NASA has given answers to those who have asked to preserve all or parts of the International Space Station into a museum. NASA said disassembling and returning to Earth the complete modules and large components that comprise the International Space Station was not feasible. The space station has not been certified to operate with the …
There is a new proposed definition of planet that works far better for objects in other solar systems. In our solar system, objects are close enough that we can check the orbit and see if has been cleared of other objects. This is problematic if we can only infer rough properties of what could be …
People have proposed saving the International Space Station. They think it cost about $200 billion to build it. However, most of those costs were the $1-2 billion spent for each Space shuttle launch. Those are sunk costs. It now costs an additional $1.3 billion per year to keep the Space Station operating. The parts were …
Vast is a startup building commercial in-space habitation, research, and manufacturing facilities to serve NASA, ESA, DLR, and other government space agencies around the globe, driving demand for affordable and sustainable space transportation to LEO. Founded in 2021, Vast is building Haven-1, the world’s first private space station slated to launch no earlier than August …
SpaceX will make a giant version of the Dragon spacecraft with 6 times the propellant and four times the power for a precise and controlled deorbit of the space station. There will be 46 Draco engines on the upgraded vehicle. It will be almost two vehicles in one and will be ready in 2028. It …
NASA is creating plans and white papers to describe what they will need for lunar cargo movement in near term exploration and development plans. NASA has already defined a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) and Pressurized Rover (PR) for crew transportation and with limited cargo mobility functions. There is planned near-term robotic missions. There is a …
NASA has selected SpaceX to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle that will provide the capability to deorbit the International space station and ensure avoidance of risk to populated areas. The single-award contract has a total potential value of $843 million. The launch service for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle will be a future procurement. …
SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy again and again we had the beautiful double rocket booster landing. SpaceX Falcon Heavy is the rocket that is lifting the biggest and most important missions for NASA. There have been 10 out of 10 Successful Falcon Heavy double booster recoveries. Three of the next 6 Falcon Heavy launches over two …
Boeing Starliner has experienced problems with five of its 28 reaction control system (RCS) thrusters and there have been five helium leaks in Starliner’s propulsion system. Starliner was initially scheduled to spend about a week at the ISS on this shakeout cruise. But on June 9, NASA and Boeing announced that its departure had been …
The Boeing Starliner, is set to undock from the ISS on June 22. This is a several day delay. During its current mission, the spacecraft has encountered a fifth helium leak and a stuck oxidizer valve. Teams currently are assessing what impacts, if any, five small leaks in the service module helium manifolds would have …
There was a good manned launch of two astronauts on the Boeing Starliner. The Starliner had a lot of delays and problems and was over budget. However, it is great that they have had a successful manned launch of two astronauts. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with …