SpaceUniversity

Rocket Lab ready for second booster recovery attempt

Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher during a countdown dress rehearsal earlier this month. Credit: Rocket Lab The scheduled launch Saturday of two commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites from New Zealand will double as an opportunity for Rocket Lab to test an enhanced heat shield on its Electron booster, an upgrade that should allow the company to recover …

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Chinese rover heads for landing on Mars

Artist’s illustration of the Tianwen 1 orbiter and rover at Mars. Credit: CNSA / Chinese Academy of Sciences / Nature Astronomy A Chinese rover outfitted with cameras, a weather station, and a sophisticated laser spectrometer could touch down on Mars as soon as Friday, a feat that would make China the second nation to successfully …

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SpaceX outlines plans for Starship orbital test flight

Artist’s concept of a Super Heavy booster and Starship vehicle stacked together during launch. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX has revealed the flight plan for the first orbital test launch of the company’s huge stainless steel Starship rocket, a 90-minute, around-the-world mission that will originate from South Texas and culminate with a controlled re-entry and splashdown in …

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Russian actress, Japanese entrepreneur cleared for space station visits

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Russian actress Yulia Peresild participates in a press conference Thursday in Moscow. Credit: Roscosmos Russian actress Yulia Peresild and filmmaker Klim Shipenko will join cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station on Oct. 5 to shoot scenes for an upcoming movie, the Russian …

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Long-time Kennedy Space Center director to take job at NASA Headquarters

Bob Cabana, director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, speaks to employees in 2020. Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson Former space shuttle commander Bob Cabana, who has led NASA’s Kennedy Space Center since 2008, will take a new job in Washington as the space agency’s No. 3 official next week. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Cabana’s appointment as …

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U.S. military warning sentinel attached to Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral

The U.S. Space Force’s fifth SBIRS GEO early warning satellite — encapsulated inside the Atlas 5 rocket’s payload shroud — arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility on May 7. Credit: United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance crews at Cape Canaveral have topped off an Atlas 5 rocket for liftoff Monday with the U.S. military’s next …

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NASA, Axiom sign agreements moving ahead with first commercial station visit

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION A view of the Atlantic Ocean from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA NASA and Houston-based Axiom Space have signed a “mission order” setting the stage for four civilians to visit to the International Space Station early next year, the first fully commercial flight to the orbiting lab …

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#332: Swarms in Space, with Giovanni Beltrame

Robohub Podcast · Swarms in Space In this episode, Lilly interviews Giovanni Beltrame, Professor of Computer and Software Engineering at École Polytechnique de Montréal where he directs the Making Innovative Space Technology (MIST) lab. Beltrame highlights the technical challenges of exploring another planet with a swarm of robots controlled by an astronaut operator. They discuss …

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NASA chief criticizes China for uncontrolled rocket re-entry

The core stage of China’s Long March 5B rocket, seen here before launch, re-entered the atmosphere over the Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean late Saturday. Credit: Xinhua NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Saturday that China is failing to meet “responsible standards” on space debris after a massive Long March rocket stage fell back to Earth …

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SpaceX reaches rocket reuse milestone on Starlink launch

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Sunday. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now The launch of another 60 Starlink internet spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Sunday thrust SpaceX past a major milestone in rocket reuse: the 10th successful flight of a Falcon 9 booster. The mission marked the fourth …

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