An innovative new rocket engine that is key to ESA’s strategy for ensuring Europe’s independent access to space has successfully completed its first hot-firing test run. M10 is the first of a new generation of “green” rocket motors tested in Europe, at the new SPTF plant (Space Propulsion Test Facility) built by prime contractor Avio in Sardinia.

NASA expects to be ready to perform another countdown rehearsal of the Space Launch System in early June as it pushes back the first launch of the vehicle to at least August.

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The Crew Dragon capsule carrying ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron home from the International Space Station splashed down off the coast of Florida, USA, on Friday 6 May 2022 at 05:43 BST/06:43 CEST.

Its return marks the end of Crew-3’s almost six-month stay in orbit and the end of Matthias’s first mission, known as Cosmic Kiss.

Crew-3 undocked from the International Space Station in Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance at 06:20 BST/07:20 CEST Thursday 5 May.

When a Crew capsule splashes down, it is met by nearby ships with experts ready to

The Rhine River, the longest river in Germany, is featured in this colourful image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. Along this river lies the city of Bonn: the host of this year’s Living Planet Symposium – one of the largest Earth observation conferences in the world – taking place on 23–27 May 2022.

A Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico May 6, returning four astronauts to Earth after nearly six months on the International Space Station.

The post Crew-3 splashes down in Gulf of Mexico appeared first on SpaceNews.

ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer is safely back on Earth after splashing down off the coast of Florida, USA, at 05:43 BST/06:43 CEST today alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron in Crew Dragon capsule Endurance.

Baltimore MD (SPX) May 06, 2022
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is now experiencing all seasons - from hot to cold - as it undergoes the thermal stability test. Meanwhile, activities are underway for the final phase of commissioning: digging into the details of the science instruments, the heart of Webb. To complete commissioning, we will measure the detailed performance of the science instruments before we start routine sci

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 06, 2022
A new study using data from NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter may explain why Martian frost can be invisible to the naked eye and why dust avalanches appear on some slopes. Scientists were baffled last year when studying images of the Martian surface taken at dawn by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. When they looked at the surface using visible light - the kind that the human eye perceives - they co