As NASA faced a mission price tag and timeline for the Mars Sample Return mission that the administrator called “unacceptable,” the agency is turning to both its various centers around the country and to the private sector to find workable solutions. Administrator Bill Nelson said MSR remains one of NASA’s highest priorities and he said he was optimistic about what may come their way.
A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.
SpaceX is preparing for one more Falcon 9 launch to close out the week at the Cape. The Starlink 6-52 mission will add 23 more satellites to the growing low Earth orbit constellation.
A Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Launch Complex 39A ahead of the Starlink 6-51 mission on April 17, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now
SpaceX is preparing for its latest Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The Starlink 6-51 mission comes about a week-and-a-half after the launch of its first Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission from that pad.
The CST-100 Starliner spacecraft pauses in front of Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) before it embarks to Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update 10:41 a.m. EDT: Added additional timing information regarding work at the VIF and a statement from Boeing regarding the Starliner-1 crew makeup.
This illustration shows a concept for multiple robots that would team up to ferry to Earth samples of rocks and soil being collected from the Martian surface by NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover.
Credit: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech
NASA is going back to square one when it comes to many aspects of its Mars Sample Return mission in response to independent reviews that showed ballooning costs and significant schedule delays.
SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster, B1062, lifts off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 6-49 mission. This marked the first time a booster launch and landed for a 20th time. Image: Adam Bernstein
Update 10:13 p.m. EDT: SpaceX successfully launched and landed its booster, B1062, for a 20th time.
As the Delta family of rockets closes out a more than 60 year legacy, a new spacecraft from another legacy space company is preparing to make its debut with astronauts on board. Meanwhile, millions are still basking in the coronal glow of Monday’s total solar eclipse while a new military weather satellite is preparing to enter service.
The Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M) space vehicle was successfully encapsulated April 8, 2024, ahead of its scheduled launch as the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-62 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., marking a major milestone on its upcoming launch into low Earth orbit. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX launched a military weather satellite designed to replace aging satellites from a program dating back to the 1960s. The United States Space Force-62 (USSF-62) mission featured the launch of the first Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) spacecraft.
A Falcon 9 rock climbs above Florida’s Space Coast on the Starlink 6-48 mission on April 10, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now
Update 1:58 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-48 mission.
A ULA Delta 4 Heavy rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 37 on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. This was the 16th and final launch of a Delta 4 Heavy rocket. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
The second time was the charm for the finale of the Delta family of rockets. Following an issue with a gaseous nitrogen pipeline beyond the control of United Launch Alliance (ULA) that caused the March 28 scrub the second launch attempt on April 9 proved successful.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A on the Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission on April 7, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein
SpaceX launched the first in a new series of rideshare missions that it dubbed “Bandwagon.” The 11 satellites rode onboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunset from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 8-1 mission on April 6, 2024. Image: SpaceX
For a second time this year, SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of Starlink satellites that support its Direct to Cell capability. The six spacecraft are among the 21 total satellites which launched on Saturday, April 6, from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 6-47 mission on Friday, April 5, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now
Update 5:12 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-47 mission.
NASA awarded contracts for three companies and their teams to move into the feasibility phase of developing options for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV). Renderings: Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, Astrolab
NASA selected three companies to move forward with developing crewed, unpressurized rovers capable of operating on the Moon’s South Pole on Wednesday.
SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites inside a payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX hopes to follow the successful launch of a European television satellite with a pair of its own Starlink missions from both Florida and California. The first Falcon 9 flight is scheduled to depart from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at pad 40.
A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Eutelsat 36D mission at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 30, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now
SpaceX is aiming for an ambitious launch cadence on Saturday evening with potentially three launches on tap in fewer than five hours. The first two Falcon 9 rockets are set to depart from Florida’s Space Coast with the last mission taking off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX
As the month of March winds down, SpaceX hopes to squeeze in one more launch from California with a batch of 22 of its Starlink satellites on board.
The final Delta 4 Heavy pictured on the eve of its final mission inside the Mobile Service Tower at Cape Canaveral’s pad 37. Photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.United Launch Alliance is preparing to bid a fond farewell to what its CEO calls “the most metal of all rockets.” The last Delta rocket, flying in its three-core heavy configuration, is preparing to launch on a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), dubbed NROL-70.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) pose in front of a graphic of the mission patch for the Starliner Crew Flight Test. Image: Will Robinson-Smith/Spaceflight Now
NASA is five weeks away from putting astronauts aboard a new commercial crew capsule. May 1 is the target launch date for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on the Crew Flight Test-1 (CFT-1) mission the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams on board.
A Falcon 9 stands ready for the Starlink 6-46 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.
SpaceX is preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Monday evening with 23 Starlink satellites on board. This mission will mark the 175th launch for SpaceX from its workhorse pad to date.
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