In this artist’s visualization, you can see SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft modified with a cupola observation window for the upcoming Inspiration4 mission. (Image credit: SpaceX) When SpaceX launches four civilian astronauts on the private Inspiration4 spaceflight, they’re going to have the ultimate window: a glass dome offering panoramic views of Earth from space. While SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for the mission is already equipped with flat windows, the Inspiration4 mission — which is set to launch later this year with billionaire Jared Isaacman, who chartered the flight with SpaceX, commanding…
Read MoreMonth: March 2021
Watch VP Kamala Harris speak with NASA astronauts in space for Women’s History Month
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made a special call to the International Space Station (ISS) to celebrate Women’s History Month and some of the ground-breaking work astronauts are doing in orbit. NASA shared a video of the conversation between Harris and astronauts Shannon Walker and Kate Rubins, who are currently working aboard the ISS for a six-month mission. The call, which NASA released on YouTube Wednesday (March 24), came amid Women’s History Month. “Greetings from the White House, which is where I am right now,” Harris said excitedly at the…
Read MoreNASA Names Robyn Gatens Director for International Space Station
NASA has named Robyn Gatens as director of the International Space Station for the agency following about seven months of her serving as acting director of the program.
Read MoreRussia’s next space station-bound Soyuz spacecraft named for first cosmonaut
The next crew to launch into space will fly on board a vehicle named for the first person to do so, Russia’s space agency has announced. Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov, together with NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, are set to lift off to the International Space Station on Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, which has been named the “Yu.A. Gagarin.” “According to established tradition, the space mission that is closest to [the launch] date of the world’s first cosmonaut is dedicated to Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, whose name already…
Read MoreExploring the Metal-Rich Asteroid Psyche
Set to launch next year, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will explore a metal-rich asteroid of the same name in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Read MoreSpotting a Faint Escaping Atmosphere
Low-density exoplanets orbiting close to their host stars tend to lose their atmosphere. Now, astronomers can measure how fast it disappears. The post Spotting a Faint Escaping Atmosphere appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreSpaceX now aiming to launch Starship SN11 rocket prototype Tuesday
SpaceX is now aiming to launch its newest Starship rocket prototype on Tuesday (March 30) after an FAA-related delay and you’ll be able to watch it live when it flies. The Starship SN11 rocket was initially expected to attempt a launch from SpaceX’s Starbase test site near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on Monday between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT (1700-2200 GMT), according to Texas officials. But an inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees commercial space launches, was unable to reach the launch site in…
Read MoreNASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on Space Station
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts aboard the International Space Station will mark another first for commercial spaceflight Monday, April 5, when the four astronauts will relocate the Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of new crew members in late April and the upcoming delivery of new solar arrays this summer.
Read MoreWomen Astronauts and the International Space Station
As of March 2021, 65 women have flown in space. Of these, 38 have visited the International Space Station (ISS) as long-duration expedition crewmembers, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights or as space flight participants on short-duration Soyuz missions.
Read MoreNearest Exoplanet to Our Solar System
This artist’s concept is of a Jupiter-mass planet orbiting the nearby star Epsilon Eridani.
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