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☆ Boeing’s Starliner set for historic astronaut launch after delays for years
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —After years of delays and a dizzying array of setbacks during test flights, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is finally set to make its inaugural crewed launch. “This is history in the making,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said of the upcoming Starliner mission during a March 22 news conference. Missteps riddled a Starliner test flight the prior year, leaving NASA and Boeing officials scrambling to figure out what went wrong. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has been flying routine trips ever since, carrying NASA astronauts and even paying customers and tourists. On May’s inaugural crewed flight, Boeing will instead use a “perfectly acceptable mitigation” that should prevent the valves from sticking, Nappi said in March.

Persons: CNN —, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, ”, Mark Nappi, “, we’ve, Ken Bowersox, SpaceX’s, Bill Nelson, “ We’re, Boeing’s Starliner, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Steve Stich, we’re, ” Nappi, Stich, Nappi, — Williams, Wilmore, —, ” Wilmore, Williams Organizations: CNN, NASA, International, Boeing, SpaceX, International Space, Alaska Airlines Locations: Florida, —, Starliner’s

☆ Space garbage hits Florida home, NASA confirms
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A piece of garbage jettisoned from the International Space Station unexpectedly survived a fiery reentry from orbit last month and pierced the roof of a home in Florida, according to NASA. Garbage disposal in spaceNASA routinely brings home batches of science experiments, cargo and garbage from the space station using capsules such as the Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX. But after the installation of new batteries on the space station in 2021, authorities disposed of a pallet of aging nickel-hydrogen batteries in a different way. But the debris that struck Otero’s house was the result of miscalculations about how space garbage would behave. The space agency should be more conservative in its analysis if it attempts a similar trash disposal method in the future, he added.

Persons: ” Alejandro Otero, Otero, ” Otero, “ I’m, Otero’s, John Crassidis, ” Crassidis Organizations: CNN, International, NASA, WINK News, Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, European Space Agency, ESA, China National Space Administration, University, Buffalo’s School of Engineering, Applied Locations: Florida, Naples , Florida, China

☆ How the Columbia disaster changed the future of spaceflight
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. The tragedy killed seven astronauts as the Columbia shuttle disintegrated upon its return to Earth on February 1, 2003, due to damage the vehicle sustained during launch. Changes at NASA were necessary, according to a formal investigation about the Columbia disaster published six months after the accident. Cultural changes: ‘Safety days,’ review boards and round tablesColumbia marked the second deadly mishap for the shuttle program after the space shuttle Challenger exploded during launch in January 1986. Following the Columbia disaster, NASA grounded its remaining fleet of three shuttles as the space agency sought to parse what went wrong.

Persons: ”, “, ” Wayne Hale, Rick D, Evelyn Husband, Bill Readdy, Bruce Weaver, Hale, ” Hale, Garrett Reisman, ” Reisman, Ilan Ramon, Reisman, —, NASA didn’t, SpaceX’s, Kevin Dietsch Organizations: CNN, Shuttle Columbia, Sunday, Columbia, SpaceX, NASA, Space Shuttle Columbia, Kennedy Space Center, Getty, Endeavour, Atlantis, International Space, Elon, Boeing, Columbia —, Challenger, International Space Station, Vigilance, ” Locations: Russia, AFP, California, Israel, Columbia

Editor’s note: Follow along with CNN’s live updates of the total solar eclipse. Special eclipse momentsWhile totality is considered to be the most exciting part of a total solar eclipse, there are other special phases to watch for before the big moment arrives. Amateur astronomers prepare to watch a total solar eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico, on Monday. After the total solar eclipse ends, it’s a bit of a wait for the next such celestial sightings in the United States. Those living in Alaska will catch a glimpse of a total solar eclipse on March 30, 2033, and a partial solar eclipse will shine over most of the US during that event.

Persons: Ron Jenkins, Karen Siegel, ” Siegel, Michael Zeiler, Heinz, Peter Bader, Pons, Brooks, Fernando Llano, it’s, Don’t Organizations: CNN, NASA, Indianapolis, GPS, Reuters, JPL, Caltech, Amateur Locations: United States, North America, Texas, Maine, Kerrville , Texas, Cleveland, Newfoundland, Canada, Mazatlan, Coast, Fort Worth , Texas, Texas , Oklahoma , Arkansas , Missouri , Illinois , Kentucky , Indiana , Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York , Vermont , New Hampshire, Vermont, Missouri, Indiana, Lincoln , New Hampshire, Newton , Massachusetts, Barton , Vermont, Mexico, Alaska, North Dakota, Montana, California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Kansas , Oklahoma , Arkansas , Mississippi, Alabama, Florida

☆ NASA’s space shuttle program reimagined rocketry. What went wrong?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. Deemed an “engineering marvel,” the first of five winged orbiters — the space shuttle Columbia — made its inaugural flight in 1981. Crews aboard the recovery ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star retrieve a reusable right solid rocket booster (below) after a space shuttle mission. Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:39 a.m. NASA Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003.

Persons: ”, Sean O’Keefe, Casey Dreier, Crews, O’Keefe, Scott Andrews, NASA's, Michael P, Anderson, William C, McCool, Rick D, David M, Brown, Laurel, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, Joe Skipper, Karl Ronstrom, Ramon, NASA Chawla, Clark, Chawla, Robert Giroux, Kathryn O'Neill, Zachary, Brett Coomer, Florida Sen, Bill Nelson, Matt Stroshane, Tommy Peltier, Eric Gay, Smiley, Gene Theriot, Sean O'Keefe, George W, Bush, Ron Dittemore, Joe Cavaretta, O'Keefe, Mannie Garcia, NASA Sandy Anderson, Carlos Noriega, Michael L, Coats, Evelyn Husband, Thomas, John Raoux, Glenn Benson, Kim Shiflett, Rodney Rocha, Columbia’s, Rick Husband, “ Roger, Sen, Mark Kelly, “, ” Kelly Organizations: CNN, Shuttle Columbia, Sunday, NASA, Columbia, America’s, Planetary Society, European Space Agency, Space, International Space, Hubble, Liberty Star, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Space Shuttle Columbia, Kennedy Space Center, Reuters Space Shuttle Columbia, Scott Andrews People, Control Center, Getty, NASA Space, Israeli Air Force, Space Shuttle, Red Team, Blue Team, Johnson Space Center, Former, Houston, Houston Chronicle, People, US Navy Corps, Columbia Reconstruction, NASA Workers, Astronauts Memorial Foundation, Reuters, Bannock, Bannock Junior, Senior, Bannock High School, Johnson Space, Challenger, Shuttle, East Texas Locations: Columbia, America’s Soviet, Florida, Houston, Israel, SPACEHAB, New York, Laguna Hills , California, Texas, San Augustine , Texas, Washington ,, Shoshone, Fort Hall , Idaho, New Mexico, East

☆ How to see the eclipse: Why your path of totality maps might be slightly off
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“Calculations that use a slightly larger radius for the size of the Sun yield an eclipse path that is slightly narrower,” said NASA spokesperson Karen Fox in an emailed statement. And even if the NASA map is wrong, Irwin’s calculations indicate it’s only off by a couple thousand feet on the edges. A woman views a map showing the eclipse path during the Solar Eclipse Festival at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California, on August 19, 2017, two days before the total eclipse on August 21. And NASA also acknowledges that exact measurements of the eclipse path are difficult to pin down. “When you see the total eclipse, you can’t go back,” Guinan said.

Persons: ”, Karen Fox, Edward Guinan, John Irwin, Guinan, Frederic J . Brown, Irwin, ” Guinan, Jonathan Ernst, “, can’t, ” Don’t Organizations: CNN, North America, NASA, Villanova University ., California Science Center, Getty, Sun, Reuters Locations: North, Guildford, England, Los Angeles , California, AFP, Smoky, Tennessee

☆ Mars volcano the size of Mount Everest was hiding in plain sight, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Scientists may have pinpointed a massive, oddly shaped volcano taller than Mount Everest on the surface of Mars — and it has been hiding in plain sight for decades, according to new research. Some of the largest volcanoes on Mars lie relatively close to the proposed “Noctis volcano.” Shown here: 1) Olympus Mons, the tallest known volcano in our solar system. This NASA visualization of the Tharsis rise shows Olympus Mons, Tharsis Montes, Noctis Labyrinthus, and Valles Marineris. NASA SVSA volcano, a glacier and the history of MarsThe existence of a volcano in Noctis Labyrinthus could also help explain the creation of this bizarre landscape. The existence of a volcano in the region, Lee said, might offer more support for the latter theory.

Persons: Everest, Pascal Lee, NASA SVS Lee, Sourabh, Lee, “ It’s, ”, NASA’s, Noctis Labyrinthus, “, ” Lee, Shubham, Adrien Broquet, we’ve, —, we’re, Noctis, Ernst Hauber, ” Hauber, David Horvath —, Tucson , Arizona —, Broquet, Horvath, ” Horvath, Carl Sagan Organizations: CNN —, Mars, Planetary Science Conference, Olympus, NASA, University of Maryland, College, CNN, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance, Marineris, Humboldt Research, German Aerospace Center, SETI Institute, German Aerospace Center’s, of Planetary Research, Planetary Science Institute Locations: The Woodlands , Texas, That’s, Mars, Noctis, Valles, Tharsis Montes, Labyrinthus, Tucson , Arizona

☆ Live updates: SpaceX Starship third test launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

SpaceX just shared on the social media platform X that a propellant transfer demo planned for this flight is finished. The goal is to move some of the propellant on board the Starship vehicle from one tank to another, according to a December email from NASA explaining the test. SpaceX engineers designed that demo to begin hashing out how Starship will be refueled on future missions while it’s in orbit. It could take more than a dozen refueling flights to get Starship to the moon. NASA previously told CNN that SpaceX could receive more than $50 million for completing this test.

Organizations: SpaceX, NASA, CNN

☆ SpaceX’s Starship hits key milestones in test flight but is lost now
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Jackie Wattles | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A SpaceX Starship rocket launched on its third test flight from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas and achieved multiple milestones Thursday morning before likely breaking apart. “But again, just it’s incredible to see how much further we got this time around.”SpaceX also never intended to recover Starship after this flight test. The Super Heavy booster burned through most of its fuel and broke away from the Starship spacecraft, the upper stage that rides atop the Super Heavy. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the “mishap” involving both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft. The SpaceX Starship rocket system lifts off from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, for its third integrated test flight on Thursday.

Persons: TDRSS, ”, Dan Huot, Artemis, “, Bill Nelson, ” Huot, Elon Musk, Chandan Khanna, Huot, It’s, Kate Tice Organizations: CNN, SpaceX Starship, NASA, SpaceX, Twitter, Super, Federal Aviation Administration, Boca, FAA, “, Getty Locations: Boca Chica , Texas, Mars, of Mexico, Starbase, SpaceX’s

☆ SpaceX Starship: FAA approves company’s plans for third test flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —SpaceX is once again set to fly its gargantuan Starship rocket — the most powerful launch vehicle ever constructed — after federal regulators approved the company’s plans for a third test flight. This test flight comes after two attempts to get the massive Starship vehicle to orbital speeds in 2023 ended in explosions, with the spacecraft and booster erupting into flames before reaching their intended landing sites. What success looks like for SpaceXMusk has indicated that he believes Starship has a high chance of successfully completing this third test flight. “Certainly the third flight is a much better rocket than flights one or two.”Musk said before the last Starship test flight in November that the vehicle had about a 50% chance of success. After the first and second Starship test flights ended in explosions, the company immediately sought to frame these mishaps as successes.

Persons: Elon Musk, Artemis, SpaceX Musk, ”, ” Musk Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, NASA, Super Locations: United States, China, of Mexico

☆ New images share unprecedented view of how Odysseus spacecraft landed on the moon
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Remarkable new images from the Odysseus mission capture the spacecraft — the first US-made vehicle to make a soft touchdown on the moon in five decades — in the moments directly after its harrowing and historic touchdown on the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that developed the Odysseus lander, shared the photos at a news briefing Wednesday. Mission controllers were celebrating the success, cheering “what a magnificent job that robust, lucky lander did all the way to the moon,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus. As of NASA and Intuitive Machines’ last news briefing on Friday, the state of spacecraft and all of its science instruments was not yet clear. Many of the instruments on board Odysseus were designed to collect information as the spacecraft was in transit to the moon and during the crucial moments of descent toward the lunar surface.

Persons: Odysseus, —, ”, Steve Altemus Organizations: CNN, NASA, Canadensys Aerospace Locations: Houston, Toronto

☆ Odysseus lunar lander shares new photos from its harrowing descent
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Odysseus spacecraft has dispatched new images it captured of the lunar surface during the lander’s harrowing approach to the moon. The grainy images were shared by Intuitive Machines, the company that developed Odysseus, on Monday morning. What Odysseus’ images revealAn image released by company Friday showed a view of the moon’s Schomberger crater captured by the spacecraft during its descent. “The camera is on the starboard aft-side of the lander in this phase,” the Intuitive Machines post noted, referring to the right rear portion of the vehicle. Intuitive Machines shared Odysseus’ precise location: The spacecraft is sitting at the coordinates 80.13°S and 1.44°E on the moon, resting at about 2,579 meters (8,500 feet) in elevation.

Persons: Odysseus, ’, “ Odysseus, Odie, Florida —, Embry ‑ Riddle CubeSat, ” Embry, Riddle Organizations: CNN, Reconnaissance, NASA, Goddard, Arizona State University, Embry, Riddle University Locations: Florida

☆ Odysseus lunar lander is sideways on the moon after historic touchdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Odysseus lunar lander is sideways on the moon, Intuitive Machines, the company that built the vehicle, said during a news conference Friday. Steve Altemus, chief executive officer and cofounder of Intuitive Machines, uses a model to represent how the Odysseus spacecraft landed on the moon. ‘A punch in the stomach’Notably, Intuitive Machines realized prior to descent that Odysseus had a faulty piece of navigation equipment. The hack ultimately worked, and the spacecraft made it to the lunar surface in operational condition. All told, Odysseus will likely be able to spend about nine days operating on the lunar surface, according to Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines’ chief technology officer.

Persons: Odysseus, Odie ”, Steve Altemus, NASA “, ” Altemus, Altemus, Joel Kearns, ” Kearns, “, Tim Crain, Odie, ”, ” Crain Organizations: CNN, Machines, NASA, NASA’s Langley Research Center, Apollo

☆ Live updates: Odysseus moon landing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Elise Hammond | Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Intuitive Machines Co-Founder, President, and CEO Steve Altemus talks about the IM-1 Lunar Lander, Nova-C, during a press event, in Houston, in October 2023. Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post/Getty ImagesIntuitive Machines is a Houston-based company just up the road from NASA's Johnson Space Center, or JSC. It's one of several private-sector companies that have been tasked by the space agency to get robotic landers to the moon as NASA works on separate plans to return its astronauts. But it was later renegotiated, and — all told — Intuitive Machines could receive up to $118 million from NASA for this mission. Its stock has been on a tear recently amid its successes in space, surging up about 80% over the past five days as of Thursday afternoon.

Persons: Steve Altemus, Jonathan Newton, Steve Atlemus, JSC Kamal Ghaffarian, Tim Crain, landers Organizations: Washington Post, NASA's Johnson Space Center, JSC, NASA, Payload Services Locations: Nova, Houston, NASA's

☆ Moon landing attempt: Odysseus ran into last-minute navigation issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 lander, also called Odysseus or “Odie,” is on the lunar surface after experiencing unexpected issues hours prior to landing. “Intuitive Machines made the decision to reassign the primary navigation sensors from Odysseus … to use the sensors on NASA’s Navigation Doppler Lidar,” according to the webcast. With its landing legs and sensors pointed toward the lunar terrain, Odysseus relied on the Lidar payload to locate a safe landing spot. The IM-1 mission comes amid a renewed international dash for the lunar surface. Odysseus passes over the near side of the moon following lunar orbit insertion on February 21.

Persons: Odie, ”, Steve Altemus, Odysseus, Gary Jordan, …, landers, Farzin, Jeff Koons, We’re, ” Altemus, Altemus Organizations: CNN, NASA, Soviet, Columbia, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, Astrobotic Technology, Peregrine, Payload Services Locations: China, India, Japan, Malapert, Daytona Beach , Florida

☆ Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus: Why moon-landing missions are hard to do
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Kristin Fisher | Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The lunar lander called Odysseus or IM-1, created by Houston-based company Intuitive Machines, is barreling toward the moon. If it fails, Odysseus would become the third lunar lander to meet a fiery demise on the moon in less than a year. Russia’s first lunar lander mission in 47 years, Luna 25, failed in August 2023 when it crash-landed. Overall, more than half of all lunar landing attempts have ended in failure — tough odds for a feat humanity first pulled off nearly 60 years ago. The US remains the only country to have put humans on the lunar surface, most recently in 1972 with the Apollo 17 mission.

Persons: Odysseus, Luna, Ispace, Japan —, hasn’t, Scott Pace, George Washington, “, ” Pace, Artemis, ”, Greg Autry, “ There’s, India’s, Jitendra Singh, Satish, Satish Baby, ” Singh, Astrobotic, Steve Altemus, it’s, Glynn Lunney, ” Autry, “ Neil, Armstrong, “ We’ve, Joel Kearns Organizations: CNN, Technology, Policy Institute, ”, Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, State for Science, Indian Space Research Organisation, Space, Getty, Economic Times, NASA, Payload Services, Johnson Space Center, AP Locations: United States, Houston, Japan, Soviet, States, China, India, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, AFP, New York, Los Angeles, what's

☆ Odysseus moon mission will aim for landing near lunar south pole
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The imminent launch attempt follows closely on the heels of a separate US lunar landing mission that failed in January. After burning through its fuel, the rocket will detach from Odie, leaving the lunar lander to fly solo through space. Houston-based Intuitive Machines developed the Nova-C moon lander under a NASA initiative. Packed on board the lunar lander are six NASA science and technology payloads. The device is set to pop off of the lunar lander as it approaches the surface and capture images of the vehicle’s descent.

Persons: “ Odie, ”, Odie, NASA’s, Stephen Altemus, NASA Odie, Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine, Farzin Amzajerdian, Jeff Koons, we’ll, ” Altemus Organizations: CNN, NASA, SpaceX, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Payload Services, Langley Research, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University Locations: Florida, Houston, Russia, Japan, China, India, Hampton , Virginia, Columbia, Daytona Beach , Florida

☆ US moon landing: Second NASA-backed company aims for lunar landing attempt
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It will amount to “a high-energy fastball pitch towards the moon,” as Intuitive Machines CEO Stephen Altemus put it. Once in Earth’s orbit, the lunar lander will separate from the rocket and begin venturing on its own, using an onboard engine to boost itself on a direct trajectory toward the lunar surface. Founded in 2013, Intuitive Machines will be the second of the CLPS program participants — after Astrobotic — to attempt a moon landing. If all goes according to plan, Odysseus will spend seven days operating on the moon as the lunar lander basks in the sun. Altemus estimates that Intuitive Machines has about an 80% chance of safely landing Odysseus on the moon.

Persons: Odysseus, Odie, Stephen Altemus, Peregrine, Chandan Khanna, CLPS, ”, Joel Kearns, Astrobotic —, Jeff Koons —, —, “ We’ve, who’s, Odysseus ’, Altemus, “ It’s, ” Altemus Organizations: CNN, NASA, SpaceX, Technology, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Payload, “, Columbia, United States, Peregrine Locations: United States, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Houston, Pittsburgh, Cape, China, India, Japan, British, Russia

☆ Virgin Galactic says an alignment pin detached from space plane on latest tourism flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Virgin Galactic is grounded after the company said a small part unintentionally detached from the mothership of its rocket-powered space plane on its latest space tourism flight. The flight, called Galactic 06, launched on January 26 and marked Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism mission of the year after entering commercial service in 2023. The company discovered the part loss during routine checks and notified government regulators on January 31, “in accordance with regulations,” Virgin Galactic said in a statement. Virgin Galactic said it will work alongside the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, on a review of the issue. “Virgin Galactic flights occur in restricted airspace and at specific geographical launch locations that control the hazards to people or structures on the ground,” Virgin Galactic’s statement reads.

Persons: ”, . Virgin Galactic, “, Virgin Galactic Organizations: CNN, Virgin, Galactic, . Virgin, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Virgin Galactic

☆ Can groundhogs or other animals predict the weather?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Punxatawney Phil, the central character of the annual rite of winter known as Groundhog’s Day, isn’t great at his job. Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesThe Old Farmer’s Almanac has aggregated a couple dozen adages about insects, animals and their ability to predict weather patterns. Researchers in Germany also looked into whether various species of animals could detect an oncoming earthquake. Fact vs. folkloreOther tropes about animals’ ability to predict seasonal conditions, however, are wrong. But in reality, the “caterpillar’s coloring is based on how long (the) caterpillar has been feeding, its age, and species,” according to the National Weather Service.

Persons: CNN —, Phil, isn’t, Theresa Crimmins, phenology, ” Crimmins, “, ”, it’s, Max, Gordon Miller, ” Miller, Crimmins, Miller, Rachel Carson Organizations: CNN, National Phenology, United States —, USA National Phenology Network, University of Wisconsin -, Max Planck Society, Dolbear’s, Oceanic, Administration, Seattle University, National Weather Service Locations: United States, Germany, University of Wisconsin - Madison, North America, Mendota Heights , Minnesota, Tennessee

☆ Japan’s SLIM ‘Moon Sniper’ spacecraft prepares for historic lunar landing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jackie Wattles | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, is expected to touch down on the lunar surface at 10:20 a.m. The spacecraft, also nicknamed the “Moon Sniper” for its precision technology, will begin its descent toward the lunar surface at 10 a.m. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's SLIM lunar lander launched aboard a H-IIA launch vehicle on September 7, 2023, from the Tanegashima Space Center. A new lunar space raceThe SLIM mission comes amid a renewed international push to explore the moon. If SLIM is successful, JAXA contends, it will transform missions from “landing where we can to landing where we want.”

Persons: Smart Lander, ”, Kenji Kushiki, SLIM, —, Ray, Kushiki, Ispace’s, Luna, The Peregrine, Peregrine Organizations: CNN, Japan Aerospace, Saturday, Soviet Luna, YouTube, JAXA, Center, Ray Imaging, NASA, Getty, SLIM, Soviet, Soviet Union, The Locations: Japan, Soviet, United States, Soviet Union, China, India

☆ Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander burns up over Pacific Ocean
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —After soaring hundreds of thousands of miles through space and battling a propellant issue that dashed its plans, the Peregrine lunar lander has likely met its fiery end. The launch went off without a hitch, safely delivering the Peregrine lander into Earth’s orbit on a path toward the moon. But hours into its solo flight, the Peregrine lander encountered critical setbacks. A proving ground for commercial lunar landersA private lunar lander has never safely reached the moon’s surface — though other companies have tried. Astrobotic’s Thornton admitted to reporters that the Peregrine mission cost his company more money than it made.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, Astrobotic, Joel Kearns, ” Thornton, landers, SpaceIL, Ispace, Peregrine, Astrobotic’s Thornton, “ It’s, “, ” Astrobotic, Griffin, Peregrine — Organizations: CNN, Astrobotic Technology, Peregrine, NASA, United Launch Alliance, Lockheed, Boeing, Payload Services, Astrobotic Locations: Australia, Pittsburgh, South, Houston, Israel, Japan

☆ SpaceX launches first Turkish astronaut aboard private European space mission
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A SpaceX rocket took off for the International Space Station on another trailblazing mission operated entirely by the private sector. On board is a group of European astronauts, including the first person from Turkey to visit outer space. Thursday’s flight is the first Axiom mission in which a government or space agency has purchased all the seats. Courtesy of Axiom SpaceThe European Space Agency and the Swedish National Space Agency arranged Wandt’s ticket. Axiom is one of several companies that has plans eventually to build its own private space station.

Persons: NASA —, Benji Reed, NASA’s, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, Michael López, ”, Alegría, Frank De Winne, —, Michael Suffredini, Matt Ondler Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, International, NASA, United, International Space, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Space Agency’s, Private, European Space Agency, Swedish National Space Agency, Villadei’s, ESA, European Astronaut Centre, ISS, Space, Research Locations: Turkey, United States, Florida, Houston, Cologne, Germany

☆ Peregrine lunar lander to make fiery reentry after failed misison
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

For the vast majority of the mission, the Peregrine lander has been controlled solely by its attitude control thrusters, which are tiny engines mounted to the side of the lander and designed to maintain stability or make precision movements. What Peregrine could and couldn’t accomplishAstrobotic was able to power on some of the science instruments and other payloads on board the lander. The Peregrine lander was also able to activate a new sensor, developed by NASA, that was designed to help the spacecraft land on the moon. Likewise, an array of other payloads designed specifically to operate on the moon remain trapped aboard the Peregrine lander. The Peregrine spacecraft is also carrying various mementos, letters and even human remains that customers paid to fly on the mission.

Persons: —, Peregrine’s, Peregrine, ”, John Thornton, Astrobotic, Joel Kearns Organizations: CNN, Payload Services, Astrobotic Technology, Peregrine, NASA, U.S . Government, LRA, Carnegie Mellon University, Mexican Space Agency Locations: Pittsburgh

☆ NASA unlocks last of OSIRIS-Rex asteroid sample trapped by stuck fasteners
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Two stubborn fasteners trapped invaluable material sampled from an asteroid — but after a monthslong process, it has finally been released, NASA announced Thursday. The space agency already harvested about 2.5 ounces (70 grams) of rocks and dust from its OSIRIS-REx mission, which traveled nearly 4 billion miles to collect the unprecedented sample from the near-Earth asteroid called Bennu. But NASA revealed in October that some material remained out of reach in a capsule hidden inside an instrument called the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism — a robotic arm with a storage container at one end that collected the sample from Bennu. The sampler head is held shut by 35 fasteners, according to NASA, but two of them proved too difficult to open. What the asteroid sample has revealed so farAs of Thursday afternoon, NASA said the trapped sample material had not yet been revealed.

Persons: REx, ”, Nicole Lunning, REx curation, NASA’s, Dante Lauretta Organizations: CNN, NASA, Space Center, Johnson Space Center, University of Arizona Locations: Houston

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