Space Launch System

Proposed 24 percent cut to NASA budget eliminates key Artemis architecture, climate research

The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. Image: NASA The White House released its proposed federal spending budget for Fiscal Year 2026 on Friday and with it a series of deep cuts to most areas of discretionary spending, including to NASA. The requested cuts come, ironically, on National Space Day. If adopted as …

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NASA leaders, Artemis contractors argue importance of architecture continuity for returning to the Moon

The Artemis 2 crew, standing in from of their Artemis spacecraft, discusses their planned around-the-moon flight with reporters at the Kennedy Space Center. Left to right: commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. While assembly of the Space Launch System rocket continues at the Kennedy Space …

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NASA prepares to roll Artemis 2 core stage to the Vehicle Assembly Building

NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at …

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First astronaut missions to the Moon since 1972 delayed due to heat shield questions, hardware readiness

The Artemis 2 crew, standing in from of their Artemis spacecraft, discusses their planned around-the-moon flight with reporters at the Kennedy Space Center. Left to right: commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. A quartet of astronauts will have to wait until next year before their …

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Artemis 2 commander chats with Spaceflight Now

Reid Wiseman, a veteran U.S. Navy test pilot and former chief of NASA’s astronaut corps, will lead the four-person crew assigned to the Artemis 2 mission to carry people to the vicinity of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. In a joint interview with Spaceflight Now and Space.com, Wiseman said …

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NASA set to announce crew of Artemis 2 moon mission

NASA will unveil the four crew members Monday who will fly around the moon on the first piloted flight of the agency’s Orion deep space capsule on the Artemis 2 mission as soon as late next year. Three Americans and one Canadian will fly on the Artemis 2 mission, the next test flight in NASA’s …

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Repairs and upgrades await SLS mobile launcher before crewed lunar mission

NASA’s Artemis Mobile Launcher rolls into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Friday, Dec. 9. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky The mobile launch platform for NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center Friday for inspections and repairs after liftoff of the Artemis 1 moon …

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NASA triumphs in successful debut launch of huge SLS moon rocket

NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket lifts off with 8.8 million pounds of thrust from two powerful solid rocket boosters and four core stage engines. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography NASA’s huge Space Launch System moon rocket finally took off from Florida early Wednesday after a decade in development, sending an …

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Engineers assessing hurricane-damaged insulation before Artemis launch Wednesday

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket and Orion spacecraft on Launch Complex 39B. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky NASA managers cleared the agency’s leak-bedeviled Artemis moon rocket for the start of another countdown early Monday, but engineers must resolve questions about hurricane-damaged insulation before the huge booster can be cleared for …

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NASA assesses moon rocket after a brush with Hurricane Nicole

Credit: NASA NASA’s $4.1 billion Artemis moon rocket, exposed to the elements atop its Kennedy Space Center launch pad, was rocked by high winds and driving rain early Thursday as Hurricane Nicole roared ashore just south of the spaceport. With blastoff on a long-delayed maiden flight on tap next week, sensors at pad 39B recorded …

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