Tag: Missions

Here’s the launch plan for NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions: ‘Liftoff is just the beginning’

NeRD

After more than a week of delays, two new NASA missions have been cleared for liftoff tonight (March 8). The space agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions, which are sharing a ride aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, are scheduled to lift off no earlier than 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) tonight from Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch, postponed six times over the past week due to technical issues and bad weather, was given the greenlight after a successful launch readiness review on…

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For NASA astronauts on a 10-day space mission that lasted 9 months, a landing date at last

NeRD

Two NASA astronauts who launched on a short mission to the International Space Station last year that turned into a 9-month marathon finally know when they’ll be coming home. The Boeing Starliner astronauts, who launched on the spacecraft’s Crewed Flight Test on June 5, have been living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) ever since after their capsule returned to Earth without them. On Friday (March 7), NASA cleared a relief crew to launch on SpaceX Dragon next week, setting the stage for their long-awaited return to Earth. NASA astronauts…

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NASA Earns Best Place to Work in Government for 13th Consecutive Year 

NeRD

NASA’s Worm logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Washington. Credit: NASA For the 13th straight year, NASA has earned the title of Best Place to Work in the Federal Government – large agency – from the Partnership for Public Service. The ranking reflects employee satisfaction and workplace elements across the agency while executing NASA’s mission to explore the unknown and discover new knowledge for the benefit of humanity.  “NASA’s greatest asset has always been its people – those who rise to the challenge of leading in…

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Engineers Install Orion Solar Array Wings for Artemis II

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Technicians with ESA (European Space Agency) and Airbus installed the four solar array wings on NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis II on March 3. The solar array wings, attached to the service module, deploy after Orion reaches space to power the spacecraft. Orion’s service module provides propulsion, thermal control, and electrical power, as well as air and water for the crew during their mission around the Moon. Each solar array wing has 15,000 solar cells to convert sunlight to electricity and is nearly 23 feet in length when fully deployed.…

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Hubble Telescope discovers a new ‘3-body problem’ puzzle among Kuiper Belt asteroids (video)

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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered that a system of asteroids in the distant Kuiper Belt may be triplets, not twins as previously suspected. If so, the stable trio of icy space rocks would be just the second example of three gravitationally bound space rocks found in the Kuiper Belt, the doughnut-shaped region of icy bodies that lurks out beyond the orbit of Neptune. The discovery could also challenge our understanding of how Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) form. An illustration of the 148780 Altjira system of two or maybe three…

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Station Nation: Meet Chris Wade, Visiting Vehicle Integration Manager for SpaceX Vehicles 

NeRD

Chris Wade is a visiting vehicle integration manager for SpaceX vehicles in the International Space Station Transportation Integration Office. He plays a key role in ensuring that all vehicle requirements are on track to support SpaceX missions to the space station. Chris also manages a team of real-time mission support personnel who follow launch, docking, undocking, and splashdown operations. Read on to learn about his career with NASA and more!  Where are you from?  I am from Clarksdale, Mississippi.  Tell us about your role at NASA.   I manage horizontal integration…

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NASA delays launch of SPHEREx and PUNCH missions to March 6

NeRD

NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions will need to wait a little longer before heading to space. After delaying the launch of these missions three times — they were originally slated to take to the skies on Feb. 27 — the space agency has postponed liftoff once again for SPHEREx and PUNCH. Both payloads will still be launching aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket selected for the task, which had most recently targeted Tuesday (March 4) for launch. Now, the pair will remain Earth-bound until Thursday (March 6). They’ll liftoff from…

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Station Science Top News: Feb. 27, 2025

NeRD

Preventing biofilm formation in space Ashley Keeley, University of Idaho, holds an anti-bacterial coating sample. University of Idaho Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science Team Two anti-microbial coatings reduced formation of biofilms in microgravity and have potential for use in space. Controlling biofilms could help protect human health and prevent corrosion and degradation of equipment on future long-duration space missions. Biofilms, communities of microorganisms that attach to a surface, can damage mechanical systems and present a risk of disease transmission. Bacteria Resistant Polymers in Space examined how microgravity affects polymer…

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Russian cargo ship docks at space station with science, spacesuit and supplies

NeRD

A new delivery of food, fuel and supplies has arrived at the International Space Station by way of a Russian supply ship. Roscomsos’ Progress MS-30 (or Progress 91, as referred to by NASA) cargo spacecraft autonomously docked to the aft port of the space station’s Zvezda service module on Saturday (March 1) as the two vehicles orbited 260 miles (418 kilometers) over the South Atlantic Ocean. The 6:02 p.m. EST (2302 GMT) link up came two days after the Progress launched from the Baikonur Cosmdrome in Kazakhstan. The uncrewed spacecraft…

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NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic jet clears ‘major hurdle’ ahead of 1st flight (photos)

NeRD

NASA’s experimental X-59 aircraft continues to make progress toward its first flight with a new successful round of testing. The X-59 “quiet” supersonic jet was designed to break the sound barrier without producing the thunderous sonic booms that typically accompany supersonic flight. And based on the results of the vehicle’s latest tests, conducted at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, the X-59 might accomplish that feat soon. NASA and Lockheed Martin, the latter of which built the X-59, recently put the aircraft through electromagnetic interference testing on…

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