NASA to Cover Northrop Grumman’s 20th Cargo Space Station Departure

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft and the International Space Station above western Mongolia (Credits: NASA). Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Friday, July 12, five and a half months after delivering more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo to the orbiting laboratory for NASA and its international partners. This mission was the company’s 20th commercial resupply mission to the space station for NASA. Live coverage of the spacecraft’s departure will begin at 6:30 a.m. EDT on…

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NASA announces Artemis 2 moon mission backup astronaut — Andre Douglas will support 2025 lunar liftoff

NASA has a backup astronaut standing by for the first human moon mission in more than 50 years, which will lift off no earlier than 2025. NASA astronaut Andre Douglas will serve as backup for the three U.S. astronauts on the Artemis 2 round-the-moon flight, the agency announced today (July 3). Douglas will back up commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch. Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who is also a mission specialist on Artemis 2, already has a backup: astronaut Jenni Gibbons, also…

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Volunteer Crew to Exit NASA’s Simulated Mars Habitat After 378 Days

The first CHAPEA mission crew members who have been living and working inside NASA’s first simulated yearlong Mars habitat mission pose for a photograph taken on June 25, 2024. (Credits: NASA) The four volunteers who have been living and working inside NASA’s first simulated yearlong Mars habitat mission are set to exit their ground-based home on Saturday, July 6. NASA will provide live coverage of the crew’s exit from the habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston at 5 p.m. EDT. NASA will stream the activity, which will include…

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NASA’s Boeing Test Flight Crew to Discuss Starliner Mission from Space

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts (from top) Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and the Starliner spacecraft (Credits: NASA). Media are invited to hear from NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts discussing their mission during an Earth to space call at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, July 10. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will participate in the news conference from aboard the International Space Station in low Earth orbit. NASA will stream the event on…

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NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman’s 21st Station Resupply Launch

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. Cygnus will deliver science experiments, crew supplies, and station hardware (Credits: NASA). Media accreditation is open for the next launch to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This launch is the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency and will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting early August to launch the Cygnus spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape…

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The new space race: International partnerships (op-ed)

Charles Bolden served as the 12th NASA Administrator, making him only the second astronaut to hold that position. Bolden is the Founder & CEO Emeritus of The Charles F. Bolden Group Ambassador Stuart Holliday served as United States Ambassador for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations (2003-2005) after the President’s nomination and the Senate’s confirmation. Holliday is CEO of Meridian International Center, a leading non-partisan institution advancing global security and prosperity through effective leadership and diplomacy.  President Joe Biden’s announcement in April 2024 that Japanese astronauts will join an…

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Listen live today as NASA, Boeing discuss Starliner return, spacewalk issues

NASA and Boeing will discuss their next plans and a possible landing schedule for the first Starliner spacecraft mission with astronauts later today (June 28), and you can listen in live. Boeing Starliner launched on June 5 for what was supposed to be a 10-day mission, but the test effort with astronauts needed extra time to address helium leaks and thruster issues uncovered during the June 6 docking with the International Space Station (ISS). The team will provide an update to reporters at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), which you…

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Hubble Examines an Active Galaxy Near the Lion’s Heart

2 min read Hubble Examines an Active Galaxy Near the Lion’s Heart This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the elliptical galaxy Messier 105. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Sarazin et al. It might appear featureless and unexciting at first glance, but NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observations of this elliptical galaxy — known as Messier 105 — show that the stars near the galaxy’s center are moving very rapidly. Astronomers have concluded that these stars are zooming around a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 200 million Suns! This black…

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NASA, Boeing to Provide Commercial Crew, Space Station Update

This picture of the International Space Station was photographed from the space shuttle Atlantis in 2011. NASA Leadership from NASA’s International Space Station and Commercial Crew Programs, as well as Boeing, will participate in a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, June 28. NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate Starliner’s propulsion system performance before returning from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Crew Flight Test. The agency also will discuss recent station operations. Audio of the call will stream live on the agency’s website: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv Participants…

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NASA Selects International Space Station US Deorbit Vehicle

NASA logo NASA is fostering continued scientific, educational, and technological developments in low Earth orbit to benefit humanity, while also supporting deep space exploration at the Moon and Mars. As the agency transitions to commercially owned space destinations closer to home, it is crucial to prepare for the safe and responsible deorbit of the International Space Station in a controlled manner after the end of its operational life in 2030. NASA announced SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle that will provide the capability to…

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