Spacecraft

Sunita Williams has 2nd-most spacewalks by a woman - Guess who's first?

During her latest spacewalk with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, Williams achieved this milestone

Starship 8 test failure: SpaceX's boldest rocket faces uncertain future

Repeated failures have cast doubt on Starship's reliability, a key part of SpaceX's goals for Mars colonisation, prompting the company to investigate failures and enhance the spacecraft's performance

Nasa powers down two instruments on Voyager spacecraft to save energy

NASA is switching off two science instruments on its long-running twin Voyager spacecraft to save power. The space agency said Wednesday an instrument on Voyager 2 that measures charged particles and cosmic rays will shut off later this month. Last week, NASA powered down an instrument on Voyager 1 designed to study cosmic rays. The energy-saving moves were necessary to extend their missions, Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement. The twin spacecraft launched in 1977 and are currently in interstellar space, or the space between stars. Voyager 1 discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and several of Saturn's moons, and Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit Uranus and Neptune. Each spacecraft still has three instruments apiece to study the sun's protective bubble and the swath of space beyond. Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth and Voyager 2 is over 13 billion miles (20.92 billion ...

Blue Origin's all-women spaceflight: Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez on board

Pop star Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos's fiance Lauren Sanchez, and journalist Gayle King will head to space with a high-profile 6-person crew set on a Blue Origin rocket. The date has not been decided yet

Space tech firm Digantara eyes $30 million revenue with US expansion

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to invest $10 million to $15 million over the next six to eight months to establish a spacecraft manufacturing and space optics production facility in Colorado

NVS-02 satellite launch set for Jan 2025; more missions planned: Isro chief

On May 29, 2023, the GSLV-F12 rocket successfully launched the NVS-01 satellite, weighing 2,232 kg, into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO)

Voyaging into eternity: Nasa switches thrusters of probe 24 billion km away

After travelling over 47 years in space, Nasa's Voyager 1 spacecraft thrusters have reportedly been clogged with silicon dioxide impairing its communication with earth

Nibe shoots for stars with Earth observation satellite constellation

Partners global giants to orbit India's space self-reliance

NASA's solar sail spacecraft visible with naked eye. Here's how to spot it

NASA's experimental Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) can be spotted with the naked eye as it orbits Earth. Here's how you can track it with Nasa's application

Polaris Dawn Mission: All you need to know about first private spacewalk

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on September 10, which was originally scheduled for August 28 but was delayed due to a helium leak and further postponed due to bad weather around Florida

Europa Clipper: New NASA mission to explore this icy world is a go

NASA's Europa Clipper mission passed a mission planning milestone, known as Key Decision Point E, on Monday, implying the mission is approved for launch around Thursday, Oct. 10

SpaceX to launch billionaire's pvt crew on breakthrough spacewalk mission

An attempt to launch last month was postponed hours before liftoff over a small helium leak in ground equipment on SpaceX's launchpad

Nasa spacecraft to study Jupiter moon's ocean cleared for October launch

NASA on Monday approved next month's launch to Jupiter's moon Europa after reviewing the spacecraft's ability to withstand the intense radiation there. Questions about the reliability of the transistors on the Europa Clipper spacecraft arose earlier this year after similar problems cropped up elsewhere. With the tight launch window looming, NASA rushed to conduct tests to verify that the electronic parts could survive the $5 billion mission to determine whether the suspected ocean beneath Europa's icy crust might be suitable for life. Liftoff remains scheduled for Oct. 10 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. NASA has three weeks to launch the spacecraft before standing down for more than a year to await another proper planetary alignment; the spacecraft needs to swing past Mars and then Earth for gravity assists. Project manager Jordan Evans said the transistors located in circuits across the entire spacecraft are expected to degrade when Europa Clipper is exposed to the worst of

NASA to decide on Aug 24 if Boeing's new capsule safe to fly 2 astronauts

NASA said Thursday it will decide this weekend whether Boeing's new capsule is safe enough to return two astronauts from the International Space Station, where they've been waiting since June. Administrator Bill Nelson and other top officials will meet Saturday. An announcement is expected from Houston once the meeting ends. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing's Starliner on June 5. The test flight quickly encountered thruster failures and helium leaks so serious that NASA kept the capsule parked at the station as engineers debated what to do. SpaceX could retrieve the astronauts, but that would keep them up there until next February. They were supposed to return after a week or so at the station. If NASA decides SpaceX is the way to go, Starliner would return to Earth empty in September. Engineers are evaluating a new computer model for the Starliner thrusters and how they might perform as the capsule descends out of orbit for a touchdown in the U.S.

New SpaceX spaceship to remove International Space Station; check details

SpaceX's revolutionary Dragon spacecraft is poised to replace International Space Station in the early 2030s, paving the way for the next generation of orbital research platforms

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore dock Starliner at ISS after resolving issues

NASA's Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore have successfully docked Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) after overcoming new issues that cropped up en route to the orbiting laboratory. Williams, 58, flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with Wilmore, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the ISS. Williams is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is the commander of the mission. Boeing Starliner spacecraft successfully docked at the International Space Station at 1:34 pm on Thursday, about 26 hours after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, NASA said in a statement. Williams shared her gratitude to the family and friends who have been with them during the lead-up to the launch. We have another family up here, which is just awesome, Williams said. And we're just happy as can be to be up in space, one in Starliner on an Atlas V, and the

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore test unique Starliner piloting capability

On the way to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore tested out a unique capability of the spacecraft on orbit manual piloting. Williams flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with Wilmore, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on a 25-hour flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Williams, 58, is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is the commander of the mission. Although the spacecraft is usually autonomous, the crew used the hand controller to point and aim the spacecraft during about two hours of free-flight demonstrations. During a far-field demo, they pointed Starliner's nose toward the Earth so that its communications antenna on the back of the Service Module was pointed at the Tracking and Data Relay satellites. They then moved the Starliner so that its solar array pointed at the sun to show they cou

Gopi Thotakura makes history, becomes 1st Indian to go to space as tourist

He was selected as one of the six crew members for the NS-25 mission, becoming the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to journey into space

Boeing delays first astronaut launch for week to replace faulty valve

Boeing's first astronaut launch is off until late next week because of a bad valve in the rocket that needs to be replaced. The countdown was halted Monday night after a pressure-relief valve in the Atlas V rocket's upper stage opened and closed so quickly and so many times that it created a loud buzz. Engineers for United Launch Alliance determined Tuesday that the valve has exceeded its design limit and must now be removed, pushing liftoff to no earlier than May 17. The NASA astronauts assigned to the Starliner capsule's test flight to the International Space Station Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain at Cape Canaveral. Starliner's first crew flight already is years behind schedule because of a multitude of capsule problems.

Sunita Williams set for historic mission as Starliner readies flight to ISS

Indian-origin astronaut Williams will be accompanied by fellow Barry "Butch" Wilmore on the Crewed Flight Test mission, marking the Starliner's first flight to the International Space Station