Tag: Commercial Space

NASA Adjusts Agreements to Benefit Commercial Station Development

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Expedition 63 crew captured the sun’s first rays bursting over the Earth’s horizon during an orbital sunrise aboard the International Space Station. NASA NASA has modified agreements for two funded commercial space station partners that are on track to develop low Earth orbit destinations for NASA and other customers as the International Space Station retires in 2030. The changes add new technical milestones and reallocate existing funding to allow the agency to accelerate efforts as part of NASA’s…

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NASA, SpaceX Invite Media to Crew-8 Mission Launch to Space Station

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 members, (from left) Alexander Grebenkin from Roscosmos; Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps, all NASA astronauts, are pictured training inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX Media accreditation now is open for the launch of NASA’s eighth rotational mission of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon Endeavour spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition. This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Launch of…

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NASA’s Commercial Partners Continue Progress on New Space Stations

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Three NASA-funded commercial space station partners are on track for the design and development of their orbital destinations and the transition of agency’s low Earth orbit needs from the International Space Station. “We are ending the year on a high note with multiple important milestones being completed by our partners,” said Angela Hart, manager of the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Over the past few months, we have been able to dig into the details of the specific hardware and processes of…

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NASA to Participate in Next Private Astronaut Mission News Conference

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The astronaut crew for Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) to the International Space Station. From left to right, Ax-3 crew members are Michael López-Alegría, Axiom Space’s chief astronaut, Walter Villadei, an Italian Air Force colonel and pilot for the mission, Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravci from Türkiye, and ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt. Credits: Axiom Space NASA experts will join a virtual news conference hosted by Axiom Space at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 13, to discuss the launch of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), the third private astronaut mission to the International…

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NASA to Talk Science Highlights of First Artemis Robotic Moon Landing

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Teams with Astrobotic install the NASA meatball decal on Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Isaac Watson NASA will host a What’s on Board media teleconference at 2 p.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 29, to discuss the science payloads flying aboard the first commercial robotic flight to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative under the Artemis program. Carrying NASA and commercial payloads to the Moon, Astrobotic…

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InSPA Inter-Agency Collaboration Goals

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High quality production photos of Robonaut (R2) in Building 14 EMI chamber and R1/EMU photos in Building 32 – Robonaut Lab. Photo Date: June 1, 2010. Location: Building 14 – EMI Chamber/Building 32 – Robonaut Lab. NASA / Robert Markowitz & Bill Stafford NASA knows it takes a village to make commercial manufacturing in space a reality. NASA is collaborating with experts from industry, academia and other U.S. Government agencies on the technologies in play with the InSPA portfolio.  By joining forces with these experts, NASA can better support its…

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In Space Production: Applications Within Reach

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In microgravity, crystals grow more slowly, but the molecules have time to align more perfectly on the surface of the crystal, which returns much better research outcomes. NASA After four decades of microgravity research, NASA and the ISS National Lab have identified numerous applications that are within reach for NASA’s In Space Production Applications (InSPA) portfolio. Uniform crystals, semiconductors, specialized glass and optical fibers are just a few of the many advanced materials that can benefit from production in microgravity. Artificial retinas, drug delivery medical devices, as well as the…

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What is In Space Production Applications?

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NASA supports In Space Production Applications (InSPA) awards to help the selected companies raise the technological readiness level of their products and move them to market, propelling U.S. industry toward the development of a sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products in low-Earth orbit. These commercialization awards provide opportunities for NASA to reduce its future costs in LEO enabling deep-space missions farther from Earth, including the Moon and Mars. NASA is leading commercial LEO development efforts to stimulate non-NASA demand for commercially owned and operated orbital destinations from…

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Progress Continues Toward NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to Station

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NASA and Boeing are working to complete the agency’s verification and validation activities ahead of Starliner’s first flight with astronauts to the International Space Station. While Boeing is targeting March to have the spacecraft ready for flight, teams decided during a launch manifest evaluation that a launch in April will better accommodate upcoming crew rotations and cargo resupply missions this spring. The Starliner team works to finalize the mate of the crew module and new service module for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test that will take NASA astronauts Barry “Butch”…

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NASA Updates Commercial Crew Planning Manifest

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The International Space Station’s U.S. segment and portions of the Russian segment are pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021. Prominent at the top in this view, are the Columbus laboratory module, the Harmony module and its space-facing docking port, and the Kibo laboratory module with its external pallet. NASA NASA and its industry partners Boeing and SpaceX are planning for the next set of missions…

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