Friday afternoon United Launch Alliance is preparing to launch two satellites directly to geosynchronous orbit for the U.S. Space Force. The USSF-8 mission will be the only Atlas V to fly the 511 configuration and is ULA’s first flight of 2022.
Launch Date: Friday, January 21, 2:00 p.m. EST
Monday evening SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of Starlink satellites. This will take off from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Launch Date: Tuesday, January 18, 9:02 p.m. EST
An underwater volcano located near the Tonga Islands recently became active. Early this morning, a major eruption took place. Multiple satellites captured it as it happened.
The Biden Administration has committed to supporting the International Space Station until the end of this decade. This gives commercial companies more time to develop and bring their stations online before the ISS is retired.
Thursday morning SpaceX is preparing to launch another Transporter rideshare mission. This will take off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will feature a booster landing at Landing Zone 1, also located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Launch Date: Thursday, January 13, 10:25 a.m. EST
Sierra Space delivered a model of its Dream Chaser spaceplane to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for the new Gateway exhibit. This model will “fly” over visitors, appearing as if it were in space.
Thursday evening SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of Starlink satellites. This will take off from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the first SpaceX mission of 2022.
Launch Date: Thursday, January 6, 4:49 p.m. EST
The Rosen Law Firm has opened an investigation into Astra Space, Inc. [NASDAQ: ASTR] due to allegations that Astra presented misleading material to the public. Astra’s stock price plummeted following the report by market analyst Kerrisdale Capital, a short seller of Astra Space.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that the Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment has been delayed until February 28, 2022. This places the orbital launch attempt in March 2022 at the earliest.
In partnership with G4TV, the former Mythbuster Adam Savage set out to design and build his own xEMU-inspired spacesuit. The process was documented on his YouTube Channel, Tested.
Astra announced today that its next launch will be from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This will be the company’s first from the state with more following in the future.
Fourth time’s the charm for Astra! It has successfully reached orbit with its Rocket 3.3 vehicle, serial number LV0007. This mission follows the “powerslide launch” in which an engine failure lead to a terminated flight.
In a new permit application, Blue Origin lays out the foundation for its continued Florida presence long into the future. Blue details near and future improvements to the south campus of its manufacturing facility located in Exploration Park.
A new permit application confirms rumors of Astra launching from Launch Complex 46 as soon as late 2021 or early 2022. The previous launch from SLC-46 was the Orion Ascent Abort 2 test for the Artemis program.
In a new video from Relativity Space, we see the first stage of its Terran 1 vehicle receiving its paint coat. Terran 1 is expected to have its maiden launch in 2022.
Earlier this year, we reported that NASA was planning on constructing the Mobile Launcher 2 tower sections on a plot of land located in Port Canaveral. Now it appears that this site has relocated to Kennedy Space Center.
Nothing is going to space at the Orlando-Sanford International Airport, even though you would be excused for thinking there was. Aerial demonstration teams are descending on Central Florida this weekend. UPDATE: The F-22 Raptor Demo Team will be coming to the air show!
While the Inspiration4 crew was in space conducting medical research and chatting with St Jude patients, they also took the opportunity to get some “out-of-this-world” pictures. While they had a professional camera with them, they have just as many, if not more pictures and videos taken with iPhones.
Lockheed Martin recently opened their STAR Center at the former Astronaut Experience (ATX) attraction location. Now they are moving forward with plans to construct another factory building near their offices and AstroTech.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster, B1023, arrived at the new exhibit building, Gateway, for permanent display. This booster previously launched the Thaicom 8 satellite and then was converted to a Falcon Heavy side booster for the demo flight.
Today the FAA released the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for Starship/Super Heavy operations out of Boca Chica, Texas. These documents provide insight into what the future holds for SpaceX in South Texas.
NASA teams are racing towards the first launch of the SLS rocket at Kennedy Space Center. The final pieces needed for sull stack testing were installed a few days ago, the Orion stage adapter structural test article, and Orion Mass Simulator. The full stack of SLS is expected to roll out to LC-39B for further testing and a Wet Dress Rehearsal.
Just 3 days after their first launch, Firefly Aerospace provides some insight into what occurred during the first stage boost phase. Along with the statement was a video showcasing some different angles of Firefly’s first Alpha launch and tracking footage.
Caspar Stanley is known in the Space Twitter community for creating detailed 3D models of various launch vehicles. Now you can view them up-close and personal in Rocket Explorer, a VR and Desktop rocket viewing experience that is in early access!
Just on the edge of their first launch, Firefly finally conducts a static fire on their Alpha rocket out in Vandenberg Space Force Base.
A photo was shared in a Facebook Group that appears to show 2 vessels in the midst of being outfitted. The post shared a tip that SpaceX purchased these two ships for operations on the east coast. One of the vessels clearly brands a SpaceX logo, while the other is being worked on and sharing the same color scheme. So we looked into it…
While it’s simple to just use the default or built-in ringtones, NASA supplies a range of mission sounds that can space-out your iPhone. Here’s how:
New information found shows that Space Florida, Florida’s spaceport authority, will be building a new complex for astronaut training near Blue Origin’s factory.
The new “Nauka” Space Station module arrived at the ISS early this morning. Since then, it has caused the station to lose attitude control by firing its thrusters without being commanded. The ISS has since regained attitude control.
NASA and Boeing will attempt to launch the Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission on July 30th at 2:53 PM EDT. This comes after a successful Flight Readiness Review today.
It’s a hot and humid summer morning. On July 16th, 1969 the silence was broken by the sound of five F-1 engines roaring to life. Apollo 11 lifted off at 9:32 AM EDT on a mission of a lifetime. On July 20th, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are about to land on the Moon.
Update: NASA released a post on social media that stated the science instrument are not back online. Also, science data is being collected once again.
The historic Hubble Space Telescope has been out of commission since June 13th, when an onboard computer error caused the system to halt. Teams at NASA have been working to diagnose and develop plans to restore the telescope to operation.
SpaceX has been steamrolling towards their orbital Starship attempt out of Boca Chica since the SN15 launch. However, we are still months away from a possible attempt. The reason? Darn FAA Environmental Reviews.
While Virgin Galactic ran into some technical difficulties with the live views from the cabin of VSS Unity, you can now watch the crew experience spaceflight. The crew spent just over a minute above the 50 miles high definition of space but experienced ~2-3 minutes of zero gravity.
The Dragon that flew the CRS-22 mission to the International Space Station is set to return to earth over the next few days. However, Tropical Storm Elsa has proven problematic. Undocking is currently scheduled for July 7th.
Update: SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico just before midnight (11:32 p.m.EDT) on Friday.
Space Shuttle Atlantis currently resides in an exhibit building at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, its permanent home. Back on this day in 2011, Atlantis would fly for the last time. STS-135 marked the end of the Space Shuttle Program.
Relativity Space has been hard at work on Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This will be the launch site of their Terran 1 vehicle, expected to launch by the end of 2021, and their fully reusable rocket Terran R. Relativity recently installed the Strongback for Terran 1, a major milestone.
Those going out to see the latest booster return and droneship departures may have noticed a new structure being erected in the SpaceX area. Permits detail this new tent as a roughly 40′ square with the walls consisting of containers. The canopy being constructed will sit atop these containers.
The Artemis program will be launching the first woman and the next man to the Moon. Before humans can step aboard an SLS rocket launching towards the Moon, we need a test run. Inside the Orion capsule for this first launch of the Artemis program, Artemis I, will be a manikin some have dubbed a ‘Moonikin’, but now this dummy has a name.
SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at 10:21 a.m. EDT on June 28th, 2015. This was meant to be SpaceX’s 7th resupply mission to the International Space Station. But 139 seconds into the flight, the vehicle began to disintegrate. This resulted in the loss of the rocket and the Cargo Dragon capsule. What happened?
SpaceX launched the Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission in early June 25th, 2019. STP-2 was launched on the third flight of Falcon Heavy, reusing the side boosters from the Arabsat-6A launch earlier that year.
Over the last month, we’ve seen a lot of changes in SpaceX’s recovery fleet. New members to the fleet are being added, and some being moved around. Here is an update on what has happened recently.
On SpaceX’s CRS-22, the first pair of new solar panels were sent up to the ISS to give the station a little boost. Tomorrow two astronauts will conduct a third spacewalk to continue installing the station’s newest addition.
The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (S-ISAC) is a private-sector group with federal support to monitor and analyze both cyber and physical threats to space assets and their operators. Microsoft has joined as a founding member to bring their experience to the table.
United Launch Alliance loaded an Atlas V Booster and Dual Engine Centaur onto their Rocketship boat over the weekend. Its destination? Florida. This isn’t just any ordinary Atlas V though, this will be the first one to carry crew to space. The Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test (CFT) is still expected NET late 2021. However, a second Orbital Flight Test is needed.
Rocket Lab is continuing progress on their latest launch pad located at their New Zealand facility, LC-1B, with the installation of the strongback. The Electron launch vehicle has been grounded since an in-flight failure of the second stage engine. The anomaly investigation is still underway, but the FAA has cleared Electron for flight.
