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NASA is bringing an asteroid sample back to Earth – here’s when, how and why

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  Taken on Oct. 27, this image shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully placing its sample collector head into the Sample Return Capsule (SRC). The sequence begins with the collector head hovering over the SRC after the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) arm and moving it into the proper position for capture. At the end of …

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NASA astronaut looks forward to family hugs, peace and quiet, after yearlong flight

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Frank Rubio inside the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module. Image: NASA. If NASA had asked astronaut Frank Rubio, well in advance, if he would like to spend a full year aboard the International Space Station, he likely would have turned it down. But that’s how it turned out anyway, when trouble with his crew’s …

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Live Coverage: SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 on record-breaking 17th flight for booster

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SpaceX will push the boundaries of booster reusability Tuesday night with the scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 using a first stage rocket making its 17th flight. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral with 22 satellites for the Starlink internet network is scheduled for 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 UTC). Booster serial number 1060 will …

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Radar-imaging satellite lost as Rocket Lab Electron rocket suffers launch failure

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A shower of sparks at the point the Electron rocket’s second stage engine was supposed to ignite. Image: Rocket Lab. A Rocket Lab Electron rocket failed to launch a radar-imaging satellite for Capella Space on Tuesday after a problem occurred two and half minutes into flight following first stage separation. It was the fourth failure …

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Rocket Lab Electron rocket to launch cloud-piercing radar satellite

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Artist’s impression of Capella’s Acadia radar-imaging satellite. Image: Capella. Rocket Lab is gearing up to launch the second of four next-generation radar-imaging satellites for Capella Space atop an Electron rocket from New Zealand at 6:30 p.m. NZST (2:30 a.m. EDT / 0630 UTC) on Tuesday. After lifting off from pad B at Rocket Lab’s privately-operated …

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Live Coverage: SpaceX keeping a weather eye on Hurricane Lee ahead of midnight Starlink launch

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Live coverage will start here about one hour before launch SpaceX hopes to launch its 65th orbital mission of the year shortly after midnight tonight, but it’s keeping an eye on the hurricane-churned ocean in the booster recovery zone. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral with 22 satellites for the Starlink network is …

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Live Coverage: Falcon 9 rocket to launch another batch of Starlink satellites from California

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SpaceX will launch another batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:57 p.m. PDT Monday (2:57 a.m. EDT / 0657 UTC Tuesday). We’ll have live coverage of the liftoff in our Launch Pad Live stream. The mission, designated Starlink Group 7-2 will place 21 second-generation …

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Live coverage: Most powerful Atlas 5 rocket to launch on a national security mission

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United Launch Alliance (ULA) is preparing to launch its penultimate national security mission using one of its workhorse Atlas 5 rockets. The mission, dubbed NROL-107 or Silentbarker, is poised for liftoff at 8:47 a.m. EDT (1247 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Sunday morning launch comes following …

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FAA concludes Starship mishap investigation, 63 corrective actions needed before second flight

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Starship 25 is lifted atop Super Heavy booster by the launch pad ‘chopsticks’. Image: SpaceX. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Friday the conclusion its mishap investigation into the first integrated test flight of SpaceX’s reusable Starship launch vehicle. It stressed SpaceX has 63 corrective actions that need to be taken before Starship can make …

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Atlas 5 rocket returns to pad for spy satellite agency launch from Cape Canaveral

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United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket made its way back to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday morning for a mission carrying national security mission payloads, collectively codenamed Silentbarker. The 45th Weather Squadron’s launch weather forecast shows conditions are 85 percent favorable for liftoff at 8:51 …

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