Dragon is in orbit
Another success for SpaceX: Dragon is now in orbit.
Tag: spaceflight
NASA and the Russians have agreed to fly a two-person year long mission on ISS beginning in the spring of 2015.
It’s now official: NASA and the Russians have agreed to fly a two-person year long mission on ISS beginning in the spring of 2015.
NASA has denied that this agreement has any connection with the Sarah Brightman/Russian deal, but I still wonder. Either way, it is very good news. Not only will they finally be using ISS appropriately, a mission like this will generate some real excitement for space exploration that the repeated boring six month expeditions to ISS have failed to do. Even better would be to schedule a two year mission, simulating a journey to and from Mars.
How private funding has and will drive exploration.
How private funding has and will drive exploration.
An update on Sierra Nevada’s effort to build its reusable shuttle Dream Chaser.
An update on Sierra Nevada’s effort to build its reusable shuttle Dream Chaser.
And from what I can tell, it is all engines firing, full speed ahead!
Deep Impact fired its engines today to adjust its orbit, giving it the option of visiting a near Earth asteroid in the future.
Deep Impact fired its engines today to adjust its orbit, giving it the option of visiting a near Earth asteroid in the future.
The press release is very vague about this future mission. I suspect there is a question of funding, which means that even if they can go to the asteroid, they might not have the funds to staff the mission.
The Dragon capsule has been attached to the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for Sunday’s launch.
The competition heats up: The Dragon capsule has been attached to the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for Sunday’s launch.
In order to get a seat on a Soyuz capsule Sarah Brightman outbid NASA, bumping its astronaut out and thus forcing the U.S. agency to finally agree to a year long mission.
Irony of ironies: In order to buy her seat on a Soyuz capsule Sarah Brightman outbid NASA, bumping its astronaut out.
This was a win-win for the Russians. They get paid more by Brightman than by NASA (over $51 million), and they finally get that year long mission they’ve been campaigning for for years. Because Brightman has taken one of NASA’s seats, the U.S. agency was forced to agree to the extended mission in order to maintain a presence on the station throughout that time period. Otherwise, their astronaut would come home and be replaced by Brightman, but for only ten days.
The head of Russia’s manned program said today that the first yearlong mission on ISS will begin in March 2015.
The head of Russia’s manned program said today that the first yearlong mission on ISS will begin in March 2015.
This appears to be another case of the Russians trying to use the media to pressure NASA into agreeing to the mission. I hope it works.
Felix Baumgartner has set October 8 as the day he will attempt his record-setting sky-dive from almost 23 miles high.
Felix Baumgartner has set October 8 as the day he will attempt his record-setting sky-dive from almost 23 miles high.
The weather in Gale Crater on Mars: warmer than expected.
The weather in Gale Crater on Mars: warmer than expected.
The first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket was rolled to the launchpad today.
The competition heats up: The first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket was rolled to the launchpad today for testing.
Europe’s ATV cargo freighter finally undocked successfully from ISS on Friday.
Europe’s ATV cargo freighter finally undocked successfully from ISS on Friday.