Zac Hall

NASA hopes to conduct a critical hot fire test of the core stage of its Space Launch System rocket at Stennis Space Center later this month. The test is the last major step in developing NASA’s new powerful rocket to the Moon. If all goes well this month, NASA will be on track to conduct its first lunar flyby mission called Artemis I with SLS and the Orion spacecraft as early as November 2021.

It’s too early to know if NASA will have to kick back the hot fire test into next year, but a scheduled wet dress rehearsal that started over the weekend was paused on Monday after initial propellant loading to the rocket. NASA says the team at Stennis Space Center will now study data collected during initial propellant loading and adjust the fueling process before completing the wet dress rehearsal.

Newly elected Arizona senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly has a message for Americans: Take pride in the accomplishments of SpaceX. “In the last three weeks, SpaceX has launched both crewed and cargo missions to the International Space Station. This is an impressive achievement which Americans should be proud of,” Senator Kelly tweeted this week. The congratulatory message follows a year of milestone achievements for the private space company.

Chuck Yaeger secured his place in history when the pilot became the first person to fly at the speed of sound before breaking his own record and flying at Mach 2.44. Yaeger died at the age of 97 on Monday night. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine released a statement honoring the test pilot who left his mark on aeronautic science:

Virgin Orbit has added Jim Simpson to its executive team to serve as the launch company’s first Chief Strategy Officer. Simpson filling the CSO role is the latest sign that Virgin Orbit is maturing and preparing for commercial service. VO is scheduled to launch its second demonstration flight in less than two weeks.

Astronauts are going back to the Moon for the first time since the end of NASA’s Apollo program in 1972. Under the Artemis program, NASA will send the first woman and next man to the Moon in this decade. NASA is releasing new details about the planned Artemis III mission today in a report outlining science priorities.

SpaceX is on the cusp of conducting a milestone test of its next-generation Starship rocket currently in development in South Texas. Starship Serial Number 8 (SN8), an early prototype version of the reusable rocket and spacecraft design, is now expected to launch as early as December 8. SpaceX will livestream the hop attempt.

SpaceX is just days away from conducting its first high-altitude test flight with its next-generation Starship vehicle. The latest details are included in Geoff Barrett’s newest Space Infographic shared with Space Explored.

In September, NASA unveiled plans to pay commercial companies to collect Moon rocks and transfer ownership to the U.S. space agency for the first time. Now, NASA has selected four proposals to fulfill its goal, and the awards range from $1 to $15,000.

SpaceX tends to avoid patenting its technology out of concern that China could use the legal filings as blueprints to copy and paste. Elon Musk provided this explanation to Wired in 2012:

We have essentially no patents in SpaceX. Our primary long-term competition is in China — if we published patents, it would be farcical, because the Chinese would just use them as a recipe book. 

The major exception for the space exploration company is Starlink, SpaceX’s developing broadband internet service that relies on satellites deployed on Falcon 9 rockets.

SpaceX has been positioned to attempt the first high-altitude hop with a prototype version of its next-generation Starship vehicle all week, and there’s now a clear signal for when we can expect the dramatic launch to occur.

NASA’s upcoming Artemis I mission is a major step toward sending the first woman and next man to the Moon in this decade. The first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft is on track for November 2021, and the uncrewed lunar flyby mission will clear the way for SLS and Orion to carry astronauts.

The Verge was first to report on an unexpected hiccup in Orion’s readiness to fly, however, and the timeline for a fix could come down to the wire for Artemis I.

Tom Mueller started building SpaceX alongside Elon Musk when the space exploration company was founded in 2002. Now the brains behind the engines used in SpaceX rockets and spacecrafts has officially retired.

Mueller started his 18-year-long career at SpaceX as vice president of propulsion engineering in May 2002 when the doors opened. Described as “employee number one” at SpaceX, the former VP of propulsion engineering is credited with leading design and development of the Merlin and Draco engines used on Falcon rockets and Dragon spacecrafts.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is being honored in Berlin today where he will receive the 2020 Axel Springer Award. Musk is being interviewed at the event, and Space Explored is highlighting commentary from the event below.

Hiding in plain sight at the end of Boca Chica Boulevard near the extreme southern tip of Texas are two SpaceX facilities. Each site is dedicated to building and testing SpaceX’s next-generation spacecraft called Starship. Elon Musk’s rocket company is preparing to launch Starship Serial Number 8, an early prototype version of the future spacecraft, on its first high-altitude flight test this week.

SpaceX is on track to meet an exciting new milestone in Starship development this week. The team in South Texas will attempt the first high altitude test flight using a prototype version of the next-generation launch system as soon as Sunday.

The plan for Starship SN8 hardware, or Serial Number 8, is to launch, ascend 15 kilometers in the sky, and hopefully land. For perspective, SpaceX previously launched and landed its Starship SN6 prototype 150 meters high (twice). If successful, SN8 will fly 100 times further than SN6.

SN8 also looks a lot more like a finished Starship than SN6, and Space Explored will be on site in Texas this week to capture whatever happens.

SpaceX successfully launched and deployed 60 internet satellites into orbit on Tuesday night from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The 16th Starlink mission adds to SpaceX’s growing constellation of internet satellites already powering its broadband service in parts of the US and Canada.

SpaceX also hit a number of milestones with its latest Falcon 9 rocket launch this week:

Rocket Lab’s latest video from space is only 32-seconds long, but you may want to set aside several minutes to roll the tape a few hundred times. It’s that good. The launch company shared the first-ever look at booster stage separation of its Electron rocket from space. Visually and sonically, you have to experience this for yourself.

When SpaceX isn’t busy sending astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, Elon Musk’s space exploration company uses its rockets for a mission of its own. Starlink is SpaceX’s ongoing effort to build out a constellation of internet satellites in low Earth orbit.

The Office of Inspector General has published a 52-page report that lays out seven critical challenges pressing NASA in 2020. From cybersecurity risks to outdated infrastructure, the OIG report describes top management and performance opportunities. Also included is a four-page response from the current NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are conducting spacewalks outside the International Space Station today. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is tasked with assisting the cosmonaut duo with suiting up and monitoring their progress during what is expected to last up to six hours.