NASA’s Webb Telescope Has Successful Final Thermal Vacuum Test

May 31, 2019 – NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has successfully cleared another critical testing milestone, taking this ambitious observatory one step closer to its 2021 launch. The spacecraft has gone through its final thermal vacuum test meant to ensure that its hardware will function electronically in the vacuum of space, and withstand the extreme temperature variations it will encounter on its mission. Read More
SwRI’s Singer Wins Urey Prize For Planetary Research

May 31, 2019 – Dr. Kelsi Singer, a senior research scientist at Southwest Research Institute, is being awarded the 2019 Harold C. Urey Prize by the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences. The prize is the highest DPS honor for a young planetary scientist, recognizing outstanding achievements in planetary research. Read More
Build! A Martian Habitat And Explore Life Off Earth At Space Foundation Discovery Center

May 31, 2019 – Do you have what it takes to live on Mars? Getting there is one small step, but the giant leap will be living on the red planet. This summer, the Space Foundation Discovery Center is inviting the public to Build!, a limited-engagement exhibit that opens this Saturday, June 1. Read More
A New View Of Exoplanets With NASA’s Upcoming Webb Telescope

May 31, 2019 – While we now know of thousands of exoplanets — planets around other stars — the vast majority of our knowledge is indirect. That is, scientists have not actually taken many pictures of exoplanets, and because of the limits of current technology, we can only see these worlds as points of light. However, the number of exoplanets that have been directly imaged is growing over time. When NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2021, it will open a new window on these exoplanets, observing them in wavelengths at which they have never been seen before and gaining new insights about their nature. Read More
Sierra Nevada Corp. Test Fires Next-Gen Rocket Engine

May 31, 2019 – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) recently showcased its patented VORTEX rocket engine, showcasing next-generation technology available to NASA, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and commercial launch companies. The engine, which uses green and clean propellants, will be used for the SNC Dream Chaser spacecraft when it services the International Space Station for NASA missions starting in spring 2021. Read More
Lockheed Martin Conducts Orion Forward Bay Cover Jettison Test

May 31, 2019 – Lockheed Martin recently tested a critical event on NASA’s Orion spaceship – the jettison of the forward bay cover on the program’s structural test article. Read More
NASA Astrobiology Researchers Identify Features That Could Be Used To Detect Life-Friendly Climates On Other Worlds

May 28, 2019 – Scientists may have found a way to tell if alien worlds have a climate that is suitable for life by analyzing the light from these worlds for special signatures that are characteristic of a life-friendly environment. This technique could reveal the inner edge of a star’s habitable zone, the region around a star where liquid water could exist on the surface of a rocky planet. Read More
Atlas V Departs Factory For Historic Mission

May 28, 2019 – The first Atlas V rocket to launch astronauts into space emerged from the United Launch Alliance factory last week, rolling into a giant cargo ship for transport to Cape Canaveral. Read More
NASA Invites Public To Help Asteroid Mission Choose Sample Site

May 28, 2019 – NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu needs extra pairs of eyes to help choose its sample collection site on the asteroid – and to look for anything else that might be scientifically interesting. Read More
More News
All-Woman Engineering Team Earns Most Innovative Award At NASA Mars Competition
Source: University of Colorado Boulder
A Giant Stellar Eruption Detected For The First Time
Source: Chandra X-Ray Observatory/NASA
NASA Mission To Study Earth’s Atmosphere By Forming Artificial Night-Time Clouds Over Marshall Islands
Source: NASA
Melting Moon Dust With Lasers To Use In Lunar Habitats
Source: Room
Modeling Earth’s Geomagnetic Fields
Source: CIRES
NICER’s Night Moves Trace The X-Ray Sky
Source: NASA
The U.S. Postal Service Is Issuing First Moon Landing Forever Stamps
Source: NASA
SpaceX Update On Status Of 60 Starlink Satellites
Source: Parabolic Arc
Northrop Grumman Looking Into Dramatic Nozzle Anomaly On Omega Rocket Motor
Source: Spaceflight Now
Hubble Sees A Galaxy Bucking The Trend
Source: NASA
ExoMars Orbiter Prepares For Rosalind Franklin
Source: ESA
Remarks By President Trump At The 2019 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony
Source: The White House
President Trump Says Mission Of Academy Grads Vital To Keeping U.S. Safe
Source: U.S. Air Force Academy
NASA Notes Starliner’s Excellent Progress Toward Orbital Flight Test Launch
Source: NASASpaceFlight.com
Bridenstine Says Debate Only Beginning Over Funding 2024 Return To The Moon
Source: SpaceNews
Proton Rocket Lifts Off With Yamal 601 Communications Satellite
Source: Spaceflight Now
NASA To Shut Down Spitzer Space Telescope Early Next Year
Source: Spaceflight Now
NASA’s Mars 2020 Gets HD Eyes
Source: NASA
First Ever Solar Eclipse Film Brought Back To Life
Source: The Royal Astronomical Society
Air Force Assuming Responsibility For Future Narrowband Satcom Capabilities
Source: ExecutiveGov
NASA’s Spitzer Captures Stellar Family Portrait
Source: NASA/JPL
Powerful All-Electric Satellite For Eutelsat Arrives At The Guiana Space Center For Launch
Source: Maxar Technologies
NASA Makes Progress Assembling Massive SLS Rocket Stage
Source: NASA
NASA Navigation Tech Shows Timing Really Is Everything
Source: NASA
NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Finds A Clay Cache
Source: NASA
Russian Spacewalkers Complete VKD-46 — Pay Tribute To Leonov
Source: NASASpaceFlight.com
China’s First Mars Spacecraft Undergoing Integration For 2020 Launch
Source: SpaceNews
U.S. And Japan To Cooperate On Return To The Moon
Source: SpaceNews
NASA Says SpaceX Readying Crew Dragon Capsule For Possible Piloted Test Flight By End Of Year
Source: Spaceflight Now
Chandra Finds Stellar Duos Banished From Galaxies
Source: Chandra X-Ray Observatory/NASA
NASA Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor Announced As Keynote Speaker At ISS R&D Conference
Source: ISS/U.S. National Laboratory
Engineer Charged With Falsifying Inspections Of SpaceX Hardware
Source: SpaceNews
GAO In A Spat With Raytheon Over Critical Report Of GPS Ground Control System
Source: SpaceNews
SpaceX Ramps Up Operations In South Texas As Hopper Tests Loom
Source: NASASpaceFlight.com
Lightning Strikes Russian Rocket During Satellite Launch (But Everything’s Fine)
Source: Space.com
Momentum Grows For Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Source: Space.com
US Air Force Academy Names New Commandant Of Cadets
Source: KOAA.com
First ICESat-2 Global Data Released: Ice, Forests And More
Source: NASA
Senate Bill Calls On DoD To Utilize Commercial Spaceports For SmallSat Launches
Source: ExecutiveGov
Semi-Finalists Selected For Mars Colony Prize Competition
Source: The Mars Society
Plasma Processes In Mars’s Shadow
Source: AAS Nova
NASA Invites Media To Orion Abort Test Before Moon Missions With Crew
Source: NASA
Origami-Inspired Materials Could Soften The Blow For Reusable Spacecraft
Source: University of Washington
NASA Television To Air Russian Spacewalk At Space Station
Source: NASA