Halfway to Pluto
The New Horizons space probe has now passed the halfway mark on its journey to Pluto.
Tag: spaceflight
One way trips to Mars?
Fuel leak on Discovery
Engineers are trouble-shooting a fuel leak on the space shuttle Discovery. At the moment NASA does not expect this to delay the planned November 1 launch.
DRAGON SPACE International Crews for Shenzhou?
US may outsource lightweight satellite launches to India
United States may outsource lightweight satellite launches to India.
X-37b spotted again
Via Clark Lindsey, amateurs have spotted the X-37b again, in what appears to be a lower orbit.
More details of SpaceShipTwo’s test flight from pilot
More details about SpaceShipTwo’s test flight, this time from one of the pilots.
The first powered flight of SpaceShipTwo could come before year’s end
The first powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo could come before year’s end.
The possibilities for China’s Chang’e 2 lunar probe
The possibilities for China’s Chang’e 2 lunar probe include travel far beyond the Moon.
The state of NASA’s commercial crew program
The state of NASA’s commercial crew program. Key quote:
The Obama administration requested $3.3 billion for commercial crew services over the next three years, but a so-called compromise bill forged in the Senate slashed the proposal in half. After months of heated contention, the House of Representatives finally agreed to the Senate authorization bill in late September, calling for $1.6 billion for the commercial program.
Using ISS as a launching platform to get to the Moon
The various partners running the ISS are considering using it as a platform to launch an orbital manned mission to the Moon.
X-37B goes missing.
Spaceweather.com noted yesterday that the amateur astronomers have reported the X-37B space plane missing. It did not show up when expected, based on its known orbit. Key quote:
It’s possible that the X-37B has landed. More likely, the space plane has maneuvered into a new orbit and will be recovered again in the nights ahead.