Stay updated with the latest events in spaceflight.
Bulgarian satellite maker EnduroSat and British defense tech startup Shield Space aim to deploy a cubesat next year capable of maneuvering near other satellites for inspection, ahead of plans to develop a mothership that could house dozens of them for on-demand missions. The post Inspection cubesat demo planned as first step toward orbital defense mothership appeared first on SpaceNews.
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Astroscale has completed the critical design review for two cubesats slated to launch next year to help the British military monitor space weather and track objects in LEO. The post Astroscale passes key design milestone for UK military space-tracking cubesats appeared first on SpaceNews.
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A massive, old caldera and more recently formed craters shape the landscape in the eastern Sierra Nevada.
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Leo is a prominent sight for stargazers in April. Its famous sickle, punctuated by the bright star Regulus, draws many a beginning stargazer’s eyes, inviting deeper looks into some of Leo’s celestial delights, including a great double star and a famous galactic trio. Leo’s distinctive forward sickle, or “reverse question mark,” is easy to spot […]
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The Artemis II crew is on their way back to Earth after swinging around the Moon yesterday. Stunning images of both the Moon and the Earth have been downlinked already […]
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The first flyby images of the Moon captured by NASA’s Artemis II astronauts during their historic test flight reveal some regions no human has seen, including a rare in-space solar eclipse. Released Tuesday, astronauts captured the images April 6 during the mission’s seven-hour flyby of the lunar far side, showing humanity’s return to the Moon’s […]
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Press Event
The Artemis II crew will speak with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station in an audio-only conversation.
Press Event
NASA provides daily Artemis II mission status briefings from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston beginning Thursday, April 2, except for April 6, due to lunar flyby activities.
Press Event
NASA provides daily Artemis II mission status briefings from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston beginning Thursday, April 2, except for April 6, due to lunar flyby activities.
Founded: 1998-11-20
The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in November 2000. It has been inhabited continuously since that date. The last pressurised module was fitted in 2011, and an experimental inflatable space habitat was added in 2016. The station is expected to operate until 2030. Development and assembly of the station continues, with several new elements scheduled for launch in 2019. The ISS is the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised habitation modules, structural trusses, solar arrays, radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.
Founded: 1986-02-20
Mir was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.
Founded: 1973-05-14
Skylab was a United States space station launched and operated by NASA, and occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974 – the only space station the U.S. has operated exclusively. In 1979 it fell back to Earth amid huge worldwide media attention. Skylab included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems necessary for crew survival and scientific experiments. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a weight of 170,000 pounds (77,000 kg). Lifting Skylab into low earth orbit was the final mission and launch of a Saturn V rocket (famous for carrying the manned Moon landing missions). Three missions delivered three-astronaut crews in the Apollo command and service module (Apollo CSM), launched by the smaller Saturn IB rocket. For the final two manned missions to Skylab, a backup Apollo CSM/Saturn IB was assembled and made ready in case an in-orbit rescue mission was needed, but this backup vehicle was never flown.