As program manager for NASA’s Launch Services Program within the agency’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, Albert Sierra leads a team responsible for launching rockets delivering spacecraft to observe the Earth, visit other planets, and explore the universe. The program plays…

Eight university teams have been selected to work with NASA and the U.S. military to improve their small satellite proposals, ultimately increasing the possibility of flying their technology in space, and potentially launching their own careers in the space industry.…

Editor’s Note: This article was updated March 26, 2024, to remove International Space Station as the destination for the CubeSats. NASA selected 10 small research satellites across eight states to fly to the space as part of the agency’s efforts…

On March 6, technicians working inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida unfolded and fully extended the first of two five-panel solar arrays for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Each solar array measures 46.5…

Editor’s note: This release was updated Feb. 12, 2024, to correct the PACE mission’s full name. NASA’s satellite mission to study ocean health, air quality, and the effects of a changing climate for the benefit of humanity launched successfully into orbit…

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U (GOES-U), the fourth and final weather-observing and environmental monitoring satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R Series, is now in Florida. The satellite landed on Tuesday, Jan. 23, in a United States Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy…

NASA is collaborating with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force to offer a set of hands-on learning engagements that will help higher education institutions, faculty, and students learn more about what it takes to build small satellites and…

Another jam-packed year is in store for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the momentum of a busy 2023 is carried forward into the new year. On the horizon are missions to the Moon, more crew and cargo flights…

NASA currently is working with several commercial companies as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract, providing new opportunities for science, and technology payloads. These include: Building on NASA’s previous procurement efforts to…

Engineers are executing a comprehensive performance test to ensure the PACE spacecraft is ready for launch. NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will study what makes Earth so different from every other planet we study: life itself. PACE…

Despite their small size, the satellites launching through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) missions have a big impact, creating access to space for many who might not otherwise have the opportunity. One recent mission tells the story of four teams…

NASA has named Denton Gibson launch director for the Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Gibson fills a position made available with the recent retirement of former senior Launch Director Omar Baez. Denton will join senior…

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This image captures the beginning of the spacecraft’s journey to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name. The…

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is on its voyage to an asteroid of the same name, a metal-rich world that could tell us more about the formation of rocky planets. Psyche successfully launched 10:19 a.m. EDT Friday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy…

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Psyche spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility on Oct. 10, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as preparations continue for the Psyche mission.…