NASA is making progress with potential partner nations on a set of principles known as the Artemis Accords for governing future efforts to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and then Mars, a NASA official says.
The UK has launched a draft United Nations (U.N.) resolution on the responsible use of space, as concern grows about the potential impacts to national economies if space-based infrastructure is damaged through accidents or misunderstandings between nations.
The International Space Station crewmembers ended their extended weekend isolation in the orbiting lab’s Russian segment on Aug. 25, part of an attempt to track down the source of a persistent pressure leak.
As NASA addresses the hurdles of accelerating a return of humans to the Moon’s surface in 2024 and establishing a sustained presence in this decade, it is also studying how to move on to Mars in the mid-2030s using a nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) option.
The report calls on Congress to “enact, without delay, appropriations and any required authorities" for the Office of Space Commerce "to build this critical capability with requisite personnel, office infrastructure and authorities.”
China has verified operation of a lightweight, low-power technology for inter-satellite laser links, which should be valuable for mass constellations of low-orbit communications satellites.
The rate of the leak has "slightly increased, so the teams are working a plan to isolate identify, and potentially repair the source,” NASA says, stressing that it poses "no immediate danger to the crew or the space station.”
Resources like the vast quantities of water ice believed to reside within shadowed craters at the Moon’s south and north poles promise to reduce the costs of initial exploration substantially.
The combined 40-ft.-plus structure includes the Blue Origin lander and the Lockheed Martin ascent module that is expected to house NASA’s Artemis astronaut crews during their initial, weeklong lunar sorties.
SpaceX is sticking by its lawsuit against the U.S. military for its decision not to award it one of three design and development contracts awarded two years ago, saying the decision has inflicted “substantial harm” on the company.
Universal rocket modules for the Angara A5 heavy launch vehicle have been sent by train to the Plesetsk military spaceport in preparation for the rocket family's first liftoff since 2014.
The board will assess the joint effort with the European Space Agency to retrieve and return to Earth samples of rock cores drilled and preserved by the Perseverance Mars 2020 rover.
Following their successful Demo-2 test flight, NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Oct. 23 for the first operational commercial launch of astronauts to the International Space Station.
An Ariane 5 rocket carrying the second Northrop Grumman Mission Extension Vehicle along with U.S. and Japanese telecommunications satellites successfully lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, late Aug. 15.
Northrop Grumman on Aug. 13 conducted the first ground test of an extended-length solid rocket motor it is developing with United Launch Alliance for the Vulcan Centaur rocket at Northrop’s facility in Promontary, Utah.
An investigation into an incident that damaged the National Science Foundation (NSF) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was continuing Aug.14, focusing on the cause and cost of repairs.
