|
||||
 NASA is set to begin a new round of tests for development of RS-25 engines that will help power the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on future missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars. The first test of the new series is set for Jan. 28 on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Continue reading NASA to Begin New RS-25 Engine Test Series for Future Artemis Missions  More than five decades ago, tonight, one of the worst tragedies in the history of U.S. space exploration unfolded with horrifying suddenness on Pad 34 at Cape Kennedy in Florida. “The Fire”—as it infamously became known—tore through the Command Module (CM) of the Apollo 1 spacecraft, during a “plugs-out” ground test on the evening of 27 January 1967, killing astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. It was a disaster that almost halted President John F. Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the Moon before the decade’s end and, even today, the loss of Grissom and his men leaves a dark stain on the glory of the Apollo program. Continue reading ‘The Slightest Glitch’: Remembering The Fire, OTD in 1967  Two former International Space Station (ISS) commanders, with a combined 2.5 years’ worth of space-time and 20 sessions of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) between them, have been named to begin dedicated training for the first-ever private crew in history to visit the sprawling orbital outpost. Continue reading Veteran ISS Commanders Prepare for First Private AxiomSpace Mission  United Launch Alliance (ULA) will not launch its next Atlas V until 25 March, following yesterday’s announcement of a firm date for the second uncrewed test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) and a delay to the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program (STP)-3 mission for “launch readiness” evaluations. Both are expected to fly from storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. A new launch date for STP-3 has not been revealed. Continue reading Boeing Starliner Set for 25 March Atlas V Launch, STP-3 Mission Delayed  Two NASA astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) early Wednesday to tend to long-awaited upgrades to Europe’s Columbus lab and prepare for the installation of upgraded solar arrays on the sprawling orbital complex. Seasoned spacewalker Mike Hopkins—a veteran of two previous sessions of Extravehicular Activity (EVA), totaling 12 hours and 58 minutes—and “rookie” Victor Glover will depart the station’s Quest airlock at about 7 a.m. EST for approximately 6.5 hours. Continue reading Astronauts to Conduct Wednesday Spacewalk to Upgrade Lab on ISS  Less than eight months after it triumphantly lofted NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken aboard Dragon Endeavour to begin their historic voyage to the International Space Station (ISS), the B1058 Falcon 9 core roared aloft a fifth time early Sunday to deliver a multitude of commercial and government “rideshare” payloads into low-Earth orbit. All told, 143 payloads—the greatest number of satellites ever launched on a single mission—rode uphill at 10 a.m. EST, including the first ten Starlink internet communications satellites bound for polar orbit. Continue reading SpaceX Launches Transporter-1 Rideshare Mission, Logs Third Mission in 3 Weeks  SpaceX will wait until tomorrow morning to launch the greatest number of individual satellites ever flown aboard a U.S. launch vehicle, following Saturday morning’s postponement of the Transporter-1 mission aboard a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster. “Due to unfavorable weather, we are standing down from today’s launch,” SpaceX noted. “The team will continue with the countdown until T-30 seconds for data collection.” Continue reading 143-Strong Haul of Satellites Set for Sunday SpaceX Launch  By a strange quirk of fate, NASA’s Apollo 5 mission—which launched more than a half-century ago, this very day—used the same booster as should have been ridden by the ill-fated Apollo 1 crew of Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. The three astronauts were intended to fly in early 1967, atop a Saturn IB booster, to put the “Block I” variant of the Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) through its paces in low-Earth orbit. However, all three men died when a flash-fire swept through their spacecraft during a ground test. The Saturn IB itself was reassigned to carry Apollo 5, the first flight of the Lunar Module (LM), which would someday transport humans to the surface of the Moon. It was one of many legacies of the bravery of the Apollo 1 crew. Continue reading Fire in the Hole: Remembering Apollo 5, OTD in 1968  After almost two years, SpaceX successfully passed the magical number of 1,000 Starlinks launched to orbit today, when the veteran B1051 core—the first Falcon 9 to record an eighth launch—roared aloft from historic Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, carrying a 60-strong “batch” of these flat-packed internet communications satellites. With today’s launch, 1,013 production-design Starlinks have been put into orbit since May 2019. Continue reading SpaceX Launches Second Mission of 2021 with More Starlinks on 8x-Flown Rocket  Last Saturday’s premature shutdown of all four RS-25 engines on the first Space Launch System (SLS) was triggered by intentionally conservative test parameters, according to a NASA update on Tuesday evening. After more than a year in the historic B-2 Test Stand at the Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Bay St. Louis, Miss., the giant rocket’s 212-foot-tall (64.6-meter) Core Stage—which carries more than 733,000 gallons (3.3 million liters) of liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants and provides about 20 percent of the thrust at liftoff—roared to life at 5:27 p.m. EST Saturday, for a hoped-for, eight-minute-long full-flight-duration “burn”. However, a little over a minute into the Hot Fire Test, one engine exceeded its highly conservative pre-test limits and the Core Stage was commanded to shut down after 67.2 seconds. Teams are working to determine if a second firing may be needed. Continue reading Tight Test Margins Hampered SLS Hot Fire Test, NASA Says |
 Next Launch Transporter-1 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral AFB, FL scheduled for: 24 Jan 21 at 15:00 GMT 24 Jan 21 at 10:00am Eastern 
Days
Hrs
Min
Sec
Click here for more details...  |
|||
