Tags: Spacecraft

New Horizons Prepares for Pluto Flyby

SPACE NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has began its long-awaited encounter with the tiny dwarf planet Pluto. Researchers have announced that the craft is entering the first of several approach phases that will culminate on July 14 with the first ever close-up flyby of the dwarf planet, located 4.67 billion miles from Earth.

China’s Space Program Reaches New Milestone on the Moon

China's space program has achieved a new milestone with its missions to the moon, as its latest spacecraft service module has entered orbit around the moon, months after being used in the country's test flight that sent a prototype sample-return capsule on a flight around the moon and back to Earth.

‘Houston, We Have a Problem’—SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Called Off

After weeks of anticipation for private spaceflight company SpaceX’s innovative new launch scheduled for departure earlier this morning, Jan. 6, NASA officials reported that the launch was called off due to technical difficulties, only minutes before liftoff.

SpaceX’s Tuesday Mission May Change Space Exploration, And Our Taxes Forever

Knowing the waste associated with space exploration, the millions of dollars invested in early flight stages merely shelled off into space, private-sector rocket company SpaceX has decided to rework how the space exploration game is played. Developing reusable pieces, that if brought back with a spacecraft could be used on yet another mission, the company not only intends to change their role in the rocket industry, but the way our tax dollars are spent as well.

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Makes Approach to Ceres

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft, launched in 2007, is beginning to make its approach to Ceres, a dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt. Dawn's mission will make it the first craft to orbit two bodies in the solar system after spending 14 months studying the protoplanet Vesta.

SpaceX’s Reusable Rocket Could Turn the Tide of Space Missions in 2015

Ever wonder why they call space the “final frontier”? Well it isn’t because it’s the last place for us to explore or expand. As it so happens, space is often thought of as the final frontier because most of what leaves our Earth in search of exploration never comes back. In fact, it’s the reason why Mars One’s newest plans for colonization on Mars is only planning one-way trips. But what if we could reuse rockets and reclaim the several-million-dollar investments that our space agencies, and our tax dollars, invest each and every year? Perhaps we’d be able to go in search of far more things. And that’s what private-sector rocket company SpaceX hopes to achieve.

Orion’s Return: What Re-entry Means for the Industry of Spaceflight

On December 5, 2014 after a one-day weather delay, NASA launched Orion from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. While this test flight was unmanned, Orion is built to hold a crew of 2- 6 individuals. It’s no secret that NASA plans to send humans to an asteroid and to Mars using Orion.

Next Stop for Curiosity Rover? Lava Mound May Hold Answers to Ancient Martian Lava Flows

While NASA’s Curiosity Rover revealed a possible location for reoccurring lakes on the surface of the red planet last week, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is finding even larger discoveries from its vantage point in the sky. Capturing new images with its HiRISE camera, one of six onboard instruments used by the orbiter, Reconnaissance has found evidence of one of the largest lava mounds found to date. And while it looks like a crispy pie pulled right from the oven, researchers say that the 1.2-mile wide circle of Martian crust is composed of iron-rich metamorphic rock, created thousands of years ago in a series of lava flows.

China Space Probe Returns from Trip to the Moon—3rd Place in ‘Space Race’

About 40 years late to the “Space Race”, this morning Saturday Nov. 1, 2014, China became the third nation in the world to successfully orbit the moon and return to Earth to tell the tale. As China’s space agency continues to move forward in its ambitious space program, the lunar orbiter marks a great first success for the mission, and undoubtedly shows its growing presence as a space agency in the world. The eight day turn-around trip came to a close this morning after the test lunar orbiter landed about 500 km away from Beijing, in the Siziwang Banner of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region according to the nation’s Xinhua state-run news agency.

Antares Rocket Launches on East Coast Tonight: Viewing and Live Stream Info

The launch of the Antares rocket carrying supplies and scientific equipment to the International Space Station was rescheduled from Monday evening to Tuesday evening due to a wayward sailboat entered the restricted zone underneath the rocket's flight path. The launch is now scheduled to 6:22 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.

ESA Asks Public to Name Philae Landing Site of Comet 67P This November

It’s been a conversation months in the making. No, it’s not a new iPhone product or what celebrity baby names will be hot this Winter, but rather what to call one of the greatest achievements mankind will make in your lifetime? Reaching out to the public for a little bit of inspiration in creative names, researchers at the ESA have created an open competition where anyone and everyone can submit their own ideas for what the site should be named.

Watch: NASA Moves Martian Orbiters to Avoid Comet Siding Spring

Mars had a close call this past weekend as a comet passed so close to the Red Planet that NASA moved its three Mars orbiters to the opposite side of the planet hoping to shield them from the dust and gas debris left by the tail of Comet Siding Spring.

NASA’s Spacecrafts ‘Duck And Cover’ Behind Mars as Comet Passes Through

It’s been a flyby anticipated for months, and one whose arrival sparked much commotion at NASA’s headquarters this past weekend. Hurtling through the night sky at nearly 125,000 miles per hour, Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring passed right by the planet Mars early Sunday afternoon, Oct. 19, coming in close contact with the Martian outer atmosphere at about 2:27pm ET.

Video: X-37B Space Plane Lands After 2 Years in Orbit

The U.S. Air Force's mysterious X-37B space plane landed this week after a record of nearly two years in orbit, yet government officials still haven't commented as to the nature of its mission. The 'orbital test vehicle' is the third such OTV mission, and orbited the Earth for 674 days.

Solar Storm Causes Aurora Across Northern Skies

With a giant solar storm erupting just last week, causing cosmic disturbances emanating from the center of the sun, the northern skies have welcomed the arrival of aurora lights. Reaching as far south as New York, the record-breaking Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) of early last week’s solar storm brought with a gust of solar wind, an illuminating spectacle of lights across the sky.
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