Zac Hall

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are in the midst of an unconventional campaign cycle for the 2020 presidential election.

Mr. Trump, who attended the SpaceX Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon launch on Saturday, is vying for a second term in office. Mr. Biden, who has largely relied on virtual rallies during the COVID-19 pandemic, is the presumptive nominee for the party out of power.

Both presidential candidates have addressed the first SpaceX mission to send NASA astronauts to space this week.

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The team at Virgin Orbit published a statement this week expressing its support for “peaceful protests and demonstrations” following the death of George Floyd.

The 46-year-old African American died from asphyxiation on Memorial Day after being handcuffed by Minneapolis police and pinned down on the street for almost nine minutes with a knee on his neck. Floyd was stopped for allegedly passing a fake $20 bill.

The loss of George Floyd’s life adds to the heartbreaking list of African Americans who have been been killed at the hands of systemic racism in the last decade alone. From Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice to Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

Prejudice in this country is deadly, and despite NASA’s best framing, this weekend’s historic launch may grab the nation’s attention, but the achievement does nothing toward healing the hearts of all who are heartbroken over each new tragedy.

That sentiment is one reflected in Virgin Orbit’s statement. It’s difficult to focus on the challenges of tomorrow without pausing to recognize the challenges of the day.

Did you miss watching history on Saturday or just miss the thrill of SpaceX sending NASA astronauts to space for the first time ever? You’ll want to set aside five hours (or at least a few minutes) to watch the newest footage from Elon Musk’s space exploration company.

SpaceX has published a 4 hour 49 minute long replay of the Crew Demo 2 test flight mission launch from Saturday, May 30, including the first 25 minutes of flight.

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An early SpaceX prototype static fire test that initially appeared successful resulted in a fiery explosion at a test facility in Boca Chica, Texas, although the dramatic scene is not entirely unexpected. Key points to know:

• SpaceX is developing a super heavy-lift vehicle called Starship
• Part of the development process requires testing prototype configurations
• These tests are conducted publicly but safely with road closures and area evacuations ahead of time

While there is a NASA connection to Starship (see the recent SpaceX Human Landing System proposal), this rocket development has no connection to the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft that NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will use on the Demo-2 test flight this week.

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All systems were go for launch on Wednesday as SpaceX prepared to send astronauts to space on its rocket for the first time in history. Weather conditions around Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, had other plans in mind, however.

With roughly 15 minutes before liftoff, SpaceX scrubbed the May 27 launch out of an abundance of caution due to “too much electricity in the atmosphere,” as NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine put it.

Despite the anti-climatic end to a launch day that had the attention of the nation, SpaceX delaying the flight of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station tested two challenges.

SpaceX called off the first launch attempt on Wednesday due to weather concerns. The next attempt will be on Saturday, May 30, at 3:22 p.m.

SpaceX is sending humans to space for the first time this week in a historic mission called Demo-2 for Elon Musk’s space exploration company. The crew consists of two NASA astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who previously flew on space shuttle missions. The crewed test flight will mark the return of human spaceflight capabilities in the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade.

From how to watch to why it matters, here’s what you need to know:

Update 5/24/2020 8:37 p.m. EDT: New launch target between 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 25

Update 5/25/2020 3:56 p.m. EDT: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket had a clean release from the wing of the Cosmic Girl 747, but the mission terminated shortly after release. Virgin Orbit says the crew and aircraft are safe.

A rocket typically lifts off from a launchpad to move a payload from the ground to somewhere in space, but Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit sees another path to sending orbital vehicles and satellites to low Earth orbit.

How does dropping a rocket into free fall from an airplane named Cosmic Girl before its engines fire off sound?

Virgin Orbit planned to complete the first orbital flight test of its LauncherOne rocket today to demonstrate just that, but a “minor sensor issue” has caused Virgin Orbit to scrub the test flight for Sunday.

The company believes the sensor problem can be resolved with a quick turnaround, however, suggesting a potential Memorial Day orbital flight test for LauncherOne.

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be on their journey to the International Space Station in just four days. Before history is made on May 27, the NASA and SpaceX teams must prepare with a bit of practice in the form of a dress rehearsal.

Sporting modern SpaceX flight suits inside a Tesla Model X electric SUV tagged with “ISSBND” (as in International Space Station bound), the astronaut duo went through all the motions of what we’ll see on Wednesday — minus firing off a Falcon 9 rocket.

Where will Elon Musk be when his company SpaceX launches astronauts to space for the first time in history on Wednesday? Elon biographer and Businessweek reporter Ashlee Vance has published a pre-launch interview with the SpaceX founder that answers that question and more.

The days are counting down to when SpaceX will launch NASA astronauts to space for the first time in history. With under a week until the historic NASA Demo-2 mission kicks off, both the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft have arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Vice President Mike Pence who chairs the Space Counsel is expected to be in attendance when NASA and SpaceX send astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS from the U.S. next week, and now President Trump has weighed in:

NASA is just eight days away from sending astronauts to space from America for the first time since 2011, and the associate administrator in charge of human spaceflight has resigned. The development is one that has surprised observers of America’s space agency considering the timing of the milestone spaceflight.

Doug Loverro took the position of associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in October 2019, replacing acting associate administrator Kenneth Bowersox who filled the position for three months prior. Today former astronaut and shuttle pilot Bowersox resumed the role as the acting associate administrator.

NASA released a statement on the leadership shuffle without explaining the resignation:

Work on Space Launch System, NASA’s heavy lift rocket designed to return astronauts to the Moon, was chugging along through March before COVID-19 closed down the country.

Starting this week, NASA says Stennis Space Center in Mississippi will start again on the Core Stage for SLS ahead of the Green Run test later this fall.

SpaceX is less than two weeks from crossing a major milestone: sending humans to space for the first time with its rocket. The historic DM-2 mission will also mark the return of human spaceflight to America for the first time since the space shuttle program ended in 2011.

NASA will rely on SpaceX (and later Boeing) to provide access to space from America through its Commercial Crew Program.

Today NASA released a cinematic animation of the mission sequence.

What’s equal parts mesmerizing and terrifying? Manually docking the Crew Dragon to the International Space Station.

This week SpaceX released a simulator that puts you behind the Crew Dragon controls to experience docking first-hand.

In a special video conversation with space communicator Alex Orphanos, we discuss Tom Cruise going to the International Space Station, NASA’s three Human Landing System proposals for Artemis lunar missions, the upcoming SpaceX Demo-2 mission and NASA returning human spaceflight to the U.S., and much more.

If you’re tracking new space media coming soon, add “The Right Stuff” on Disney+ to your list in between “Space Force” on Netflix and the upcoming Tom Cruise film from the International Space Station.

The original series from National Geographic is based on the bestselling Tom Wolfe novel. The Right Stuff follows seven military test pilots on their journey to becoming the first astronauts.

From a successful test flight to a new NASA agreement, the first five days in May have been jam-packed for Virgin Galactic.

Now add its first-quarter earnings results (and second-ever investor call) to the list.

President Trump issued an executive order on April 6 to encourage commercial companies to work with NASA and its Artemis program.

Specifically, the ordered denounced the Moon Treaty in an effort to ease concerns for international partners concerned with policy on the use of lunar resources.

Now the Trump administration appears to be going one step further with a new international agreement that not only doesn’t recognize but counters the Moon Treaty.