Tag: Human Spaceflight

Blue Origin is now targeting Tuesday (Feb. 4) for its first-ever moon-gravity mission. The company first tried to launch the NS-29 mission of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle on Jan. 28, but called off that try due to uncooperative weather and an issue with the rocket’s avionics. But everything appears to be in order now. Blue Origin, which is run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, plans to fly the uncrewed NS-29 on Tuesday morning. If all goes according to plan, New Shepard — a reusable rocket-capsule combo — will lift…

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A former NASA astronaut who has made it her mission to promote the healing power of art and the need to protect our planet has inspired a new, limited-edition collectible with its own complementary cause. Nicole Stott, who was the first person to paint with watercolors in space, returned from the International Space Station (ISS) with a greater appreciation for saving our planet. She also had an idea for how to encourage pediatric cancer patients by involving them in a worldwide space art project. Now another creative effort has embraced…

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The capsule that will one day ferry Indian astronauts to space and return them to Earth has been fitted with the key technology required for the task — marking another milestone in the country’s pursuit to develop homegrown technology for independent human spaceflight capabilities. The country’s space agency, Indian Space Research Organization, announced on Wednesday (Jan. 22) that its Bengaluru center completed assembling the Gaganyaan crew module and equipping it with a liquid propulsion system, which is responsible for generating the thrust needed to control the capsule’s orientation and trajectory.…

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Blue Origin will launch the 29th mission of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle next week, on an uncrewed research flight that will simulate lunar gravity conditions. The mission, known as NS-29, is scheduled to lift off from Blue Origin‘s West Texas launch site on Tuesday (Jan. 28) at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT; 10 a.m. local Texas time). The company, which was founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, will webcast the action live, beginning 15 minutes before liftoff. New Shepard is a reusable rocket-capsule combo named after Alan Shepard, the first…

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NASA honored its fallen space explorers during its annual “Day of Remembrance” on Thursday (Jan. 23). The agency held events at a number of its facilities around the nation, including Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida and Johnson Space Center in Houston. The proceedings commemorated the lives lost in NASA’s three space tragedies — the Apollo 1 fire in January 1967, the space shuttle Challenger explosion in January 1986 and the shuttle Columbia disaster in February 2003. “It is an emotional and solemn reminder that we cannot let the decades…

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Rick Tumlinson is the founder of SpaceFund, a venture capital firm investing in space startups. He also founded the Space Frontier Foundation, Earthlight Foundation, and New Worlds Institute and was a founding board member of the X Prize Foundation. He contributed the following piece — an edited essay from his upcoming book “Why Space: The Purpose of People,” to be published in the spring of 2025 — to Space.com’s Expert Voices section. My daughter is about to turn 12. To her, I am an ancient being; to me, she is…

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Astronauts aboard China’s Tiangong space station have been getting some assistance from an “intelligent” robot. Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze — the crew of the current Shenzhou 19 mission aboard Tiangong — have been working alongside a robot named Xiao Hang (“Little Space”) using human-robot collaborative interaction software. The software has allowed them to carry out a variety of experiments related to human-robot spatial relationships, robot behavior characterization and multimodal interaction technologies. The goal of these experiments is to help enhance mission efficiency by fostering a more effective…

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Space Station Astronauts Deliver a Christmas Message for 2024 – YouTube Watch On Surrounded by floating candy canes and a makeshift snowman made out of stowage bags, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station gathered together to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone back on Earth. Expedition 72 commander Sunita “Suni” Williams, sporting a pair of festive reindeer antlers, joined fellow NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore, Don Pettit and Nick Hague to share some holiday cheer from their home away from home, 260 miles (420 kilometers) above the planet. “It’s…

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A new documentary about the life and love of America’s first woman in space will premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. “SALLY,” from National Geographic and director Cristina Costantini, reveals the legacy of NASA astronaut Sally Ride. Featuring archival footage filmed both on the ground and in space, along with new interviews with Ride’s close friends and colleagues, the documentary allows access to the “real Ride,” who struggled with the “limits and sacrifices true heroism demands.” “‘SALLY’ is the story of pioneering astronaut Sally Ride, who was the first…

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This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Art Cotterell is Research Associate at the School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University. In recent years, a new “space race” has intensified between the United States and China. At a campaign rally last weekend, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump invoked this rivalry when declaring the US will “lead the world in space,” echoing Democratic counterpart Vice President Kamala Harris. Meanwhile, the president of China, Xi Jinping, has…

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