An international crew of four representing four countries is in orbit following a successful launch to the International Space Station at 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The agency’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission is the seventh commercial crew rotation mission for NASA.
Read MoreMonth: August 2023
US Department of Justice sues SpaceX for hiring discrimination
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is suing SpaceX, alleging that the company discriminated against job applicants who are refugees or asylum recipients. The lawsuit claims that, from September 2018 to May 2022 (and possibly longer than that), SpaceX discouraged refugees and asylees from applying for jobs and discriminated against those who did apply, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. “Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their…
Read MorePrivate Ax-2 astronaut releasing free educational videos filmed in space on Aug. 28
Kids (and kids at heart) can ride along with a recent mission to the space station with a new educational series debuting Monday (Aug. 28) featuring two private astronauts. “Habitat Space” is an educational series featuring Ax-2 private astronaut John Shoffner, a rookie learning about the International Space Station in May 2023 with his record-breaking commander Peggy Whitson, formerly an astronaut with NASA. The series makes its online debut at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT on Tuesday, Aug. 29) and you can register for free on Eventbrite. The event will…
Read MoreSee Saturn at its biggest and brightest of 2023 this weekend
Saturn makes for an excellent skywatching target this weekend, thanks to its current position in the solar system. The ringed gas giant will reach opposition, meaning it will be situated directly opposite from the sun with Earth in the middle. Around the same time, Saturn will reach perigee, its closest approach to Earth, according to In-The-Sky. The combination of these two celestial events means Saturn will appear at its biggest and brightest this weekend. The planet should remain visible through February 2024. For skywatchers in North America, look to the…
Read MoreHubble Sees a Sparkling Neighbor Galaxy
The galaxy ESO 300-16 looms over this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
Read MoreSpaceX, NASA delay launch of Crew-7 astronauts to International Space Station
SpaceX’s next astronaut launch has been pushed back by at least 24 hours. The company was counting down to launch the four-person Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA in the early hours of Friday (Aug. 25) from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. But now, that’s not going to happen. “NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Friday, Aug. 25, launch opportunity for the agency’s Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station,” NASA officials said in an emailed statement Thursday night (Aug. 24). “Launch now is targeted at…
Read MoreWreckage of Russian warlord’s plane spotted from space (satellite photo)
A satellite has spotted the wreckage of the plane that went down in northwestern Russia on Wednesday (Aug. 23), apparently with Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin on board. The plane, an executive jet built by Brazilian company Embraer, was flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg when it went down. Prigozhin was on the passenger list, as were some other top-level members of the Wagner Group, the private military company that Prighozin led. There were no survivors, according to Russian officials. On Thursday (Aug. 24), a satellite operated by San Francisco-based company…
Read MoreSpaceX’s Crew-6 astronauts readying to wrap up their record-breaking flight
SpaceX’s Crew-6 astronauts are readying to head home to Earth. The Crew-6 quartet spoke with journalists on Wednesday (Aug. 23) ahead of their expected Sept. 2 departure from the International Space Station (ISS), which you can watch live here at Space.com. Crew-6 is “an incredible crew to serve with … it’s been a privilege and an honor to spend time on board the International Space Station with them,” Crew-6 commander Stephen Bowen of NASA told journalists from the Japanese Kibo module. “I just can’t imagine having a better crew.” New…
Read MoreTesting the First U.S. Crewed Launch Vehicle, Mercury-Redstone
A Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle awaits test-firing in the Redstone Test Stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama in this photo from the late 1950s.
Read MoreNASA, Forest Service to Share Moon Tree Seedlings, Promote STEM
Education and community organizations can apply to receive a living piece of spaceflight history to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: a seedling grown from a tree seed that flew around the Moon on the NASA’s Artemis I mission in late 2022.
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