Blogs

A new edition of The Earth Observer, a bi-monthly publication that covers the nuts-and-bolts of NASA’s Earth Observing System, is out.

By Dr. Tom Bridgman NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center On Oct. 29, 2018, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT, Parker Solar Probe became the closest spacecraft to the Sun, breaking the record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun’s surface set by the Helios 2 in April 1976. But this is just the beginning. Parker Solar Probe …

  Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), with back-up support from NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, used the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to release a Japanese cargo spacecraft at 11:51 a.m. EST. At the time of release, the space station was flying 254 miles over the northern Pacific Ocean. Earlier, ground …

NASA and Northrop Grumman have postponed the Nov. 7 launch attempt of NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission due to off-nominal data observed on the Pegasus XL rocket, during the captive carry flight. The L-1011 Stargazer carrier aircraft returned to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and the team will begin an investigation into the issue. The ICON spacecraft …

The Northrop Grumman L-1011 Stargazer aircraft carrying a Pegasus XL Rocket with NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite is airborne after taking off from the Skid Strip runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Northrop Grumman produces the Pegasus XL, a small expendable rocket that attaches beneath the Stargazer aircraft and is …

Good morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Today we are be following preparations for the launch of a NASA spacecraft taking place over the Atlantic Ocean offshore about 50 miles from Daytona Beach in Florida. The Northrop Grumman L-1011 Stargazer aircraft is already airborne, having taken off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force …

The Northrop Grumman L-1011 Stargazer aircraft is poised to take off from the Skid Strip runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It carry a Pegasus XL Rocket with NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite. It is designed to study the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below …

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Low Temperature Protein Crystal Growth (JAXA LT PCG): The crew retrieved JAXA LT PCG samples from the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER)1 unit and stowed them in the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Capsule Carrier. The goal of the JAXA LT PCG experiment is to produce high quality protein …

NASA and Northrop Grumman completed their Launch Readiness Review on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are no technical issues being worked at this time. NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite mission is scheduled to launch Wednesday, Nov. 7, by Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket, which will be …

Japan’s seventh resupply ship to the International Space Station is packed and readied for departure Wednesday morning. However, the Japanese cargo ship, H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7), has one more delivery mission before it burns up safely over the Pacific Ocean. Station skipper Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm …