DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ NASA looks to spice up astronaut menu with deep space food production
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] A team member from Interstellar Lab of Merritt Island, Florida, prepares Daikon Radish sprouts during NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 2 prize announcement on May 19, 2023. The NASA-sponsored Deep Space Food Challenge prompted Sheehan to modify his invention as a way of producing edible proteins, carbohydrates and fats from the same system. TASTES LIKE ... SEITANThe resulting single-cell protein drink entered in NASA's contest has the consistency of a whey protein shake, Sheehan said. But the imperative for self-contained, low-waste food production requiring minimal resources has become more pronounced as NASA sets its sights on returning astronauts to the moon and eventual human exploration of Mars and beyond. Advances in space-based food production also have direct applications for feeding Earth's ever-growing population in an era when climate change is making food more scarce and harder to produce, Fritsche said.

☆ 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 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.

☆ 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.

Starship is SpaceX's next-generation rocket crucial for the company's commercial launch business and Musk's aim to start human colonies on Mars. The U.S. offers few such options and export controls would make building a foreign launch site difficult. SpaceX has eyed another Kennedy Space Center launch site for future Starship launches, LC-49, a few miles from LC-39A. But that location is in the midst of a lengthy environmental review that could take years. Plans for that orbital launch site, Spaceport Camden, were nixed by a local referendum after a lawsuit raised concerns about its environmental impact.

☆ Investing in Space: Boeing's got to get going
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Starliner spacecraft for the Crew Flight Test is seen in the company's processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Even then, each company had faced its share of delays, but NASA estimated flight tests were months apart. I'm not advocating for anything akin to "go fever" for Boeing's upcoming Starliner crewed flight test (CFT), which just got delayed from mid-April to late July. Assuming the test flight goes according to plan, then there are the redesigns of Starliner's propulsion valves and module separation system – and potentially batteries – that are underway for missions after CFT.

☆ SpaceX capsule delivers latest four-member crew to International Space Station
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 3 (Reuters) - A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) after a brief delay early on Friday, carrying two U.S. astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a United Arab Emirates astronaut on a six-month science mission. The autonomously flying spacecraft dubbed Endeavour docked with the space station shortly after 1:40 a.m. EST (0640 GMT) on Friday, about 25 hours after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Docking maneuvers fell behind schedule as the Crew Dragon was making its final approach to the station. The ISS crew also is responsible for performing maintenance and repairs aboard the station, and to prepare for the arrival and departure of other astronauts and cargo payloads. Rounding out the four-man Crew 6 was Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, 42, who like Alneyadi is an engineer and spaceflight rookie.

[1/5] NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission, that includes NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, the United Arab Emirates Sultan Al-Neyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, launches to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 2, 2023. The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule called Endeavour, lifted off at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Fellow NASA astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg, 37, an engineer and commercial aviator designated as the Crew 6 pilot, was making his first spaceflight. The Crew 6 team will be welcomed aboard the space station by seven current ISS occupants - three U.S. NASA crew members, including commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman to fly to space, along with three Russians and a Japanese astronaut. An empty replacement Soyuz to bring them home arrived at the space station on Saturday.

[1/2] A Falcon 9 rocket is readied for another launch attempt for NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission after a technical delay, which will take four crew members to the International Space Station, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 1, 2023. The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule called Endeavour, was set for liftoff at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The four-man crew should reach the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting some 250 miles (420 km) above Earth, about 25 hours after launch, early on Friday morning. Crew 6 also is notable for its inclusion of UAE astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, 41, only the second person from his country to fly to space and the first to launch from U.S. soil as part of a long-duration space station team. The Crew 6 team will be welcomed aboard the space station by seven current ISS occupants - three U.S. NASA crew members, including commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman to fly to space, along with three Russians and a Japanese astronaut.

[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.

That number includes both rocket launches and capsule reentries, and has been steadily climbing. A Falcon Heavy rocket launches the USSF-67 mission on January 15, 2023 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Air space is going to be a critical, critical issue," Isom said, calling on new industries to contribute to the cost of air traffic control. A graph of FAA-licensed or permitted commercial space launches (excludes launches licensed by other U.S. government agencies, such as NASA or the Department of Defense). Together they create a moving target for space launches and the commercial airlines eyeing the same air space.

☆ Boeing's role in building NASA's new rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

The mobile launcher with NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I worked over 50 Space Shuttle launches,” Boeing SLS program manager John Shannon told CNN by phone. Though more than 1,000 companies were involved with designing and building SLS, Boeing’s work involved the largest and most expensive portion of the rocket. The SLS rocket ended up flying its first launch more than six years later than originally intended. All of the “major components” for a third SLS rocket are also completed, Shannon added.

☆ A SpaceX rocket has delivered belated Thanksgiving treats to the International Space Station
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

SpaceX brought a fresh haul of supplies to the International Space Station on Saturday. It provided new solar arrays and dwarf tomato seeds — and a range of Thanksgiving treats. Alongside the treats, SpaceX also brought new solar arrays to boost the International Space Station's power supply, as well as several science experiments. Astronauts have already successfully tested "Veggie" , a specialist plant growth unit onboard the space station. Now, they're looking to add fresh dwarf tomatoes — specifically, Red Robin tomatoes — to their space-grown diets.

About 90 minutes later, the rocket's upper stage propelled the Orion capsule out of Earth orbit and on its trajectory to the moon, NASA said. And it was quite a sight," Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin told a post-launch NASA briefing, using words from biblical scripture. LAUNCH PAD HEROICSWednesday's launch was not without its own drama. [1/2] NASA's next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from launch complex 39-B on the unmanned Artemis 1 mission to the moon, seen from Sebastian, Florida, U.S. November 16, 2022. It was so bright, so loud, you could feel it," said NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, an Artemis crew candidate.

The Orion spacecraft shared its first view of Earth more than nine hours after launch Wednesday morning. NASAThe towering, 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket lit its engines at 1:47 a.m. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Before the launch was scrubbed on September 3, spectators wait for the NASA Artemis I rocket to launch at the Kennedy Space Center. Brynn Anderson/AP The NASA launch countdown clock was stopped after the launch was delayed on August 29. Throughout the mission, NASA engineers will be keeping a close eye on the spacecraft’s performance.

☆ NASA is launching its new mega-rocket to shoot a spaceship around the moon. Here's what to expect.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

NASA's Space Launch System rocket is scheduled to launch an uncrewed mission to the moon early Wednesday. When it launches, the SLS rocket should deliver the Orion spaceship on a trajectory to circle the moon and return to Earth. Eventually, NASA plans to launch astronauts from the moon to Mars. The Orion spaceship parachutes to a splash down during a test, on December 5, 2014. If the uncrewed Orion spaceship makes it around the moon and back without a hitch, the next SLS mission will carry astronauts on the same roundabout.

☆ Storm Nicole churns toward Bahamas en route to Florida and hurricane status
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Brian Ellsworth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Beachgoers are shown as tropical storm Nicole approaches the state in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., November 8, 2022. A hurricane warning was posted for Grand Bahama Island, Bimini, the Berry Islands and the Abacos in the northwestern corner of the West Indies archipelago nation, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. A 240-mile expanse of Florida's Atlantic shoreline from Boca Raton north to around Flagler Beach was likewise placed under a hurricane warning. "It's going to take more than a Category 1 hurricane or so to really move stuff and have them flying around." Forecasters said Nicole would likely sweep across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday.

☆ 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 and Donald Trump now own rival social networks. Here's a timeline of their rocky relationship.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Former President Donald Trump said he's "very happy" that Elon Musk now owns Twitter. January 2020: 'One of our great geniuses'Former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America" rally in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 9, 2022. May 2020: Trump backs up Musk in feud with California covid rulesElon Musk meets Donald Trump at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 30, 2020. May 2022: Musk said he would reinstate Trump's Twitter accountTesla CEO Elon Musk. July 2022: Trump lashes outFormer President Donald Trump gives the keynote address at the Faith and Freedom Coalition during their annual conference on June 17, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee.

☆ NASA looks to launch Artemis lunar test flight again on Nov. 14
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - NASA has targeted Nov. 14 for a third attempt to launch its big, next-generation rocketship, the U.S. space agency said on Wednesday, after weeks of technical setbacks and foul weather delayed the uncrewed inaugural Artemis mission to the moon. Plans call for rolling the 32-story-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion capsule back out to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as early as Friday, Nov. 4 to renew final flight preparations. The newly targeted 69-minute launch window for the Artemis I mission on Nov. 14 opens at 12:07 a.m. EST (0407 GMT), with backup launch opportunities of two hours each set for Nov. 16 and Nov. 19, NASA said. Artemis I, aimed at launching the Orion capsule on an uncrewed test flight to the moon and back, would mark the debut voyage of both the SLS rocket and Orion a half century after the final lunar mission of Apollo, forerunner of the Artemis program. NASA ultimately plans to establish a long-term lunar base of operations as a stepping stone to even more ambitious human voyages to Mars.

☆ NASA asteroid strike test succeeds in shifting its orbit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A television at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, captures the final images from the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) just before it smashes into the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test. Before the impact, the moonlet took 11 hours and 55 minutes to circle its parent asteroid. Scientists had hoped to shave off 10 minutes but NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the impact altered the asteroid's orbit by about 32 minutes. Launched last year, the vending machine-size Dart — short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test — was destroyed when it slammed into the asteroid 7 million miles (11 million kilometers) away at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph).

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ NASA says it will try to launch its massive moon rocket again in late September
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The second launch attempt for NASA's Space Launch System rocket was delayed due to a liquid hydrogen leak. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesHydrogen fuel woes interrupted the second launch attemptThe new launch dates come after the launch of the Space Launch System and its uncrewed Orion capsule was called off for a second time on Saturday, September 3. "Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket," NASA said in a blog post. After attempts to troubleshoot were unsuccessful, Artemis' launch director called off the launch. Invited guests and NASA employees watch as NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building, on August 16, 2022.

The first launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket was delayed on Monday because of an engine issue. But now NASA has a new target launch window for Artemis I: Saturday, September 3 at 2:17 p.m. The Space Launch System core stage (RS-25 engines circled in blue) in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 10, 2021. NASA/Glenn BensonThe rocket, called the Space Launch System (SLS), was partially filled with fuel at the time of the issue. Weather during Saturday's launch window "is a 60% go for launch," Melody Levin, a meteorologist at NASA, said at a briefing on Thursday.

Search resuls for: "NASA's Kennedy Space Center"

25 mentions found