Engineers from Terran Orbital Corporation pose with the CubeSat Proximity Operations and Demonstration (CPOD) spacecraft at their facilities in California. ‘C’ is for CPOD! From left to right: Tyler Back, Dustin Holta, Nikhil Shastri, and Nella Barrera. (Credit: Terran Orbital Corporation)
NASA Mission Update
Following a successful launch to space on May 25, two small spacecraft comprising NASA’s CubeSat Proximity Operations and Demonstration (CPOD) mission will set out to perform for the first time a series of maneuvers that leads to the docking of three-unit, or 3U, CubeSats. The CPOD mission is designed and built by Terran Orbital Corporation in Irvine, California. Once CPOD’s two small spacecraft complete initial spacecraft checks, they will demonstrate the entire sequence of rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking (RPOD) in low-Earth orbit.
In the Sensing With Independent Micro-Swimmers (SWIM) concept, illustrated here, dozens of small robots would descend through the icy shell of a distant moon via a cryobot – depicted at left – to the ocean below. The project has received funding from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
A concept in development at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory would allow potential planetary missions to chase interesting clues in subsurface oceans.
PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Someday, a swarm of cellphone-size robots could whisk through the water beneath the miles-thick icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa or Saturn’s moon Enceladus, looking for signs of alien life. Packed inside a narrow ice-melting probe that would tunnel through the frozen crust, the tiny robots would be released underwater, swimming far from their mothercraft to take the measure of a new world.
Engineers at Northrop Grumman Space Park in Redondo Beach, California, oversee Webb’s final mirror fold test in April 2021. The forward pallet structure is seen here in the foreground, in its unfolded state. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)
New one-hour special shows how NASA engineers built and launched the most ambitious telescope of all time, and the transformational discoveries this new eye on the universe has the power to uncover
BOSTON, July 1, 2022 (PBS PR) —The PBS science series NOVA, a production of GBH will premiere a one-hour special, ULTIMATE SPACE TELESCOPE, Wednesday, July 13 at 9pm ET/8C on PBS. The film, which will also be available for streaming online at PBS.org/nova, on NOVA’s YouTube channel, and on the PBS video app, tells the dramatic story of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most innovative space telescope ever built, designed to peer deeper back in time and space than humans ever have before. The special takes viewers behind the scenes through the eyes of the engineers and scientists who have dedicated years—some even decades—of their lives to getting Webb off the ground. And, the film will feature some of the telescope’s highly anticipated first images—the day after NASA releases them to the world—along with reactions from some of the team.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — At approximately 2:30 p.m. ET, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission were firmly secured inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center after a four-mile journey from launch pad 39B that began at 4:12 a.m. ET Saturday, July 2. Over the next several days, the team will extend work platforms to allow access […]
NASA Mission Update From May 6 to June 16, NASA’s Lucy mission team carried out a multi-stage effort intended to further deploy the spacecraft’s unlatched solar array. The team commanded the spacecraft to operate the array’s deployment motor for limited periods of time, allowing them to closely monitor the response of the spacecraft. As a result of this effort, the mission succeeded in further deploying the array and now estimates […]
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Rocket Lab PR) — Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today confirmed its Photon Lunar spacecraft successfully completed a sixth on-orbit burn of the HyperCurie engine, bringing the CAPSTONE satellite closer to the Moon. Lunar Photon’s apogee – the point at which the spacecraft is farthest from Earth during its orbit – is now 43,297 […]
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shows a picture of the X-3 to NASA Armstrong Center Director David McBride on Oct. 13 when the center’s time capsule, sealed 25 years prior, was opened. (Credits: NASA/Joshua Fisher)
EDWARDS, Calif. (NASA PR) — When David McBride first came to NASA’s remote outpost in the Mojave Desert in 1982 as a cooperative education student, he didn’t imagine becoming its center director.
“I was expecting to be here for one semester, but right away I was captivated by the work and more importantly the people who do the work,” McBride said. “It kept me interested and excited over the last 40 years of seeing the progress, the technology, and some cool airplanes.”
Cosmic Girl takes off for the Straight Up mission on July 1, 2022. (Credit: Virgin Orbit/Virgin Orbit/Dae Dae)
MOJAVE, Calif., July 2, 2022 (Virgin Orbit PR) — Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) has confirmed the success of its fourth consecutive satellite launch mission. This launch, named Straight Up, carried seven satellites to Low Earth Orbit for the United States Space Force (USSF), who procured this launch for the Rocket Systems Launch Program, with payloads provided by the Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP). In support of its mission partners, Virgin Orbit has now delivered a total of thirty-three satellites to orbit with 100% mission success.
A ULA Atlas V rocket carrying the USSF-12 mission for the U.S. Space Force lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at 7:15 p.m. EDT on July 1. (Credit: United Launch Alliance)
Atlas V precisely delivered USSF-12 mission to a complex geosynchronous orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla., (July 2, 2022) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the USSF-12 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command lifted off on July 1 at 7:15 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. To date ULA has launched 151 times with 100 percent mission success.
NASA Program Update Teams have rescheduled the return of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to Friday, July 1 due a concern with the condition of the crawlerway that leads from Launch Pad 39B to the VAB. First motion is now planned for 6 p.m. EDT. This afternoon, teams conducted a series of conditioning efforts driving the massive transporter […]
From Director and MagellanTV Co-Founder Thomas Lucas, the New Feature’s Debut Lands on International Asteroid Day (June 30); Streamer Making Film Available to All for Limited Window On Thursday, June 30, premium documentary streaming service MagellanTV will host the world premiere of Killer Asteroid: Defending Earth – a MagellanTV Original that investigates the history and probability of a catastrophic asteroid collision with Earth, and the pursuit of technological developments designed to defend […]
A journey into space that demonstrates the smartwatch’s military-grade toughness and optimized positioning system.
Amazfit T-Rex 2 In Space (Image Credit: Amazfit)
CUPERTINO, Calif. (Amazfit PR) — Amazfit, a leading global smart wearables brand of Zepp Health (NYSE: ZEPP), recently sent its rugged outdoor GPS smartwatch, the Amazfit T-Rex 2, into space on a quest to prove its strength in extreme environments. The Amazfit T-Rex 2’s space ride shows the brand leading by example with the spirit of “Up Your Game”, while also fulfilling this watch’s promise to inspire users to “Evolve Your Instinct”. Amazfit believes that through the power of science and technology, there are infinite possibilities in life to be explored.
