[ad_1] Once OSIRIS-REx has landed, a robotic sampling arm will perform Touch-And-Go (TAG) collection. The mission is to collect at least two ounces, or 60 grams, of rocky material. If the first TAG attempt in October does not collect enough material, OSIRIS-REx has onboard nitrogen charges to power two more attempts. The spacecraft is scheduled […]
Category: spacecraft
Virgin Galactic’s last round of SpaceShipTwo tests begins October 22nd
[ad_1] If all goes well, the two tests will be the last before Virgin’s space tourism starts in earnest. It hopes to fly company founder Sir Richard Branson into space sometime in the first quarter of 2021, effectively kicking off the company’s tourist business. Not that you’ll want to rush to the front of the […]
China says it landed a reusable spacecraft after a two-day flight
[ad_1] Xinhua said only that the craft represented an “important breakthrough” in China’s development of reusable spacecraft that could provide a cheaper, more convenient solution for the “peaceful use of space.” In other words, it might lower the costs of delivering payloads into space and allow for quicker turnaround times. There are details for the […]
X-37B space plane launches on its most ambitious mission to date
[ad_1] A day later than planned, the X-37B space plane has gone back into low Earth orbit for its sixth mission. The vehicle launched aboard a United Launch Alliance rocket on the morning of May 17th. It’s the first X-37B mission under the Space Force’s oversight (though the Air Force still owns the spacecraft) and […]
NASA and SpaceX’s first crewed flight is set for May 27th
[ad_1] Today, NASA announced that its crewed SpaceX flight will launch on May 27th, The Washington Post reports. The flight will mark the first astronaut launch from US soil since 2011, and it will be the first SpaceX flight carrying passengers, not just cargo. If successful, this Crew Dragon Demo-2 test will clear the way […]
SpaceX’s first-gen Dragon cargo capsule left the ISS for the last time
[ad_1] This marks the last flight in a $1.6 billion contract between NASA and SpaceX. Now, SpaceX is shifting its attention to the second-generation Dragon 2 capsule, which it will use for ISS resupply runs beginning in October. The new spacecraft will be able to fly up to five times, surpassing the three-trip max of […]
NASA wants to review Boeing’s Starliner work after setbacks
[ad_1] NASA and Boeing are still investigating the first software error — which caused the craft to fire some of its thrusters too late and burn too much fuel — and are now trying to better understand the second glitch. These multiple issues warrant a deeper review, according to Hill. “The panel has a larger […]
SpaceX successfully completes Crew Dragon launch escape test
[ad_1] The recovery process is expected to complete two hours after this writing. As such, it could be a while before SpaceX learns whether or not the capsule landed properly, and whether the two humanoid test objects inside remained intact. This was the last big test before SpaceX could put humans aboard Crew Dragon and […]
Boeing Starliner is the first US-made crew capsule to land on the ground
[ad_1] Starliner didn’t dock with the International Space Station as planned, but it still collected ample amounts of data across the flight, including Rosie’s insights as to how humans would fare during a trip. The team likely collected about 85 to 90 percent of what they were looking for, Boeing’s Jim Chilton said during a […]
Watch Boeing’s Starliner attempt a landing starting at 6:45AM ET
[ad_1] Starliner may not have successfully docked with the International Space Station as planned, but Boeing is still happy with the “enormous amount of data” collected during the flight, according to senior VP Jim Chilton. NASA director Jim Bridenstine, meanwhile, said that the team understood the timing signal problem that soured the docking attempt and […]