After several weather related delays and juggling launch pads, NASA and SpaceX have launched the Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station, setting course for a six month scientific endeavor onboard the orbiting laboratory, and setting the stage for the start of Expedition 71. This mission, consisting of three American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut, will oversee incredible upgrades to the station’s systems, perform critical science, and continue to push boundaries onboard the world’s premier orbiting laboratory.
Crew-8 Launch: On Sunday, March 3rd, at 9:53 PM CST, SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour lifted off from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9 rocket. Crew Dragon Endeavour carries NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. Crew-8 is expected to dock to the ISS …
On Monday, March 4, 2024, SpaceX launched the Transporter-10 rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB). Liftoff occurred at 2:05 PM PST (22:05 UTC).
The military is interested in a “rapidly prototyped Global Positioning System navigation satellite with an objective to significantly reduce size, weight, power and cost”
The board of spacecraft propulsion and launch vehicle company Astra has warned that if it is unable to complete a deal offered by the company’s founders to go private, its only option is to liquidate the company.
Weather finally cooperated for the NASA/SpaceX Crew-8 to lift off late Sunday evening on their way to the International Space Station. Docking is expected about 3:00 am on Tuesday. Three […]
House and Senate appropriators released their final agreement on six FY2024 appropriations bills today including the one that funds NASA, Commerce-Justice-Science. The agency will get $24.875 billion, half a billion […]
Congressional appropriators have released a final fiscal year 2024 spending bill that cuts NASA funding from what the agency received in 2023 while deferring a decision on spending for Mars Sample Return (MSR).
This month, the International Space Station (ISS) has seen a flurry of activity, from experiments to vehicle arrivals and departures. Multiple resupply missions by Cygnus and Progress have kept the crew of Expedition 70 healthy onboard the Station. Meanwhile, a private mission from Axiom headed back to Earth with the first-ever all-European commercial crew, and SpaceX Crew-8 prepares to launch to the ISS in the coming days.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of March 3-10, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate […]
French maritime surveillance provider Unseenlabs announced on 27 February that it had closed an €85 million Series C funding round.
The company’s Series C funding...
A NASA safety panel says the agency is studying issues with the design of the side hatch of the Orion spacecraft that could affect its ability to be opened in an off-nominal situation.
For the second time in 2024, a collection of four humans is flying on a SpaceX rocket and capsule to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew of the Crew-8 mission launched successfully atop a Falcon 9 and Dragon Endeavour from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, March 3 at 10:53 PM EST (03:53 UTC Monday, March 4).
Bremen-based startup POLARIS Spaceplanes has secured additional investors to fund the development of its AURORA multipurpose spaceplane and hypersonic transport system.
POLARIS announced on 27...
Lockheed Martin has proposed acquiring smallsat manufacturer Terran Orbital, which it already owns a stake in and does business with, for more than $500 million.
Three missions have now launched this week, starting with Crew-8, which is sending a new crew to the International Space Station for a six-month tour of duty after successfully launching from Florida. Starlink 6-41 from Cape Canaveral and Transporter 10 from Vandenberg Space Force Base have also flown, and the debut of a new small satellite launcher from Japan is set for Friday for the week’s fourth launch.
Payloads: Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings-2 (AC-2): The crew performed a routine, periodic touching of two of the six experiment placards deployed in various locations throughout the ISS. AC-2 tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health …
NASA is shutting down a $2 billion project to test satellite refueling in space, it announced on Friday, after the agency’s auditor criticized the program’s lead contractor Maxar for poor performance.
As decision loom about its funding and architecture, a NASA review about the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program concluded its problems illustrate ongoing challenges the agency has managing large missions.
The Exploration Company has published an update on the progress of its subscale Mission Possible demonstrator, which the company expects to launch later this...
The House and Senate passed a new Continuing Resolution today extending the deadlines for passing the 12 FY2024 appropriations bills further into March. Without the new CR, funding for departments […]
Former NASA Administrator and astronaut Richard Truly passed away on February 27, 2024. He was 86. Truly’s career will probably be best remembered for his leadership at NASA in returning […]
After the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially closed the mishap investigation into the second flight of Starship, which occurred on Nov 18, 2023. SpaceX is preparing to restack Booster 10 and Ship 28 onto the OLM before another Wet Dress Reheral WDR attempt that would set the stage for a March launch attempt.
One theme I’m always keeping an eye on as a business reporter is whether companies outside the space sector are tapping the industry’s products, services or even just advertising opportunities. We’ve talked a lot about this topic in relation to space networks like GPS, communications and imagery – but last week’s historic moon landing represents yet another example.
Payloads: Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research on Varying Mission Durations (CIPHER): The Bio-Monitor hardware was changed out and eventually stowed after a 48-hour measurement session. The Blood Pressure Measurement session was also completed and the hardware was doffed and stowed. The CIPHER investigation aims to improve our understanding of physiological and psychological …
China launched the first of a new "high orbit" internet satellite series Thursday, apparently to provide internet services to China and surrounding areas.
NASA says it is studying a long-running air leak on a Russian International Space Station module that recently doubled in magnitude, but that the leak does not currently pose a safety risk.
The European Space Agency has published a pair of calls aimed at beginning work on an electric propulsion transfer stage that would be used to ferry passenger spacecraft to orbit around Mars.
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander, the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon in 52 years, is a success as far as the company and NASA are concerned. Despite […]
NASA said today the air leak in the Russian segment of the International Space Station has increased, but along with Russia’s Roscosmos stressed it does not present an imminent threat. […]
NASA and Intuitive Machines declared the IM-1 mission, in its final hours, an “unqualified success” despite a hard landing that left the spacecraft askew.
The top Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate and House agreed today to pass another Continuing Resolution this week to avoid a partial government shutdown. Funding for departments and […]
Frank Calvelli applauded the successful inaugural launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket and emphasized the need for the company to adapt to a faster-paced launch schedule
