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☆ SpaceX delivers private Axiom crew to the space station, carrying Saudi astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule "Freedom" is seen docked with the International Space Station on May 22, 2023. Axiom Space booked the roughly week-long trip, known as the Ax-2 mission, to the ISS with Elon Musk's company. The four-person private astronaut Ax-2 crew, which will spend eight days on the International Space Station, includes former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and Saudi Space Commission astronauts Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Saudi woman to fly to space. NASA has previously disclosed that a SpaceX crew launch costs about $55 million per seat, so the price for these private missions is expected to be high. Although SpaceX is providing the rocket and capsule, Axiom is leading the mission's management from training to the return to Earth.

☆ SpaceX mission lifts off with former NASA astronaut, three paying customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The AX-2 crew is being led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, now an Axiom employee. After the Crew Dragon capsule docks early Monday, the AX-2 crew will join seven astronauts already aboard the space station. The first was Prince Sultan bin Salman, who spent about a week on a NASA space shuttle mission in 1985. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station. The AX-2 crew will work alongside the professional astronauts on the space station, though they will operate under different schedules.

☆ SpaceX launching Saudi astronauts on private flight to space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, are prepared to carry four crew members on Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) to the International Space Station, at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 21, 2023. SpaceX's next private flight to the International Space Station awaited takeoff Sunday, weather and rocket permitting. The passengers include Saudi Arabia's first astronauts in decades, as well as a Tennessee businessman who started his own sports car racing team. With its Falcon rocket already on the pad, SpaceX targeted a liftoff late Sunday afternoon from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Representing the Saudi Arabian government this time are Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher set to become the kingdom's first woman in space, and Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni.

☆ How to watch SpaceX Axiom 2 launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.CNN —SpaceX is set to launch four passengers — including three paying customers — toward a weeklong stay aboard the International Space Station. The Axiom Ax-2 Prime crew members, from left to right: John Shoffner, Rayyanah Barnawi, Peggy Whitson, and Ali Alqarni, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Axiom brought that business model to the United States, partnering with SpaceX to establish a framework for getting an array of customers to the space station. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station. The AX-2 crew will work alongside the professional astronauts on the space station, though they will operate under different schedules.

☆ SpaceX partner aims to launch commercial space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Nor is it clear how much a trip to the proposed space station would cost visitors, which could include professional astronauts or tourists. NASA, along with its global partners, is seeking to use a privately developed space station to replace the aging International Space Station, which has been continuously inhabited in low-Earth orbit since 2000. But the other key partner on the International Space Station, Russia, has said it will only guarantee participation through 2028. “The Dragon team and the team and leadership (at SpaceX) really want to build a Falcon 9-based space station,” said Max Haot, Vast’s president. Later, the company plans to attach the spacecraft as a module to a larger space station.

☆ Photo shows the moment lighting struck the launchpad as SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket was preparing for liftoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

SpaceX captured the moment a rocket on its launchpad was struck by lightning. The Falcon Heavy launch had been delayed due to adverse weather. The rocket's lighting protection mast deflected the bolt and the rocket survived the blast unscathed. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launching on a previous mission. SpaceX, which is run by billionaire Elon Musk, attempted to launch an even more powerful rocket, its Starship mega-rocket, on April 20.

☆ Japanese company ispace fears its probe crashed into the moon, failing to snag the first private lunar landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Japanese company ispace fears its lunar lander crashed into the moon on Tuesday. The HAKUTO-R M1 lunar lander dropped out of communications at the very end of its landing attempt. That operation was conducted by nonprofit SpaceIL, in its own attempt to claim the first private moon landing. Beresheet's engine went out as it descended, then SpaceIL lost communication with the spacecraft, indicating it had crashed into the lunar surface. NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University; Business InsiderJust months later, India's first attempt to land on the lunar surface met a similar fate.

The pad and surrounding area were cordoned off well in advance of the test, SpaceX said. [1/7] SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft, atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket, explodes after its launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on a brief uncrewed test flight near Brownsville, Texas, U.S., April 20, 2023. "Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch," he tweeted. Still even a textbook test flight would have by design ended with crash landings of both portions of the spacecraft at sea.

☆ Mysterious glowing 'SpaceX spirals' in the night sky seem to be linked to rocket launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's likely a cloud of excess fuel from a SpaceX rocket launched earlier that day. "SpaceX spirals" are rare, but they may be getting more common. These spirals are appearing shortly after SpaceX rocket launches, and are probably residual fuel the rockets released during flight, space physicist Don Hampton told the Associated Press. SpaceX spirals, jellyfish, and smoke rings may happen more oftenThis is the third time in the past year that a Falcon 9 rocket has appeared to produce a SpaceX spiral. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft launches at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

☆ Kenya launches first operational satellite into space
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A model of a prototype of a 3U Earth observation satellite, the Taifa-1, is displayed ahead of the launch of Kenya's first operational satellite, at the University of Nairobi's Taifa Hall in Nairobi, Kenya April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah MwangiNAIROBI, April 14 (Reuters) - Kenya launched its first operational earth observation satellite on Saturday onboard a SpaceX rocket from the United States, a live feed from Elon Musk's rocket company showed. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Taifa-1 satellite, took off at about 0648 GMT without incident from Vandenberg Base in California, after three postponements due to bad weather. Alloyce Were, an aeronautical engineer and deputy director of Navigation and Positioning at the government-run Kenya Space Agency, told Reuters on Friday before the satellite's launch. The satellite was put together with the help of Bulgarian aerospace company Endurosat at a cost of 50 million Kenyan shillings ($372,000) over two years, the space agency said.

☆ Lunar startup ispace's shares untraded in Tokyo debut amid glut of buy orders
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Hakuto-R Mission 1 from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Dec. 11, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Shares of lunar transportation start-up ispace went untraded in their market debut in Tokyo early on Wednesday, as bids overwhelmed offers. Shares of ispace were bid at 436 yen as of the morning break on the Tokyo exchange's growth market, 72% above their IPO price of 254 yen. The stock has an upper price limit of 585 yen, according to the exchange. In December, its Hakuto-R Mission 1 lunar lander was launched aboard a SpaceX rocket that took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying two robotic rovers.

☆ As space junk threat grows, government and investors seek solutions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And with no set norms for military space behavior, some fear a potential space weapon attack that could generate far more debris. U.S. Space Command on Friday released a formal list of what it views as responsible space behaviors, in a bid to steer military norms in orbit. The wide-ranging report includes a section on space debris that urges space players to dispose safely of their defunct satellites and notify other operators if any problems with their spacecraft might pose a debris hazard. Another part of the space debris mitigation equation is in-space satellite servicing, concepts in development by dozens of firms including Astroscale, Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), Maxar (MAXR.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA). Australia-based Neumann Space, for instance, is developing a technology that could help recycle old, defunct satellites into fuel - using the scrap metal to generate plasma thrust for new satellites.

[1/3] A Falcon 9 rocket is readied before launch on NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission, which will take four crew members to the International Space Station, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 26, 2023. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with a Crew Dragon capsule had been scheduled for liftoff at 1:45 a.m. EST (0645 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Neither NASA nor SpaceX immediately said how long it might actually take before they would be ready to try again. Had Monday's launch been a success, it was expected to take the crew about 25 hours to reach their destination at the International Space Station (ISS), a laboratory orbiting about 250 miles (420 km) above Earth. Reporting by Joe Skipper in Cape Canaveral and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Will Dunham, John Stonestreet and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ SpaceX Prepares to Launch Crew to International Space Station
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft being readied for Monday’s launch at the Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX is set to launch another crew to the International Space Station, the latest human flight the company has handled for NASA since bringing such missions back to the U.S. about three years ago. The Elon Musk-led company is scheduled to blast four people to the research laboratory at 1:45 a.m. ET on Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

☆ See the second car Tesla made: an orange-striped Roadster with 'Mr. Tesla' plates that may be worth more than $200,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard owns three Teslas, including a Roadster he drives every day. Eberhard said he owns the second Tesla Roadster ever made. "I've been driving my Roadster continuously since I bought it," Eberhard told Insider in an interview. He also sent another Tesla Roadster into space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The Tesla cofounder said he occasionally takes the Roadster out for car shows, including the annual Roadster Rally.

The first full-color image released from the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope is the sharpest infrared image of the distant universe ever produced, according to NASA. Space Telescope Science Institut / NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERONASA released the first batch of images from the tennis court-sized observatory to much fanfare in July. The exoplanet HIP 65426 b in different bands of infrared light, as seen from the James Webb Space Telescope. Back to the moonFifty years after the final Apollo moon mission, NASA took key steps toward returning astronauts to the lunar surface. Chinese officials have also said they intend to use the space station for space tourism and commercial space initiatives.

☆ SpaceX launches lunar lander for Japanese venture ispace, which aims to create an economy around the moon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Japanese lunar exploration company ispace began its long-anticipated first mission on Sunday, with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching the venture's lunar lander from Florida. The Tokyo-based company's Mission 1 is currently on its way to the moon, with a landing expected near the end of April. Founded more than a decade ago, ispace originated as a team competing for the Google Lunar Xprize under the name Hakuto – after a mythological Japanese white rabbit. The investors of ispace include the Development Bank of Japan, Suzuki Motor, Japan Airlines, and Airbus Ventures. The ispace Mission 1 lander carries small rovers and payloads for a number of government agencies and companies – including from the U.S., Canada, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Rashid Rover was built by Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is being delivered by the HAKUTO-R lander, engineered by Japanese lunar exploration company ispace. The Rashid Rover, named after the late Sheikh Rashid Al Saeed, the former ruler of Dubai, will analyze the plasma on the lunar surface and conduct experiments to understand more about lunar dust. The Rashid Rover was built at Dubai's Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC)The rover will be entirely solar-powered and equipped with four cameras, including a microscopic and thermal one. Al Marzooqi hopes that the lunar surface mission will be a stepping stone to Mars.

☆ Japan's ispace launches world's first commercial moon lander
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Rocky Swift | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ispace Inc's HAKUTO-R mission took off without incident from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after two postponements caused by inspections of its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The project was a finalist in the Google Lunar XPRIZE before being revived as a commercial venture. The M1 lander will deploy two robotic rovers, a two-wheeled, baseball-sized device from Japan's JAXA space agency and the four-wheeled Rashid explorer made by the United Arab Emirates. "The Rashid rover is part of the United Arab Emirates ambitious space programme," said Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and who watched the launch at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Privately funded ispace has a contract with NASA to ferry payloads to the moon from 2025 and is aiming to build a permanently staffed lunar colony by 2040.

☆ New space observatory helps solve mystery involving enormous black holes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Most galaxies are built around humongous black holes. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). They have the biggest, scariest black holes. IXPE, launched last December as a collaboration between the U.S. space agency NASA and the Italian Space Agency, measures the brightness and polarization — a property of light involving the orientation of the electromagnetic waves — of X-ray light from cosmic sources. “Black holes are unique laboratories to study fundamental physics in extreme conditions we cannot replicate on Earth,” Liodakis said.

☆ SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy, the world's most powerful rocket, on Space Force mission
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches on its mission with a classified payload for the U.S. Space Force at Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., November 1, 2022. Elon Musk's SpaceX on Tuesday launched the first Falcon Heavy mission in over three years, a towering rocket that is the most powerful currently in operation. SpaceX's rocket is carrying the classified USSF-44 mission for the U.S. Space Force, which is also the first operational national security mission for Falcon Heavy. Its most recent previous launch was the Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission in June 2019, which carried experimental satellites on a demonstration flight for the Pentagon. While Falcon Heavy's base is reusable, the company landed just the side pair of the three rocket boosters – with the central core dropping into the ocean like traditional rockets do, to meet the Space Force's high-performance requirement for this mission.

☆ Elon Musk's SpaceX has made more than one million Starlink terminals so far. Here's what you need to know about the high-speed satellite network.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk recently said Starlink has manufactured more than one million user terminals. Musk said on Twitter on Saturday that SpaceX has so far manufactured more than one million Starlink user terminals, which connect to the company's satellites in orbit. SpaceX, the aerospace manufacturer founded by Musk, has an expansive, high-speed satellite internet network in space called Starlink. A photo of SpaceX's Starlink user terminal, or satellite dish, installed on a roof. Starlink uses antennas — "electrically identical" to existing user terminals — which can be mounted on vehicles, vessels, and aircraft.

☆ See how NASA's new lunar mega-rocket sizes up to past and future astronaut launch systems
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Space Launch System (SLS) is 17 years and an estimated $50 billion in the making. The Space Launch System (SLS) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 17, 2022. This first mission, called Artemis I, is a test flight that will carry no astronauts. The current iteration of SLS, called Block 1, stands taller than the Statue of Liberty at 322 feet, about 30 stories. NASA/Cory HustonIf Artemis I goes well, the next SLS mission will send an Orion spaceship around the moon with astronauts on board.

☆ NASA's unprecedented DART mission will intentionally slam a spacecraft into an asteroid next week
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test will collide with an asteroid on September 26. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 in November 2021, with the aim of nudging a space rock into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion asteroid. The $308 million spacecraft traveled 6.8 million miles from Earth to Dimorphos, a small asteroid orbiting the asteroid Didymos. NASA JPL DART Navigation TeamOn Monday, September 26, four hours before impact, DART will switch into autonomous mode, steering itself toward its target. An animation from behind as NASA's first planetary defense test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, collides with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos.

☆ Exclusive: Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, sending a four-man crew to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that included a Canadian investor and an Israeli businessman. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

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