NASA Released Autonomous Flight Termination Unit software, paves way for Rocket Lab launches

Today NASA released software for their Autonomous Flight Termination Unit to the launch industry. This has been the primary reason for Rocket Lab’s delays in launching from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.

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Judge blocks Camden County from buying Spaceport Camden land, temporarily

Georgia Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett Sr. issued a temporary restraining order to block Camden County from buying the land for Spaceport Camden Tuesday. The land acquisition now could depend on the results of a special election.

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NASA assigns two astronauts to SpaceX’s Crew-6 mission in 2023

NASA has selected Dragon’s commander and pilot for SpaceX’s Crew-6 mission. The International Space Station rotation mission is expected to take place in the Spring of 2023.

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Rare look inside the nosecone of SpaceX’s latest rocket [Video]

A leaked video from a SpaceX employee shows inside the nosecone of the company’s latest rocket – Starship.

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Starship/Super Heavy Final Environmental Assessment to be released by the year-end

As SpaceX and the FAA work towards closing out the Starship/Super Heavy Environmental Assessment, more details have been released. Transcripts from the two virtual public hearings about the PEA were released along with an estimated timeline for the Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment being released. This date is currently December 31, 2021.

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SpaceX Starlink Group 4-1 early morning launch in photos [Gallery]

SpaceX launched its 128th Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday morning, carrying 53 Starlink satellites. They are destined for a 560 km orbit and will begin the fourth orbital shell of the Starlink constellation. An unusual amount of fog came over the launch pad, making for some great photos.

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NASA commits $28 million to underfunded US jurisdictions

NASA Office of Stem Engagement awarded $28 million to jurisdictions around the country today to keep their research competitive compared to other programs with more outside funding, details below. NASA has awarded $28 million to fund the next five years of research infrastructure development across 28 jurisdictions. The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR),…

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NASA publishes ‘First Woman’ graphic novel with Augmented Reality

This World Space Week, NASA has joined in, sharing a new graphic novel about the first woman to go to the Moon.

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Vice President Kamala Harris and Astronaut Shane Kimbrough team up for World Space Week [Video]

As a part of World Space Week, astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Vice President Kamala Harris have teamed up in a new NASA video to inspire kids to get interested in space.

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AstroAccess reveals crew of 12 Disability Ambassadors for historic ZERO-G parabolic flight

AstroAccess has selected 12 ambassadors to fly on a parabolic, weightless flight. Ambassadors with mobility, vision, and hearing disabilities will test the design for accessibility in zero-gravity and high gravity environments. Coinciding with World Space Week, the crew announced today will seek to advance disability inclusion in space.

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Adam Savage meets Alan Shepards Mercury Spacesuit [Video]

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Restoration Hanger is working on Alan Shepard’s Mercury spacesuit in preparation for display. Adam Savage and Tested got to view this suit while visiting the hanger.

NASA, FEMA to Host Alliance for Climate Action Series in October

NASA and FEMA are hosting a forum to discuss what the agencies are doing to combat climate change and discuss data gathered by the agencies.

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SmarterEveryDay discusses James Webb Space Telescope with Senior Project Scientist [Video]

With the James Webb Space Telescope coming up in December, Destin Sandlin (SmarterEveryDay) shared a video recorded in 2017 where he sat down with the senior project scientist, Dr. John Mather.

NASA TV coverage set for Russian film production launch

Roscosmos is preparing to launch two private citizens and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station for a week and a half to film scenes for a movie called Challenge. NASA will provide live coverage of the launch.

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DARPA’S hypersonic air-breathing weapon concept achieves successful flight

DARPA announced the successful flight of a hypersonic air-breathing weapon concept. The test brings the project one step closer to expanding U.S. military capabilities.

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New AstroVan: NASA Seeks Input from Potential Partners on Next Generation Astromobile

For decades, NASA has used mostly modified motorhomes to transport astronauts to the launch pad. Now, NASA is requesting proposals for the Agency’s next Astrovan.

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NASA Announces Virtual Webb STEAM Day Event for Students, Educators

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is getting ready to launch to space from French Guiana in early December. NASA announced a STEAM Day for students and educators to get ready for the big day ahead of the launch.

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Space Station Crew to Relocate Soyuz, Make Room for New Crewmates

Roscosmos is preparing to relocate the MS-18 Soyuz spacecraft next Tuesday to make room for the crew of MS-19 arriving next month.

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[Scoop] Artemis 1 CubeSats get second chance at integration thanks to SLS testing delays

SLS is undergoing testing ahead of Orion integration and rollout for the Wet Dress Rehearsal for the Artemis 1 mission. But it’s not only Orion going to the Moon. 13 CubeSats are tagging along, at least now it’s 13…

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[Updated: NASA Statement] Kennedy Space Center now ‘all clear’ following emergency lockdown

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center was under an emergency lockdown earlier today.

Rocket Lab announces contract to launch entire constellation for Kinéis

The California-based smallsat launcher, Rocket Lab, announced Wednesday that they will be launching 5 missions for Internet-of-Things (IoT) connectivity provider Kinéis. This will make Rocket Lab the exclusive launcher of Kinéis’

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NBC News to host joint interview with Elon Musk and Jared Isaacman tonight

Tonight on NBC Nightly News, Tom Costello will be sitting down for a joint interview with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and billionaire Jared Isaacman. During the interview, Costello will also be given an exclusive tour of SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

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SLS: NASA to proceed with second Green Run test in late February

Late last week, NASA announced that it would perform a second hotfire test of the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage. While the decision will likely cause SLS to miss its launch date later this year, it will allow NASA and Boeing the opportunity to collect necessary data.

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The Apollo 1 tragedy | This Day In Space (27 Jan. 1967)

The US reached the Moon with the Apollo program, and we haven’t been back since. But the planned first crewed mission of the program, Apollo 1, ended tragically before the rocket ever left the launch pad. The mission is deemed by NASA one of the worst incidents in spaceflight history.

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Three Air Force Global Strike Command bombers to perform flyover during Super Bowl 55

Super Bowl 55 is just around the corner, set to take place on February 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. But this year, the Super Bowl will be a bit special with a first-of-its-kind Air Force Global Strike flyover.

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Biden has a moon rock sitting on a bookshelf in the Oval Office

Yes, you read that title correctly; Biden does indeed have a moon rock in the Oval Office. As pointed out by The Washington Post, the moon rock is sitting on a bookshelf and is “intended to remind Americans of the ambition and accompaniments of earlier generations.”

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NASA and the CSA are launching a challenge seeking new food system technologies

Consuming food aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can be a rather tricky task, but luckily, NASA can regularly send more food up. However, when future missions begin calling for astronauts to travel farther out into space, that won’t be an option. Enter the “Deep Space Food Challenge.”

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The Air Force successfully used an AI co-pilot during a Lockheed U-2 flight

On December 15, the US Air Force used artificial intelligence (AI) to control a Lockheed U-2 spy plane’s radar and sensor systems. This marked the first time that AI was given control of any US military system.

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Starlink public beta now available in the UK and Canada

Since October, SpaceX has been slowly rolling out public beta access to its Starlink internet service, and the latest countries to get access are the UK and Canada. People who live in those countries can now sign up for the public beta and have a Starlink user terminal shipped to them.

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Vespara smart telescope wins a CES 2021 innovation award

Vaonis is a French company that just unveiled its latest astrophotography tool, a smart telescope called Vespera. An improvement over the company’s previous smart telescope, Stellina, Vespara just won the CES 2021 Best of Innovation Award for digital imaging and photography.

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Boeing’s Starliner flight software has received a formal requalification

In December 2019, Boeing’s Starliner crew ship failed to reach the International Space Station (ISS) during its Orbital Flight Test mission. Later it was discovered that multiple errors in Starliner’s software caused the failure. Because of this, if Boeing wanted to test Starliner again, its software would need to achieve a formal requalification.

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According to NASA, 2020 tied for the warmest year on record

NASA released a new analysis today that concludes that 2020 tied for the warmest year on record with 2016, continuing our planet’s trend of slowly but surely getting warmer over the past seven years.

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OneWeb drastically reduces expected satellite constellation size

OneWeb put out a press release on Wednesday detailing plans to reduce the size of its proposed satellite constellation substantially. Initially planned to include nearly 48,000 satellites, the updated plan now calls for only about 6,400 in an attempt to reduce the overall cost of the project.

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Senior NASA scientist faces six months in prison after lying about China ties

Meyya Meyyappan, a 66-year-old senior NASA scientist in California, has just pleaded guilty before a US District Judge in Manhattan. The charges brought forth include making false statements to the FBI, NASA, and the USAO about his involvement in China’s Thousand Talents Program.

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Which rover has spent the most time on Mars?

Today officially marks the 3,000th day since the Mars rover Curiosity first arrived at the Martian planet. While this may be a long time by any measure, it got us wondering, what’s the longest period that any rover has spent on Mars?

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‘The Black Vault’ has made all CIA UFO documents available for download

The Black Vault is a website that contains many of the US government’s declassified documents. The site was recently updated to include an archive of PDFs containing all of the CIA’s declassified UFO documents going back to the 1980s. And the best part is that anybody with an internet connection can download all of these files safely and easily now.

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Humanity’s important firsts in space

Space has been called the final frontier by many influential figures throughout the years, and for good reasons. The dark, cold vacuum of space is dangerously unforgiving and reminds us that humans aren’t meant to go there. But as usual, curiosity has prevailed, and humans have made their mark in space, and we continue to do so today. 

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Four concepts chosen for NASA’s Pioneers program

NASA has selected four astrophysics mission concepts that will be in the running to join its Pioneers program. These concepts will undergo a full concept study by NASA, and if everything checks out, they will formally become part of the program.

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Looking back on the failed ‘Mars One’ project

Back in 2011, a company called Mars One was founded by a small private Dutch organization with a single bold claim — to land the first humans on Mars. Not only would it be landing humans on Mars, but it would have them “live, explore, and create a second home for humanity” there.

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With Arecibo’s collapse, some scientists want to build its replacement on the Moon

2020 ended on a low note for the scientific community as the Arecibo Observatory collapsed in early December. However, this event has reinvigorated the discussion around NASA’s proposed Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT). Some scientists have even suggested that an LCRT on the Moon’s far side could act as a better replacement for Arecibo.

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NASA developing lunar navigation architecture for its upcoming Artemis missions

Preparations for NASA’s Artemis program are in full swing as the first mission, Artemis I, is set to launch later this year. However, one crucial part of the program that still requires a solution is navigation architecture. With extended stays on the moon, humans and autonomous robots alike would benefit greatly from having a system similar to GPS available.

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New image of Mars’ Valles Marineris reveals its enormous scale

Valles Marineris, also known as Mariner Valley, is a vast, expansive canyon covering a quarter of Mars’ equator. The 2,500-mile-long canyon is so large that it has been deemed the largest canyon in our entire solar system.

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A spectrometer has successfully been installed on NASA’s Lucy spacecraft

NASA’s Lucy mission is primed to be the first space mission to study the Trojan asteroids around Jupiter. Today the mission moved one step closer to its launch following the successful integration of the L’TES instrument into the spacecraft.

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A look at NASA’s new xEMU spacesuits

Good spacesuits are arguably the most crucial aspect of any mission to space that involves humans. Even an uncomfortable spacesuit could impose substantial issues or limitations that you wouldn’t expect. That’s why engineers and designers at NASA have been hard at work designing a next-generation spacesuit called xEMU.

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SLS: NASA targeting core stage hot fire test for ‘as early as January 17’

A couple of weeks ago, on December 20, NASA completed the wet dress rehearsal test for the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage. And then today, the agency finally announced that it would be moving forward with the green run hot fire test, targeting a date “as early as January 17.”

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NASA’s new SPHEREx space telescope has officially entered into its final design stage

SPHEREx, or Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, is NASA’s newest space telescope, and today, NASA announced that the project has entered into “Phase C.” This is essentially a final design phase, meaning that a final design can now be accomplished as well as building out hardware and software for the project.

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NASA satellite imagery shows the recent devastation of climate change

We can likely all agree that 2020 will go down as one of the worst years in history for many reasons. Among those was the devastating effects that climate change had on the Earth, including enormous fires, prolonged droughts, etc. And for better or worse, it was all captured in a series of powerful images by NASA.

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SpaceX Starlink beta invites have been rolling out in the UK

SpaceX has been adding new locations to its Starlink beta program at a rapid pace. A few weeks ago, the UK became the latest country to begin receiving beta invites for the satellite broadband service, with some users already receiving the necessary hardware.