Members phkrause Posted January 7 Author Members Posted January 7 NASA’s new mobile launcher tower enters growth spurt phase NASA’s new mobile launcher under construction at Kennedy Space Center to support future Artemis moon missions grew up a little in the new year. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/06/nasas-new-mobile-launcher-tower-enters-growth-spurt-phase/? SpaceX knocks out launch from Cape Canaveral SpaceX sent up the second launch of the year from the Space Coast on Monday afternoon. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/06/spacex-queues-up-monday-afternoon-launch-from-cape-canaveral/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 10 Author Members Posted January 10 Editorial: Space Command HQ belongs in Florida Few Floridians need convincing about the myriad possibilities of space. The most important developments in travel, exploration and contributions to human quality of life have all launched from this state’s Space Coast. That should include the headquarters of this nation’s space-based defense. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/09/editorial-space-command-hq-belongs-in-florida/? NASA Is One Step Closer to Bringing Mars Samples to Earth NASA kicked off the new year with a major announcement: It's officially tackling the issue of bringing Mars samples to Earth. Though the agency's Perseverance rover started collecting Martian regolith four years ago, the Mars Sample Return program's rising costs have made it difficult for officials to land on a specific transportation plan. Now, after investigating a handful of alternate return strategies, the agency has selected two to pursue this year. But only the winning strategy will bring the red rocks home. https://www.extremetech.com/science/nasa-is-one-step-closer-to-bringing-mars-samples-to-earth? SpaceX: Lowering Starlink Satellite Orbits Reduces Impact on Astronomy SpaceX has found a new way to prevent Starlink satellites from interfering with astronomy: Bring them closer to Earth. https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-lowering-starlink-satellite-orbits-reduces-impact-on-astronomy? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 11 Author Members Posted January 11 Spacecraft buzzes Mercury’s north pole and beams back stunning photos CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A spacecraft has beamed back some of the best close-up photos yet of Mercury’s north pole. https://apnews.com/article/mercury-flyby-space-planet-79d0a7439c3fcc8841c4fb6f513e54f0? 🛰️ 1 for the road Photos: European Space Agency There may be water on Mercury, the European Space Agency said today as it released new close-up images of the planet's surface. The images showed Mercury's dark side, featuring craters that are in permanent shadow. Those craters are some of the coldest places in the solar system, according to the ESA, even though Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. And there may be frozen water inside them. Go deeper. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 13 Author Members Posted January 13 Blue Origin scrubs debut launch attempt of New Glenn rocket Blue Origin ran into problems trying to send up its New Glenn rocket on its debut launch from the Space Coast early Monday and ultimately scrubbed the attempt. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/11/blue-origin-lined-up-again-for-overnight-debut-launch-of-new-glenn-rocket/? Jeff Bezos’ space company tries again to launch massive new rocket after last-minute postponement CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Blue Origin will try again to launch its massive new rocket as early as Tuesday after calling off the debut launch because of ice buildup in critical plumbing. https://apnews.com/article/rocket-launch-blue-origin-jeff-bezos-0cb070fa51356f3720c3477ca9fb670b? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 15 Author Members Posted January 15 Firefly punches NASA moon ticket with overnight SpaceX launch KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — A SpaceX mission lifted off early Wednesday marking a first for Firefly Aerospace under NASA’s plans to build up American companies to support its lunar goals. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/14/firefly-looks-to-punch-nasa-moon-ticket-with-overnight-spacex-launch/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 15 Author Members Posted January 15 Firefly punches NASA moon ticket with overnight SpaceX launch KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — A SpaceX mission lifted off early Wednesday marking a first for Firefly Aerospace under NASA’s plans to build up American companies to support its lunar goals. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/14/firefly-looks-to-punch-nasa-moon-ticket-with-overnight-spacex-launch/? Moon missions SpaceX launched two moon missions on one rocket earlier today. Tucked inside the Falcon 9 rocket's cargo bay were two lunar landers — hailing from two different countries. The first is Blue Ghost, a lunar lander developed by Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based company. It is Firefly's first flight to the moon and part of NASA’s goal of taking astronauts back to the lunar surface. Also inside the SpaceX rocket is a lunar lander from the Japanese company Ispace. The launch kicked off the company's second attempt to send one of its Hakuto-R spacecraft to the moon for various experiments, including one that will test algae-based food production. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 16 Author Members Posted January 16 📷 1 for the road Two separate moon missions launched on the same SpaceX rocket early this morning. The rocket contained an unusual double payload — unrelated lunar landers from American and Japanese companies. They shared a ride on the same rocket simply due to a scheduling quirk, per The New York Times (gift link). Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 16 Author Members Posted January 16 History made: Blue Origin’s New Glenn reaches orbit on debut launch CAPE CANAVERAL — Blue Origin managed something no commercial rocket company has ever done successfully by reaching orbit on the first try with its New Glenn rocket during an overnight launch early Thursday. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/15/blue-origins-new-glenn-debut-could-face-poor-weather-for-planned-overnight-launch-attempt/? Blue Origin launch Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, sent its New Glenn rocket to orbit on its maiden flight today. Liftoff occurred just after 2 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission was considered a success but the company did not reach its bonus goal of recovering part of the uncrewed rocket after the flight. New Glenn is carrying technology to space that will test out communications and other components that Blue Origin may one day use on a spacecraft it is developing. Blue Origin also wants to use New Glenn to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has dominated the global launch market for years. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 18 Author Members Posted January 18 SpaceX catches booster again, but loses Starship upper stage during test flight SpaceX sent up its first test flight of the year for its Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Texas catching the booster for just the second time back at the launch site, but suffering a loss of the upper stage. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/16/spacex-1st-starship-test-launch-of-the-year/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 18 Author Members Posted January 18 History made: Blue Origin’s New Glenn reaches orbit on debut launch CAPE CANAVERAL — Blue Origin managed something no commercial rocket company has ever done successfully by reaching orbit on the first try with its New Glenn rocket during an overnight launch early Thursday. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/15/blue-origins-new-glenn-debut-could-face-poor-weather-for-planned-overnight-launch-attempt/? Starship SpaceX said Thursday that its Starship spacecraft — which was meant to lap Earth and splash down in the Indian Ocean — exploded not long after its 7th test flight took off from South Texas. The disintegration delayed some commercial flights in Florida as many on social media shared videos of purported debris from the vehicle raining over the Caribbean. Despite the mishap, SpaceX did successfully guide the Super Heavy booster back to a landing at the launch site — making a pinpoint, mid-air touchdown between two extended arms, or "chopsticks." The Elon Musk-owned company is likely going to have to wait a bit before its next test flight, as the FAA typically investigates when launches don't go as planned. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 24 Author Members Posted January 24 NASA marks Apollo, Challenger, Columbia tragedies on annual Day of Remembrance KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — It was a cloudy Saturday morning on the Space Coast when 12-year-old Tal Ramon anxiously waited with his family for the return of his father Ilan on Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/23/nasa-marks-apollo-challenger-columbia-tragedies-on-annual-day-of-remembrance/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 28 Author Members Posted January 28 SpaceX checks off launch No. 9 from the Space Coast After a week of nasty weather across Florida, the business of launching rockets got back on track Monday afternoon. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/27/spacex-lines-up-monday-afternoon-launch-from-cape-canaveral/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 29 Author Members Posted January 29 Elon Musk says Trump calls on SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home ASAP SpaceX’s delay in getting its new Crew Dragon spacecraft to fly to the International Space Station has meant a longer stay on board for the pair of NASA astronauts that flew up on Boeing’s Starliner last summer but were left behind when it flew home without crew because of safety concerns. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/28/elon-musk-says-trump-calls-on-spacex-to-bring-starliner-astronauts-home-asap/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 30 Author Members Posted January 30 Ready for 156 Space Coast launches this year, Space Force targets bottlenecks Space Force is prepped to support an average of 13 launches of month from the Space Coast in 2025, but it’s a juggling act that has the world’s No. 1 spaceport running up against infrastructure roadblocks. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/29/ready-for-156-space-coast-launches-this-year-space-force-targets-bottlenecks/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 30 Author Members Posted January 30 Are we all aliens? NASA’s returned asteroid samples hold the ingredients of life from a watery world CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday. https://apnews.com/article/asteroid-bennu-nasa-sample-return-e3318592d16a53bea56c1ff689555f0d? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 30 Author Members Posted January 30 Artemis team leaders say major changes under Trump could mean more delays NASA’s commercial partners mounted a vigorous defense of the Artemis moon mission plans this week amid the specter of changes from the new Trump administration. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/30/artemis-team-leaders-say-major-changes-under-trump-could-mean-more-delays/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted January 31 Author Members Posted January 31 Push to move NASA HQ to Florida still abuzz among space community The idea floated earlier this month by Gov. Ron DeSantis that NASA might consider moving its headquarters from Washington to Florida remains a topic of interest in space circles. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/31/push-to-move-nasa-hq-to-florida-still-a-buzz-among-space-community/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted February 4 Author Members Posted February 4 Boeing Starliner official talks pros and cons of NASA contracts Boeing executive Mark Nappi had been the face of the company’s Starliner program during its beleaguered Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station that ultimately left its crew of two NASA astronauts behind when the spacecraft returned to Earth last year. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/02/03/boeing-starliner-official-talks-pros-and-cons-of-nasa-contracts/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted yesterday at 01:08 AM Author Members Posted yesterday at 01:08 AM Watchdog panel’s annual NASA safety report reveals new Boeing Starliner issue, questions viable future The annual watchdog report tasked to gauge NASA safety commended the agency’s handling of last year’s beleaguered Boeing’s Starliner mission, but revealed yet another issue found during the flight and questioned the agency’s needs for the spacecraft in the future. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/02/07/watchdog-panels-annual-nasa-safety-report-reveals-new-boeing-starliner-issue-questions-viable-future/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
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