NASA's Europa Clipper gets set of super-size solar arrays
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 17:14
The largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for planetary exploration just got its "wings"—massive solar arrays to power it on the journey to Jupiter's icy moon Europa.
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft recently got outfitted with a set of enormous solar arrays at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each measuring about 46½ feet (14.2 meters) long and about 13½ feet (4.1 meters) high, the arrays are the biggest NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission.
With successful airlock test, Lockheed Martin invests in inflatable space structures
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 17:12
SpaceX postpones historic mission featuring first private spacewalk
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 16:08
SpaceX on Tuesday postponed once more its attempt at launching a daring orbital expedition featuring an all-civilian crew that is aiming to carry out the first-ever spacewalk by private citizens.
The Polaris Dawn mission, organized by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, had been set to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a four-hour window early Wednesday.
Bu NASA’s inspector general predicts continued cost growth for SLS mobile launch platform
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 15:32
How biofilms can help or hinder spaceflight
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 12:35
As humans spread into the cosmos, we will take a plethora of initially Earth-bound life with us for the ride. Some might be more beneficial or potentially harmful than others. And there is no lifeform more prevalent on Earth than bacteria. These tiny creatures and fungi, their long-lost cousins on the evolutionary tree, have a habit of clumping together to form a type of structure known as a biofilm.
Biofilms are ubiquitous in Earth-bound environments and have been noticed on space missions for decades. But what potential dangers do they pose? More interestingly, what possible problems can they solve?
A paper from a group of scientists focused on life support systems in the journal Biofilm provides a high-level overview of the state of the science of understanding how biofilms work in space and where it might need to go for us to establish a permanent human presence off-world.
The paper is divided into five sub-sections, each of which examines how biofilms might impact them.
US leaders have been warned to focus on GPS and PNT to protect the nation
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 12:00
SpaceX delays Polaris Dawn launch again with no new date set
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 11:07
Billionaire Jared Isaacman's return trip to space on the Polaris Dawn mission is having to wait a little longer after a launch pad issue forced one delay and now the weather has taken the next two launch opportunities off the board.
First, a helium leak on the launch pad Monday night forced SpaceX to hold off a planned overnight launch attempt of Isaacman and three crewmates aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience atop a Falcon 9 rocket from KSC's Launch Pad 39-A. Then SpaceX said weather in the recovery area would take off both early Wednesday and early Thursday morning opportunities.
"Due to unfavorable weather forecast in Dragon's splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow's Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn," SpaceX posted on X late Tuesday. "Teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions."
It's uncertain if SpaceX would try for an early Friday morning launch opportunity.
"The ascent corridor is go, it's the splashdown locations day 5 that are not favorable," Isaacman posted late Tuesday to X.
Media invitation: Sentinel-2C pre-launch media briefings
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 07:22
Media invitation: Sentinel-2C pre-launch media briefings
SpaceX to launch historic mission featuring first private spacewalk
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 07:10
SpaceX is poised for another attempt at launching a daring orbital expedition featuring an all-civilian crew that is aiming to carry out the first-ever spacewalk by private citizens.
The Polaris Dawn mission, organized by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman is now set to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a four-hour window beginning on Wednesday at 3:38 am loca NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars begins steep climb to rim of a crater
Wednesday, 28 August 2024 04:46
NASA's Perseverance rover is tackling a steep new challenge on Mars.
The six-wheeled rover has spent the last 3 1/2 years roaming around the bottom of a crater. On Tuesday, it began climbing to the top.
The rover will go up 1,000 feet (305 meters) to the rim of Jezero Crater to dig up rock samples. Since landing on the red planet in 2021, Perseverance has collected 22 rock core samples from the floor of the crater, which was once filled with water.
Experts warn U.S. falling behind in satellite imaging race: ‘We’ve gone backwards’
Tuesday, 27 August 2024 22:20
SpaceX Polaris Dawn launch pushed back after helium leak
Tuesday, 27 August 2024 16:04
SpaceX on Monday pushed back the historic launch of an all-civilian crew on an orbital expedition set to mark a new chapter in space exploration with the first spacewalk by private citizens.
The Polaris Dawn mission, organized by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, was set to lift off early Tuesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, but is now targeting early Wednesday after a late techn NASA advances solar sail deployment efforts after initial delay
Tuesday, 27 August 2024 16:04
NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) has initiated deployment operations for its innovative solar sail. However, during the initial attempt to unfurl the sail, the process was paused when an onboard power monitor detected higher-than-expected motor currents. Despite this, communications, power, and attitude control for the spacecraft all remain normal. Mission managers are now focu