Mission | Common News Update

May242020 by adminNo Comments

Nasa SpaceX launch: Astronauts complete rehearsal for historic mission

Nasa astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken have completed their dress rehearsal for Wednesday's flight to the International Space Station.The mission, the first crewed outing from American soil in nine years, will see the pair ride to orbit in a SpaceX Falcon rocket and Crew Dragon capsule.It's a demonstration of the new "taxi" service the US space agency will be buying from the Californian firm.Lift-off on Wednesday is timed for 16:33 EDT (20:33 GMT / 21:33 BST).The weather around the Kennedy Space Center in Florida may have other ideas, however. A forecast released on Saturday by the US Air Force 45th Weather Squadron predicted just a 40% chance of favourable conditions come launch time.There is a strong possibility the Kenned...

May232020 by adminNo Comments

NASA, SpaceX review clears historic mission for launch next week

Science

ORLANDO, Fla., May 22 (UPI) -- NASA and SpaceX cleared next week's historic SpaceX Crew Dragon launch to the International Space Station after a flight readiness review Friday. It is to be the first crewed flight scheduled to launch from U.S. soil since the last shuttle lifted off in 2011. The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are prepared to carry NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley into space Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and SpaceX officials said. The officials from SpaceX and NASA met for a day and one-half at the space center Thursday and Friday to focus on the readiness of crews, capsule, rocket and the International Space Station to support the flight. Significant risk areas reviewed in the process included the function of SpaceX's re...

May222020 by adminNo Comments

Nasa SpaceX crew mission cleared to launch

Science

Key officials at the American space agency (Nasa) and private launch firm SpaceX have signed off next week's historic mission to the space station.Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will ride to orbit from Florida - the first time in nine years that humans have left Earth from US territory.A review panel has found no technical reason to delay the mission.SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket with its Dragon capsule is set to lift off at 16:33 EDT (21:33 BST) on Wednesday.The decision of the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) panel opens the way for final launch preparations to proceed."We did a thorough review of all the systems and all the risks, and it was unanimous on the board that we are 'go for launch',...

May102020 by adminNo Comments

Virus delay, early ice melt challenge Arctic science mission

Technology

Dozens of scientists are sitting in quarantine, waiting for permission to sail forth and capture a crucial moment in the polar calendar that’s essential to their year-long Arctic research missionBy FRANK JORDANS Associated PressMay 10, 2020, 8:03 AM4 min read4 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleBERLIN -- They prepared for icy cold and trained to be on the watch for polar bears, but a pandemic just wasn't part of the program. Now dozens of scientists are waiting in quarantine for the all-clear to join a year-long Arctic research mission aimed at improving the models used for forecasting climate change, just as the expedition reaches a crucial phase. For a while, the international mission looked like it might have to be called off, as country after country we

May12020 by adminNo Comments

Bezos and Musk compete to build lunar lander for moon mission

Technology

NASA has given SpaceX and Blue Origin the nod to develop its new lunar landers which will take the first woman and the next man to the surface of the moon.The private spaceflight companies, owned by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, will develop competing systems in parallel, alongside a third company called Dynetics, but NASA will eventually choose one. NASA has awarded the three companies 10-month contracts that are worth a combined $ 967m (£770m), with payments subject to the companies reaching specific development milestones. Image: NASA's new Artemis mission will return the space agency to the moon The contracts are to design and build the human landing systems for NASA's return to the moon by 2024, including the launch and landing vehic