Bound for Mars in 2020

The spacecraft for NASA’s next Mars mission – Mars 2020 – is really beginning to take shape now. Here’s the complete cruise stage, suspended in a cleanroom at JPL. It’ll power and guide the spacecraft on its 7-month voyage to Mars. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-mars-2020-spacecraft-cleanroom-jpl-may-2019…

Today in science: 1st American in space

Alan Shepard became the 1st American in space on May 5, 1961. His suborbital flight took place just 3 weeks after the Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth once. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/alan-shepard-first-american-in-space-may-5-1961…

Incident on SpaceX pad could delay its first manned flight

A mysterious but apparently serious incident occurred Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida involving the SpaceX capsule intended to carry American astronauts into space late this year, the private company and NASA announced. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-04-incident-spacex-pad-flight.html…

Smoke ‘Seen For Miles’ as SpaceX Crew Dragon Suffers Anomaly at Cape Canaveral

An anonymous reader quotes Florida Today:
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule suffered an anomaly during a routine test fire at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Saturday afternoon, the 45th Space Wing confirmed today. “On April 20, 2019, an anomaly occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during the Dragon 2 static test fire,” Wing Spokesman Jim Williams told FLORIDA TODAY. “The anomaly…

Video: Soon, kidneys-on-a-chip will rocket to space station

UW scientists are prepping a kidney-on-a-chip experiment at Cape Canaveral, Florida, awaiting a shuttle launch that will take the chips into space. At an altitude of 250 miles, astronauts will help study how reduced gravity in space affects kidney physiology. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-04-video-kidneys-on-a-chip-rocket-space-station.html…