For the second time this week, a pair of astronauts floated outside Friday to get the International Space Station ready for new solar panels. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-spacewalking-astronauts-tackle-solar-panel.html…
Category: Space Exploration
Spacewalkers finish solar panel prep for station power boost
Spacewalking astronauts completed the first round of prep work Friday for new solar panels, part of a major power upgrade at the International Space Station. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-spacewalking-astronauts-tackle-solar-panel.html…
SpaceX: more risks, better rockets?
A prototype of SpaceX’s unmanned rocket Starship exploded on Wednesday, the third time a test flight ended in flames. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-spacex-rockets.html…
Biden lauds NASA team for giving US ‘dose of confidence’
President Joe Biden on Thursday congratulated the NASA team responsible for last month’s successful landing of an six-wheeled rover on Mars and for giving the country a “dose of confidence” at a moment when the nation’s reputation as a scientific leader has been tattered by the coronavirus pandemic. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-biden-lauds-nasa-team-dose.html…
Testing instruments for Artemis astronauts
NASA’s Artemis program will establish a sustainable presence at the Moon as we prepare to venture on to Mars. To empower the success of these missions, terrestrial engineers must furnish astronauts with the tools they need to make new discoveries on their journeys. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-instruments-artemis-astronauts.html…
Chinese astronauts training for space station crewed flights
China said Thursday a cohort of astronauts is training for four crewed missions this year as the country works to complete its first permanent orbiting space station. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-chinese-astronauts-space-station-crewed.html…
SpaceX Starship lands upright, then explodes in latest test
SpaceX’s futuristic Starship looked like it aced a touchdown Wednesday, but then exploded on the landing pad with so much force that it was hurled into the air. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-spacex-starship-upright-latest.html…
Fly me to the Moon: Japan billionaire offers space seats
It’s the sort of chance that comes along just once in a blue Moon: a Japanese billionaire is throwing open a private lunar expedition to eight people from around the world. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-moon-japan-billionaire-space-seats.html…
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope completes final functional tests to prepare for launch
February marked significant progress for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which completed its final functional performance tests at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California. Testing teams successfully completed two important milestones that confirmed the observatory’s internal electronics are all functioning as intended, and that the spacecraft and its four scientific instruments can send and receive data properly through the same network…
Boeing Starliner test flight postponed
An unmanned test mission of Boeing’s Starliner space capsule, which is eventually to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, has had to be postponed, NASA said Monday. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-boeing-starliner-flight-postponed.html…