 p.m. EDT, the company said, not elaborating on what happened.
The failure followed an aborted attempt the day before, Astra Rocket 3.3 launch fails
Saturday, 28 August 2021 22:36
Astra’s third attempt to reach orbit failed Aug. 28 when its Rocket 3.3 vehicle struggled to get off the launch pad and eventually failed in flight.
Space Force launch director on Vulcan and BE-4: ‘We have to be very focused from here on out’
Saturday, 28 August 2021 21:29
The head of the U.S. Space Force launch enterprise said it is “unfortunate” that Blue Origin is taking far longer than expected to complete the testing and production of BE-4 rocket engines for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle.
NASA Mars smallsat mission passes review
Saturday, 28 August 2021 18:34
A smallsat Mars mission that had to revise its plans after it lost its initial ride has won NASA approval to move into full-scale development.
Astra aborts small-rocket launch for Space Force from Alaska
Saturday, 28 August 2021 07:36
California-based Astra Space, a relatively new rocket company, aborted the launch of its first payload, an experiment for the U.S. Space Force, from Alaska on Friday.
The company did not explain immediately the reason for the abort at 5:45 p.m. EDT on a livestream provided by space media publication NASAspaceflight.com.
The launch window stretches to Sept. 11 at the Pacific Space Mystery investor orders life support system for private space station
Saturday, 28 August 2021 07:36
The billionaire space race formally kicked off last month after companies owned by Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson and Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos sent the men soaring to the edge of space. Critics have viciously attacked the billionaires for bringing a dystopian sci-fi vision of the future one step closer to reality.
Raytheon Technologies subsidiary Collins Aerospace has confirmed that it