A Russian cargo ship is poised for liftoff on Sunday to the International Space Station following a launch accident in August that forced a cut in staffing levels aboard the orbital outpost. The Progress freighter, due to launch at 6:11 a.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, will be the first flight to the […]
Storm forces NASA to call off underwater simulation
NASA evacuated astronauts and scientists participating in an underwater space simulation in the Florida Keys over concerns about Hurricane Rina, officials said on Wednesday. Six astronauts and scientists participating in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, program left the Aquarius Undersea Laboratory after five days. The start of the 15th NEEMO mission had […]
Prototype passenger spaceship poised for launch
A prototype passenger spaceship developed by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies arrived in Florida on Sunday for launch on a practice cargo run to the International Space Station, officials said on Monday. Liftoff of the Dragon capsule aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for as early as December 19, although the final launch […]
Rocket failure exposes space station vulnerability
When a Russian rocket failed on its way to orbit last month, it exposed a vulnerability in the International Space Station program that a former NASA astronaut thinks China could help address. The August 24 failure of the Russian Progress rocket prompted NASA and its partners in the $100 billion space station project to delay […]
U.S. military’s mini space shuttle lifts off
A prototype miniature space shuttle blasted off aboard an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday for a demonstration run that could last as long as nine months. The experimental vehicle, known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV, lifted off at 5:46 p.m. EST. It is the second ship […]