Category: NASA

  • Commercial Resupply Contracts 2

    Last September NASA released a request for proposals (RFP) for a second record of contracts to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) through 2024. The proposals were due by November 14 with the awards expected in May this year. At the time of the RFP both Orbital Sciences (now Orbital ATK) and SpaceX were flying…

  • Beyond ISS – Part Two

    Last time we talked about using the Bigelow modules for our international space station replacement. Today we are going to take a detailed look at the Bigelow modules specifically the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) which is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year with the SpaceX CRS-8 Dragon launch.  Once…

  • NASA’s MMS mission launched

    Following a smooth countdown this evening NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) satellites launched aboard a ULA Altas 5.  The MMS mission consists of four spacecraft, that will be deployed into orbit later this evening following the second burn of the centaur, and will then begin to deploy there various instruments to allow them to measure the interaction…

  • Soyuz TMA-14M lands

    Following the undocking earlier today the three crew members on-board the Soyuz TMA-14M are now back on the earth.  For some reason communication was lost with the vehicle during the initial part of the return, however the tracking site in Egypt confirmed that things were on track once it established communications. Communications were re-established once…

  • Expedition 42 has ended

    The crew of the Soyuz TMA-14M undocked from the International Space Station today bringing to an end the Expedition 42 mission on the station. Astronaut Barry Wilmore and Cosmonauts Elena Serova and Alexander Samokutyaev spent 167 days aboard the station during which time they performed six EVA’s and saw the arrival of three cargo vehicles…

  • SLS takes another step forward

    Earlier today the largest Solid Rocket Booster ever was fired up at Orbital ATK’s test facility in Promontory, UTAH. Based on the Solid Rocket Boosters that carried the Space Shuttle into orbit for 30 years this booster has been upgraded to support NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS). While the Booster is based on the…

  • NASA’s Dawn Arrives at Dwarf Planet Ceres

    In the first of two NASA missions to arrive at a Dwarf Planet this year NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft, which previously visited the asteroid Vesta, successfully inserted itself into orbit. First launched in 2007, the spacecraft uses three Xenon Ion Thrusters for propulsion.  After launch it traveled to the asteroid Vesta where is spent 14 months…

  • Is NASA out of the Space Business?

    It is now 2015 and in July it would have been four years since an American Spacecraft launched a crew into space. I have heard many people say that NASA is no longer in the space business because of this. In this article we will explore not only the missions that are currently operating in…

  • SpaceX successfully concludes CRS-5 mission

    Despite having to again delay the launch of the DSCOVR mission, this time due to higher than acceptable upper level winds, they still had a successful conclusion to another mission that has been in space for the last month. The Dragon capsule that was docked to the International Space Station as part of there Commercial…

  • ULA Delta 2 launches SMAP

    Following a 48 hour delay due to higher than allowed upper level winds and an issue with debonding of insulation on the first stage the United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg today carrying NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite. SMAP will provide a capability for global mapping of soil moisture and…