A prototype vertical takeoff/vertical landing demonstrator undergoing testing at Masten Space Systems. Credit: Masten Space Systems
Masten Space Systems, a private California company focused on developing lunar and planetary landing vehicles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday after recent layoffs and funding problems.
An illustration of Draper’s SERIES-2 lunar lander, which will deliver science and technology payloads to the moon for NASA in 2025. Credit: Draper
NASA has awarded Draper a $73 million contract to deliver science instruments to the far side of the moon on a commercial robotic lander in 2025, the eighth award through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Officials with the companies flying the first two CLPS missions, Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines, said recently their commercial landers are scheduled to launch late this year or early next year.
File photo of 36 OneWeb satellites stacked on a Soyuz rocket’s Fregat upper stage inside a processing facility at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Credit: Roscosmos
OneWeb and Eutelsat announced plans to merge Tuesday, bringing together OneWeb’s network of internet satellites in low Earth orbit with Eutelsat’s fleet of larger video, data relay, and broadband platforms in geostationary orbit.
Russia will pull out of the International Space Station project after 2024, the new director of the Russian space program said Tuesday, but no firm dates or plans were revealed and it was not immediately clear what, if anything, might change in the near term.
A Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft launched April 8 on the Ax-1 commercial crew mission for Axiom Space. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX and NASA have delayed the launch of the next U.S. crew flight to the International Space Station from early September to no earlier than Sept. 29, allowing time for ground teams to replace an interstage on the mission’s new Falcon 9 booster after it was damaged during transport.
This illustration shows the configuration of the Tiangong space station after docking of the Wentian module (left) to the Tianhe core module (right). A Shenzhou crew spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo ship are also docked at the station. Credit: China Manned Space Agency
China’s Tiangong space station received a new room Sunday with the docking of the Wentian laboratory module, a half-day after launching on a heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket. The three-person crew on the Chinese space station later opened hatches and floated inside the new science module for the first time.
SpaceX’s 33rd mission of the year lifted off Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography
Continuing a record-breaking launch cadence, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket aloft Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with 53 more satellites for the company’s Starlink internet network, the sixth Falcon 9 launch in 17 days and 33rd overall this year.
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starlink 4-25 mission will launch SpaceX’s next batch of 53 Starlink broadband satellites. Follow us on Twitter.
A Chinese Long March 5B rocket was being fueled late Saturday for liftoff with the Wentian space station module. Credit: CASC
China’s heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket was fueled for launch early Sunday with the second major element of the Chinese Tiangong space station, adding a new working compartment for the three astronauts living on the orbiting research lab.
SpaceX is preparing for a test-firing of a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) Saturday in preparation for liftoff Sunday with the company’s next batch of Starlink internet satellites.
A Falcon 9 rocket climbs above a marine layer over Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, heading to orbit with 46 more Starlink internet satellites. Credit: SpaceX
With 2022 barely half over, SpaceX launched its 32nd mission of the year Friday from California’s Central Coast, breaking the company’s record for most launches in a year and delivering 46 more Starlink internet satellites into polar orbit to provide global broadband service.
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its launch pad in California before a previous mission. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX called off a Falcon 9 launch attempt Thursday less than a minute before liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the company’s first terminal countdown abort in more than 18 months for reasons other than bad weather or range safety.
A test article for NASA’s Space Launch System’s solid rocket booster fired for more than two minutes Thursday on a test stand in Utah. Credit: NASA TV / Spaceflight Now
Northrop Grumman ignited a full-scale booster for NASA’s Space Launch System Thursday on a hillside firing stand in Utah, completing a two-minute test designed to demonstrate a new motor ignitor and steering system for use on future versions of the giant moon rocket.
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with 46 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket standing vertical at Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX is poised to launch 46 more Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission will mark SpaceX’s 32nd launch since Jan. 1, breaking the company’s record for Falcon 9 flights in a year.
The fourth section of SpaceX’s Starship launch pad tower was lifted over the lower three segments Thursday morning. Credit: Spaceflight Now
The fourth of nine sections for SpaceX’s Starship launch pad gantry was moved to Launch Complex 39A Wednesday night for stacking, following the emplacement of the tower’s first three segments last month.
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Artist’s illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA announced Tuesday it awarded SpaceX a $255 million contract to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the agency’s next flagship astronomy mission, on a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in 2026.
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft in the grip of the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robotic arm June 28, just prior to the cargo freighter’ departure. Credit: NASA
Northrop Grumman’s next resupply flight to the International Space Station has been delayed from mid-August to mid-October by supply chain issues, a company spokesperson said Tuesday.
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