The U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 90% chance of favorable weather during tomorrow’s launch of NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission. The primary weather concern is the cumulus cloud rule. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s IMAP and its two rideshares no earlier than 7:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. […]
The Expedition 73 crew members explored how exercise in space affects the body, conducted an eye exam, and continued upgrading computer networking gear aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The orbital residents also transferred emergency gear into the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft, maintained life support equipment, and continued unpacking a Progress resupply ship.
NASA continues to study how autonomy will assist future exploration to the Moon, Mars, and other worlds. As exploration continues to evolve, future spacecraft swarms will one day “see” and communicate with each other autonomously, navigating new destinations more efficiently. The success of NASA’s Starling mission extension, called Starling 1.5+, shows greater autonomy in space […]
At 12:56 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 23, NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Apophis Explorer) spacecraft will fly within about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) of Earth. Passing about 100 times closer to Earth than the Moon’s orbit, the spacecraft will perform a gravity assist maneuver to alter the spacecraft’s direction […]
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying NASA’s heliosphere and space weather science missions inside the payload fairing, was raised to vertical on Sept. 22, at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) is the second flight of this booster. The first flight was KF-1, the […]
NASA’s twin ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft are back in Florida in preparation for launch this fall. The two spacecraft are destined to orbit Mars, where they will study the structure of the Martian magnetic field, how it interacts with space weather, and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape. […]
Expedition 73 kicked off the week with ultrasound scans for cardiac research and unloading new science experiments delivered last week aboard the Cygnus XL cargo craft. Spacesuit work and computer networking maintenance rounded out the day aboard the International Space Station.
NASA and SpaceX are now targeting 7:30 a.m. EDT, Wednesday Sept. 24 for the launch of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) space weather missions on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to allow more time for the recovery assets to arrive […]
NASA, SpaceX, and spacecraft mission managers are moving forward with the launch of the agency’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission to study space weather from the Sun and map the edges of our solar system. During the agency’s Launch Readiness Review, Dr. Denton Gibson, NASA’s launch director, and the launch team polled “go” […]
The crew aboard the International Space Station continue to unpack more than 11,000 pounds of critical spares, food and supplies delivered Sept. 18 by a Cygnus XL commercial resupply mission. The arrival of the Cygnus XL to the space station was delayed by one day, due to changes in the rendezvous planning resulting from the main spacecraft engine shutting down early on two burns on Sept. 16.
