Tag: Space Exploration

NASA’s new SPHEREx space telescope takes its 1st cosmic images: ‘The instrument team nailed it’

NeRD

You know how the James Webb Space Telescope is said to be revolutionizing astronomy because it can study wavelengths hidden to human eyes? Well, those wavelengths lie in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum — and on April 1, NASA announced its brand new infrared space telescope, SPHEREx, has officially opened its eyes to the cosmos as well. This first light, as it’s called, shows that all of the spacecraft’s systems are working just as expected. “Based on the images we are seeing, we can now say that the…

Read More

‘I’d get on in a heartbeat’: Starliner astronauts would fly on Boeing spacecraft again despite malfunctions (video)

NeRD

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore both say they’d ride on Boeing’s Starliner again, despite the issues the capsule had on its first crewed flight. Wilmore and Williams launched to the ISS on Starliner’s first astronaut mission, known as Crew Flight Test (CFT), last June. Problems with the spacecraft’s thrusters prompted NASA and Boeing to extend CFT while engineers analyzed the problem on the ground, ultimately turning Williams and Wilmore’s planned eight-day mission aboard the space station into a nine-month saga. In late August, NASA decided to return Starliner…

Read More

SpaceX launches private Fram2 astronauts on historic spaceflight over Earth’s poles

NeRD

SpaceX just launched the first-ever human spaceflight to circle Earth over its poles. The private Fram2 mission lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida today (March 31) at 9:46 p.m. EDT (0146 GMT on April 1), sending the Crew Dragon capsule “Resilience” into a polar orbit with a quartet of spaceflight rookies aboard. Fram2 is commanded Chun Wang of Malta, who is joined by vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway, pilot Rabea Rogge of Germany, and Australian medical officer and…

Read More

Watch a private German rocket explode during 1st orbital launch attempt from European soil (video)

NeRD

A dramatic drone video shows Isar Aerospace’s first orbital launch attempt, which ended with a fiery crash into the frigid sea about 30 seconds after liftoff. The Germany company’s first Spectrum rocket lifted off Sunday morning (March 30) from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway on the first-ever orbital launch attempt from European soil. Spectrum cleared the tower but suffered an anomaly shortly thereafter. The rocket flipped over and slammed into the ocean near the pad, sending an orange-tinted cloud high into a clear Arctic sky, as the video shows. Isar…

Read More

FAA closes investigation into SpaceX Starship Flight 7 explosion

NeRD

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has closed its investigation into Flight 7 of SpaceX’s huge Starship vehicle, which ended with a dramatic explosion over the Atlantic Ocean. Flight 7 sent Starship aloft from SpaceX‘s Starbase site in South Texas on Jan. 16. Things went well at first; Starship’s first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, came back to Starbase for a launch-tower landing about seven minutes after liftoff as planned. However, the giant rocket’s 171-foot-tall (52-meter) upper stage exploded high in the sky a few minutes later, sending debris raining…

Read More

SpaceX rolls out rocket for historic Fram2 astronaut flight over Earth’s poles (photos)

NeRD

The hardware that will fly a historic private astronaut mission has made it to the launch pad. On Saturday (March 29), SpaceX posted photos on X of the Fram2 mission’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule rolling out to Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The milestone keeps Fram2 on track to launch on Monday evening (March 31). Liftoff is scheduled for 9:46 p.m. EDT (0146 GMT on April 1), though there are three additional instantaneous opportunities during the 4.5-hour-long launch window. Fram2, which is…

Read More

ISS National Lab explores the future of space in new podcast ‘Between a Rocket and a Hard Space’

NeRD

It seems like everyone on Earth — and beyond — is getting into the podcast business these days. The International Space Station National Laboratory just launched “Between a Rocket and a Hard Space,” a brand-new podcast that explores the future of space innovation. The series will delve into the discoveries, innovations, projects and personalities helping to forge the future of space. Episodes can be accessed via all major platforms, including Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio, Spotify and YouTube. Key artwork for the ISS National Laboratory’s new podcast series. (Image credit: NASA/ISS National…

Read More

X-rays, mushrooms and more: The science riding on SpaceX’s Fram2 astronaut mission around Earth’s poles

NeRD

A new mission from SpaceX will soon send humans over Earth’s poles for the first time ever. Launching no earlier than Monday (March 31), the privately funded, four-day Fram2 mission has quite a few tasks to accomplish in a short timespan. The Fram2 crew will be the first people to observe the polar regions from low Earth orbit, and they’ll work on experiments and projects designed to forward our understanding of long-duration spaceflight. The mission will also mark the first time that crews have used an X-ray machine on humans…

Read More

US Space Force certifies new Vulcan Centaur rocket to launch national security missions

NeRD

The U.S. Space Force has certified United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) new Vulcan Centaur rocket to launch national security missions. The news, which the Space Force announced on Wednesday (March 26), doubles the number of National Security Space Launch (NSSL) providers. ULA joins SpaceX in this select group. “Assured access to space is a core function of the Space Force and a critical element of national security,” Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, the Space Force’s program executive officer for assured access to space, said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “Vulcan certification…

Read More

NASA cancels cargo launch to ISS due to damaged Cygnus spacecraft

NeRD

NASA has called off a planned cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) due to a damaged spacecraft. The spacecraft is a robotic Cygnus freighter, built by the Virginia-based company Northrop Grumman. It had been scheduled to launch several tons of food, fuel and other supplies to the ISS from Florida’s Space Coast this June. On March 5, however, NASA announced that Cygnus’ shipping container sustained damage during the trip to the launch site. The agency had said mission teams would inspect the freighter over the coming days to…

Read More