Boeing 'ran out of time' on Starliner: astronaut stuck on ISS
Saturday, 14 September 2024 07:30
Write a comment
A US astronaut stuck on the International Space Station said Friday he believed Boeing's Starliner could have carried him home, if more time had been available to work through the beleaguered spacecraft's issues.
Last week, Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams watched the Boeing Starliner they rode to the ISS three months prior head back to Earth without them.
"We could have gotten to the point, I believe, where we could have returned on Starliner, but we just simply ran out of time," Wilmore said Friday in a video press conference.
On June 5, Wilmore and Williams took off aboard the Starliner as part of the vessel's first crewed mission, in what was originally meant to be eight days in orbit.
United Airlines bumps GEO operators off fleet for Starlink Wi-Fi
Friday, 13 September 2024 21:48
Mars mission: Wurzburg researchers orchestrate swarm of robots
Friday, 13 September 2024 21:32 Write a comment
An enormous canyon stretches across Mars: Valles Marineris is 3,000 kilometres long, 600 kilometres wide and on average eight kilometres deep. Its Latin name goes back to the Mars orbiter "Mariner", which discovered the valley in the early 1970s.
Since 2012, this largest known canyon in the solar system has received special attention from the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Cen Lunar Trailblazer completes environmental testing
Friday, 13 September 2024 21:32 Write a comment
NASA's Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft has successfully finished the rigorous series of environmental tests designed to ensure it can withstand the challenges of launch and space. With these tests complete, the spacecraft team at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, is now conducting software tests simulating key phases of the mission, including launch, orbital maneuvers, and its science o What time is it on the moon? NASA's trying to figure that out
Friday, 13 September 2024 21:32 Write a comment
NASA said Thursday its Space Communication and Navigation program is taking the lead on an effort to establish a Coordinated Lunar Time standard as humans prepare to return to the moon.
The program, also known as SCaN, will coordinate with various stakeholders on a timekeeping effort to "enable a future lunar ecosystem" that could also be extended to Mars and other locations in solar sy Atoms on the edge
Friday, 13 September 2024 21:32 Write a comment
Typically, electrons are free agents that can move through most metals in any direction. When they encounter an obstacle, the charged particles experience friction and scatter randomly like colliding billiard balls.
But in certain exotic materials, electrons can appear to flow with single-minded purpose. In these materials, electrons may become locked to the material's edge and flow in one MDA Space secures contract with SWISSto12 for antenna systems on HummingSat GEO Satellites
Friday, 13 September 2024 21:32 Write a comment
MDA Space Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a key partner in global space missions, has been awarded a contract by SWISSto12 to supply antenna systems for three HummingSat geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites. These satellites are part of the Inmarsat-8 program, which will deliver vital safety services and enhance emergency tracking capabilities.
Under this contract, MDA Space will design and build L-Band Starliner astronauts adjust to long-term ISS stay
Friday, 13 September 2024 21:05
Stuck-in-space astronauts make first public comments since Boeing capsule left without them
Friday, 13 September 2024 18:34 Write a comment
Stuck-in-space astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them.
It was their first public comments since last week's return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June. They remained behind after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in.
"That's how it goes in this business," said Williams, adding that "you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity.
Stuck-in-space astronauts reflect on being left behind and adjusting to life in orbit
Friday, 13 September 2024 18:34 Write a comment
Stuck-in-space astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them.
It was their first public comments since last week's return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June. They remained behind after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in.
"That's how it goes in this business," said Williams, adding that "you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity.
NGA taps 10 firms for $290 million satellite data analytics contract
Friday, 13 September 2024 18:16
NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 to conduct space station research
Friday, 13 September 2024 16:25 Write a comment
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are headed to the International Space Station for the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission in September. Once on station, these crew members will support scientific investigations that include studies of blood clotting, effects of moisture on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts.
Here are details on some of the work scheduled during the Crew-9 expedition:
Blood cell development in space
Megakaryocytes Orbiting in Outer Space and Near Earth (MeF1) investigates how environmental conditions affect the development and function of megakaryocytes and platelets. Megakaryocytes, large cells found in bone marrow, and platelets, pieces of these cells, play important roles in blood clotting and immune response.
"Understanding the development and function of megakaryocytes and platelets during long-duration spaceflight is crucial to safeguarding the health of astronauts," said Hansjorg Schwertz, principal investigator, at the University of Utah.
Telesat secures $1.9 billion government funding for Lightspeed
Friday, 13 September 2024 16:23
Artemis missions could put the most powerful imaging telescope on the moon
Friday, 13 September 2024 16:18 Write a comment
Ground-based interferometry on Earth has proven to be a successful method for conducting science by combining light from several telescopes into acting like a single large telescope. But how can an ultraviolet (UV)/optical interferometer telescope on the moon deliver enhanced science, and can the Artemis missions help make this a reality?
This is what a recently submitted study to the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2024 conference hopes to address as a team of researchers propose the Artemis-enabled Stellar Imager (AeSI) that, as its name implies, could potentially be delivered to the lunar surface via NASA's upcoming Artemis missions. The study is published on the arXiv preprint server.
This proposal was recently accepted as a Phase 1 study through NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program and holds the potential to develop revolutionary extremely high-angular resolution way of conducting science on other planetary bodies while contributing to other missions, as well.
Printed engines propel the next industrial revolution
Friday, 13 September 2024 16:09 Write a comment
In the fall of 2023, NASA hot fire tested an aluminum 3D printed rocket engine nozzle. Aluminum is not typically used for 3D printing because the process causes it to crack, and its low melting point makes it a challenging material for rocket engines. Yet the test was a success.
Printing aluminum engine parts could save significant time, money, and weight for future spacecraft. Elementum 3D Inc., a partner on the project, is now making those benefits available to the commercial space industry and beyond.