20 years after launch, ESA’s Mars Express orbiter is still notching new achievements. On Friday, the spacecraft broadcast the first ever livestream from Mars. Previous space missions—including Neil Armstrong’s step seen ’round the world during Apollo, and last year’s DART mission to bump an asteroid off its course—have provided the public with live imagery from […]
NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) has teamed up with Starburst Aerospace, Mission Innovation X at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT MIx), and MassChallenge for its next program, which will send alliance resources to innovators in a several fields, including hypersonics, energy and propulsion, and space. Why the partners? Starburst, MIT MIx, […]
Starliner isn’t yet ready for a crew. Just a few weeks before the Boeing-built capsule was scheduled to deliver its first passengers to the ISS, NASA and Boeing leaders announced that two major issues with the craft will delay the first crewed mission even longer. The announcement follows a review by NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory […]
Sierra Space turned on its Dream Chaser spaceplane for the first time Wednesday, checking off a major milestone before its first flight to the ISS, which is expected at the end of the year. Dream Chaser 101 The autonomous spaceplane is designed to launch vertically atop a heavy-lift rocket, but land horizontally on a runway. […]
Europe is seeking its own cargo transport to the ISS. Last week, ESA announced that it is looking to support private companies’ development of cargo transport capabilities to the ISS and, in the future, to other LEO outposts. “By launching this call, we are providing the supporting scheme, whereby private companies receive support from ESA […]
A NASA panel poured cold water on UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena) hype in their first public meeting yesterday, saying better data was needed for conclusive answers. “There is a very limited number of high-quality observations and data curation of UAP,” said Daniel Evans, who works within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. UAP craze: NASA organized a […]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law last week to reduce the liability for commercial spaceflight companies in a bid to lure even more launch providers to the Space Coast. The law grants launch businesses sweeping immunity from flight-related injury or death liability, on the condition that the crew members sign a waiver. […]
The UAE unveiled plans on Sunday to send a spacecraft to explore the asteroid belt by 2028, a follow-on to the emerging space nation’s ambitious Mars mission currently orbiting the Red Planet. The Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, or EMA, will study six asteroids before reaching its final destination: a mysterious red asteroid that […]
The State Department released its first Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy today, proving that diplomacy in orbit has become a reality much sooner than Futurama would have had us believe. The framework: The document highlights how the State Department will advance US leadership in orbit on priorities like establishing norms of behavior, as well as […]
The debt limit deal reached late Saturday night contains both good and bad news for NASA. The plan from President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), which is expected to get a vote in the House on Wednesday, would keep non-defense spending roughly flat in fiscal year 2024, with a 1% bump in 2025, […]
Virgin Galactic took to the skies yesterday, launching the final VSS Unity test flight before beginning commercial service. The Unity 25 mission tested the ship’s technical function as well as the astronauts’ experience. This was the company’s first spaceflight in nearly two years after a pause for an FAA investigation and fifth in total. The […]
NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a scathing report yesterday on the cost overruns in the engine and booster contracts under the Artemis SLS program. The report revealed $23.8B of total SLS expenses since 2012, resulting in a dizzying $4.2B cost per launch. Over the Moon: SLS is an expendable heavy-lift rocket designed to […]
