Inspiration4 crew arrives at Kennedy Space Center days before first all-civilian launch
Four non-professional astronauts arrived in Kennedy Space Center Thursday ahead of their SpaceX rocket launch next week, which will mark the first time a human spaceflight from Florida will not have a single NASA astronaut onboard.
SpaceX Starship sticks landing after high-flying test flight in Texas
SpaceX sent its gleaming Starship spaceship on a high-flying test above Texas Wednesday evening and unlike the previous flights this one remained in one piece after landing, a big milestone for the private company hoping to send people to the moon for NASA.
Sierra Nevada, prepping for Florida launch and landing, unveils space station concept
Sierra Nevada, the company aiming to launch and land its Dream Chaser spaceplane on the Space Coast, unveiled its take on an Earth-orbiting space station this week, joining a series of others aiming to find alternatives to the aging International Space Station, reports News 6 partner Florida Today.
NASA has a lot to consider before launching to space station not just weather
The reason NASA and SpaceX have set days and times to launch Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station depends on a lot of factors, outside of the weather alone. The International Space Station is home to hundreds of science experiments and astronauts from several counties. On May 12, Northrop Grummans Cygnus cargo craft departed the space station. When you talk about launching to the International Space Station, your launch window is not a window at all. Bridenstine said NASA and SpaceX will get another weather update from the 45th Weather Squadron at 4 p.m. Friday.
Heres what NASA astronauts are doing between launch attempts
SpaceX and NASA will possibly try again as soon as Saturday at 3:22 p.m., if the weather cooperates. After launch, Behnken and Hurley are bound for the International Space Station where they will spend one to four months before returning to Earth. But with two days between launch attempts, whats an astronaut to do while they wait to go to space? Heres what SpaceX astronauts listened to on their way to the launch pad]Behnken shared a photo on social media of that new tradition a day before the first SpaceX launch attempt. Between launch days, Lindgren said the astronauts are getting briefings from SpaceX and NASA about the health of the Falcon 9 rocket and the weather.
Live launch day updates: SpaceX prepares to launch NASA astronauts from Kennedy Space Center
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. After a nearly nine-year remission, its launch day for NASA astronauts from Kennedy Space Center again as SpaceX prepares to become the first private company to send humans into orbit and onto the International Space Station. Elon Musks private company SpaceX is set to launch two NASA astronauts onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft on a mission known as Demo-2. After liftoff, Crew Dragon will take 19 hours to fly to the International Space Station. Veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are the lone passengers onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft. As part of NASAs commercial crew program, the U.S. space agency selected SpaceX and Boeing to develop spacecraft to fly NASA astronauts.
American spaceflight history: End of shuttle program paves way for private companies to lead in space
Orion is designed to launch on NASAs Space Launch System, or SLS rocket, also still in development. For its first journey to the International Space Station, the commercial spacecraft, Crew Dragon, carried no crew. The Crew Dragon spacecraft jettisoned away to safety, splashing down in the Atlantic and Falcon 9 was destroyed moments later. Jan. 27, 2020: First private space station agreement with NASAThe Axiom modules are targeted to attach to the International Space Station beginning in the latter half of 2024. ( )NASA announced in January Axiom Space, a private company based in Houston, will build the first stages of a private space station that will operate long after the International Space Station is retired.
NASA astronauts arrive in Florida, marking 1 week countdown to historic launch
pic.twitter.com/1EoolI3XNH Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) May 20, 2020Hurley was one of the last NASA astronauts to make that same trip in 2011 for the last space shuttle launch. He described Kennedy Space Center as home away from home because both astronauts spent a lot of time there during the space shuttle program. At that time, KSC Director Bob Cabana, a former astronaut, was head of the NASA astronaut office. This is also similar to the space shuttle program but, again, will look very different. Stay with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com for updates as American astronauts launch from Floridas Space Coast once again.
American spaceflight history: Space Shuttle establishes lasting human presence in space
NASAs space shuttle fleet included Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour and flew a combined 135 missions in space. Heres a look back at the program that established a permanent human presence in space:1981: First space shuttle launchBeginning a new era in human spaceflight, Space Shuttle Columbia launched on STS-1 from Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. Jan. 28, 1986: Space Shuttle Challenger tragedyOn January 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after its life-off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. More than two years later, Space Shuttle Discovery marked the return to human spaceflight for NASA on Aug. 9, 2005. July 2011: The final space shuttle launchA marker to indicate where Atlantis stopped in 2011 after the final space shuttle mission.
NASA shakes up leadership ahead of first astronaut launch from US since 2011
Eight days from the first astronaut launch from American soil in nine years, NASA announced the head of its human spaceflight office had stepped down. Doug Loverro was appointed as associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in October 2019. Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Doug Loverro has resigned from his position effective Monday, May 18, the statement read. The leadership change was also not mentioned at the National Space Council meeting Tuesday attended by Vice President Mike Pence and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. The event is set to be a historic launch for NASA and SpaceX.
American spaceflight history: Apollo Project overcomes tragedy to land man on moon
By the end of the Apollo program, 12 astronauts had walked on the moon. Heres a look at the events and significant moments from the Apollo program. It was the only moon mission to include a scientist on the crew, astronaut and geologist Harrison Schmitt. It was both the last launch of an Apollo spacecraft, and the Saturn family of rockets. It was also the last U.S. space mission until the first space shuttle flight in April 1981.