Audit warns costs for NASA's new Artemis launcher could balloon to $2.7 billion
Wednesday, 04 September 2024 10:50
NASA's second mobile launcher needed for future missions in the Artemis program is already years late and millions over budget, and NASA's Office of the Inspector General warns it could get even worse.
In an audit released last week, the OIG said the mobile launcher 2 (ML-2), which was originally awarded a $383 million contract in 2019 for delivery by 2023 but only began construction at Kennedy Space Center last August, could continue to see ballooning costs and delays, so that once delivered it will cost taxpayers more than $2.7 billion and not be ready until 2029.
"Despite progress since our last report, NASA has struggled to develop a reliable cost and schedule estimate for the ML-2 project and incentivize significant improvement in contractor performance," reads the OIG report. "Given the importance of ML-2 for future Artemis missions, it is critical that NASA effectively manage the project to control cost increases and avoid further schedule delays."
The first Artemis launch took place in 2022 on the existing mobile launcher (ML-1), but ML-2 is needed to support a larger version of the Space Launch System rocket that will be used beginning with the Artemis IV mission.
Benchmark wins $4.9 million award for ASCENT propulsion systems
Wednesday, 04 September 2024 10:00
Sierra Space completes acoustics tests of Dream Chaser cargo module
Wednesday, 04 September 2024 09:53
NASA's mini BurstCube mission detects its first gamma-ray burst
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 20:14
The shoebox-sized BurstCube satellite has observed its first gamma-ray burst, the most powerful kind of explosion in the universe, according to a recent analysis of observations collected over the last several months.
"We're excited to collect science data," said Sean Semper, BurstCube's lead engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It's an important milestone for the team and for the many early career engineers and scientists that have been part of the mission."
The event, called GRB 240629A, occurred on June 29 in the southern constellation Microscopium. The team announced the discovery in a GCN (General Coordinates Network) circular on August 29.
BurstCube deployed into orbit April 18 from the International Space Station, following a March 21 launch.
Q&A: 20 years since the MESSENGER mission
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
Twenty years ago the MESSENGER mission revolutionized our understanding of Mercury. We sat down with project head and former Carnegie Science director Sean Solomon to talk about how the mission came together and the groundbreaking work it enabled.
Q: As the Principal Investigator of the MESSENGER mission, what were your personal highlights or proudest moments throughout the mission's durat Air Force awards Outpost development contract for a scalable earth return vehicle
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
Outpost Technologies Corporation (Outpost), a leader in multi-ton Earth return systems aimed at advancing the space economy, has been awarded a $33.2 million, four-year Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract by the Air Force Ventures program (AFWERX). This funding will support the development and testing of a scalable heat shield, payload bus, and paragliding system as part of the Joint P European drill and mini lab to explore lunar South Pole for resources
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Prospect package, which includes a drill and a miniaturized laboratory, will be heading to the Moon's South Pole as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. This mission aims to uncover volatile substances, including water ice, beneath the lunar surface.
NASA has chosen Intuitive Machines for a 2027 mission that will explore the Moon in Hera Asteroid Mission Departs ESA Test Centre for Final Launch Preparations
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
After a year of rigorous testing, ESA's Hera mission, designed for planetary defense, is set to leave Europe and make its way to its launch site in the USA. The spacecraft, along with its companion CubeSats and additional equipment, was transported from ESA's ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, marking a significant milestone for the mission team.
Scheduled for lift-off this O China Achieves 12th Successful Sea-Based Satellite Launch
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
Galactic Energy, a private rocket manufacturer based in Beijing, successfully completed the third sea-based launch of its Ceres 1 carrier rocket on Thursday afternoon.
To date, China has conducted 12 sea-based launches, utilizing four different rocket types: Long March 11, Smart Dragon 3, Ceres 1, and Gravity 1.
"The company said in a news release that the rocket blasted off at 1:22 Fourth Mercury flyby begins BepiColombo's new trajectory
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
Teams from across ESA and industry have worked continuously over the past four months to overcome a glitch that prevented BepiColombo's thrusters from operating at full power. The ESA/JAXA mission is still on track, with a new trajectory that will take it just 165 km from Mercury's surface on Wednesday.
Taking BepiColombo closer to Mercury than it's ever been before, this flyby will reduce Hughes and Boost Mobile Showcase Advanced Network Management for U.S. Navy
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
Hughes Network Systems, in collaboration with Boost Mobile, both subsidiaries of EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS), recently demonstrated advanced multi-transport network management capabilities designed to enhance the U.S. Navy's operational resiliency. The successful demonstration, conducted earlier this year, focused on remote network orchestration, wide area network (WAN) resilience, and secure Radio Major progress repored in Next-Gen OPIR Missile Warning Program
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
Space Systems Command (SSC) has reached a significant milestone with the successful delivery of the first mission payload for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) sensing in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (NGG). This achievement, announced on Aug. 30, 2024, was made possible through a collaborative effort with Lockheed Martin Space and Raytheon Technologies Corporation. Northrop Grumman secures contract for second DARC installation
Tuesday, 03 September 2024 19:49
The U.S. Space Force's (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to build the second of three planned Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) sites, marking a significant step in the ongoing efforts to bolster space domain awareness. The DARC system is an advanced radar technology designed to track and monitor objects in geosynchronous orbit (GEO), a critical