Parachutes for Boeing crew capsule tested over Nevada
Boeing dropped a mock-up of its CST-100 commercial crew capsule over the Nevada desert Tuesday, successfully testing the craft's three main landing parachutes, the first in a series of demonstrations...
View ArticleAstrium UK picked to build Solar Orbiter spacecraft
The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft, due for launch in early 2017, will be built in Britain under a $400 million contract signed Thursday with Astrium. Artist's concept of Solar...
View ArticleRussian early warning satellite orbited by Proton
Russia launched a missile detection satellite Friday from the Kazakhstan steppe, marking the last flight of a venerable version of the Proton rocket after 45 years of service. Launch of the Proton...
View ArticleTDRS-M data relay satellite purchased for NASA network
NASA has ordered up an additional next-generation communications spacecraft, valued at $289 million, for its orbiting network of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites. The TDRS-M bird will be built by...
View ArticleWhere are they now? Space shuttle commanders move on
Two of the final space shuttle commanders have landed new gigs in the commercial world working for companies competing to launch private crew-transports to and from the International Space Station....
View ArticleIndependent human spaceflight sought by Japan
The Japanese space agency is pushing for a domestic human spaceflight capability, proposing modifications to the country's International Space Station cargo delivery system to carry astronauts into...
View ArticleRadiation Belt Storm Probes arrive at Florida launch site
Twin NASA satellites designed to probe and predict changes in Earth's radiation belts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, ready to begin several months of testing and assembly before...
View ArticleScientists use Dawn to pull back the veil on Vesta
Since being tugged into orbit around asteroid Vesta last July, NASA's Dawn spacecraft has pulled back the curtain on the object's surface characteristics, internal structure and wild temperature...
View ArticleAstronauts say crews would be comfortable in Dragon
Two astronauts who helped capture and berth the Dragon supply ship said Saturday they would be comfortable flying a human-rated version of the craft on commercial flights to the International Space...
View ArticleSpaceX sets May 19 launch for flight to space station
The need for additional software assurance testing has again delayed the launch of SpaceX's commercial demonstration flight to the International Space Station, the company announced Friday, until at...
View ArticleSpaceX cargo craft en route to flyby of space station
After a succession of rocket burns to fine-tune its pursuit of the International Space Station, the commercial Dragon spacecraft is due for a flyby of the complex Thursday, a crucial prerequisite for...
View ArticleComputer crash doomed Phobos-Grunt
After floating accusations against U.S. military radars, flawed foreign parts and space radiation, Russian space officials have concluded a software glitch caused the failure of the Phobos-Grunt Mars...
View ArticleAdditional software reviews will delay SpaceX demo flight
Launch of SpaceX's commercial Dragon cargo freighter to the International Space Station will be delayed until at least early May to give engineers more time to wring out the craft's software, the...
View ArticleDragon bolted to Falcon rocket ahead of engine firing
Engineers connected SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to its Falcon 9 launcher Thursday, setting the stage for a busy weekend of preparations for a brief firing of the rocket's nine main engines on the...
View ArticleATV production terminated as decision on follow-on nears
Confronted by parts obsolescence and waning political support, the European Space Agency has shut down subsystem production lines for the Automated Transfer Vehicle as member states debate how they...
View ArticleVIDEO: GRAIL returns views of far side of the moon
NASA released footage Wednesday from one of the agency's twin GRAIL lunar probes, showing the rugged far side of the moon in a time lapse video from a camera built to help educate and inspire U.S....
View ArticleTime running out to save Russian Mars moon probe
An international effort is under way to save Russia's Phobos-Grunt mission to Mars, but time is quickly running out on propelling the probe toward the Red Planet. The interplanetary undertaking is...
View ArticleSuccessful Chinese space launch breaks annual record
Shattering a record for annual Chinese launch activity, a Long March rocket streaked into a predawn sky Thursday and entered orbit with a Beidou navigation satellite. The Long March 3A rocket lifted...
View ArticleAtlas 5 rockets to launch next weather satellite series
The next-generation U.S. weather observatories now in development for flights to geostationary orbit will be deployed by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets, officials announced Thursday. The GOES...
View ArticleRussian satellite destroyed despite promise for scientists
Engineers on Sunday intentionally crashed a Russian Express communications satellite stranded in space by an August rocket mishap, declaring the mission a total loss despite efforts by a start-up...
View ArticleNext Monday's SpaceX Falcon 9 launch date in doubt
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL--The long-awaited launch of a commercial cargo ship bound for the International Space Station almost certainly will be delayed from May 7 to at least May 10 and possibly...
View ArticleESA chooses Jupiter as destination for science probe
The European Space Agency announced Wednesday it will launch a robotic mission in 2022 on a tour of Jupiter's icy moons to examine the subsurface oceans and frozen crusts of Ganymede, Callisto and...
View ArticleEurope's next MetOp satellite arrives at launch base
Europe's next polar-orbiting weather satellite was shipped from France to Kazakhstan on Tuesday, where it will be tested, fueled and bolted to a Soyuz rocket for liftoff in May. Metop B is loaded into...
View ArticleMedvedev threatens criminal penalties for space officials
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested officials should be punished for recent failures in the country's space program. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speaks with reporters Saturday....
View ArticleESA says BepiColombo will stay on budget despite delay
Technicial difficulties with BepiColombo, a joint project between Europe and Japan, will push back its launch to Mercury by 13 months until August 2015, but officials do not expect the postponement to...
View ArticleSoyuz booster fails in launch of communications satellite
A Soyuz rocket and a Russian military communications satellite crashed in Siberia on Friday, continuing a pesky series of launch mishaps blemishing Russia's space program in the last year. File photo...
View ArticleDecember deadline for stranded Russian Mars probe
Russia has until early December to establish contact with the stranded Phobos-Grunt Mars probe and send it toward the Red Planet, the head of the Russian space ageny said Monday. Phobos-Grunt's...
View ArticleRussians successfully launch space station resupply ship
Dispatching a freighter filled with food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station, an unmanned Russian Soyuz booster successfully launched Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Main engine...
View ArticleRussians now preparing for re-entry of failed Mars probe
Russia's $163 million Phobos-Grunt Mars probe, stranded in low-Earth orbit after a malfunction following launch Nov. 8, is expected to fall back into Earth's atmosphere next month, Russian officials...
View ArticleRussia: Computer crash doomed Phobos-Grunt
After floating accusations against U.S. military radars, flawed foreign parts and space radiation, Russian space officials have concluded a software glitch caused the failure of the Phobos-Grunt Mars...
View ArticleIll-fated Mars probe reportedly falls to Earth
A $170 million Russian Mars probe, stranded in low-Earth orbit after a malfunction following launch in November, reportedly fell back into the dense lower atmosphere Sunday, apparently breaking up...
View ArticleRussia scrambles to diagnose glitch on Phobos-Grunt
A European Space Agency tracking station in Australia was expected to contact Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft at least two times Wednesday, one day after the site heard signals from the stranded...
View ArticleIt's alive! Russia's Phobos-Grunt probe phones home
The European Space Agency announced Wednesday a ground station in Australia heard signals from Russia's marooned Phobos-Grunt Mars mission, but prospects are fading for the probe to reach the Red...
View ArticleLatest attempts to contact Phobos-Grunt yield 'no joy'
Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars probe again fell silent Thursday and Friday after encouraging communications signals were detected from the marooned satellite, which is stuck in low Earth orbit after a...
View ArticleOrbit-raising commands fail to budge Phobos-Grunt probe
Plagued by an undiagnosed problem that stranded it in Earth orbit, Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars mission remained quiet Tuesday after renewed attempts to coax the craft back into contact with ground...
View ArticleESA shutting down Phobos-Grunt listening campaign
The European Space Agency announced Friday it would cease attempts to contact Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars probe, as hopes diminish of ever recovering the stranded spacecraft and guiding it toward the...
View ArticleDoomed Phobos-Grunt Mars Mission Destructively Plunges to Earth
Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter Phobos-Grunt plunged to Earth into the Pacific Ocean on Jan 15, 2012 - Crash Zone Map The probe was stranded in low Earth...
View ArticleTests of new Dragon systems to begin minutes after launch
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will almost immediately begin testing new components following its deployment in orbit, extending solar arrays, demonstrating sensors for precise navigation, and proving its...
View ArticleDragon circling Earth after flawless predawn blastoff
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket radiantly rose into a serene predawn sky over Florida on Tuesday, successfully launching a privately-owned capsule named Dragon into orbit on a seminal test flight to the...
View ArticleESA receives telemetry from Russian Mars probe
The European tracking station in Perth, Australia, received telemetry from a Russian Mars probe that has been stuck at a low-Earth orbit since after its launch, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on...
View ArticleEnceladus gets last visit from Cassini spacecraft until 2015
NASA's Cassini spacecraft skimmed 46 miles above the icy surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Wednesday, taking radio measurements to deduce what might feed powerful geysers of water vapor streaming...
View ArticlePhobos-Grunt 'crippled by US aurora station', 'is a bio-weapon'
"As to Mars - it is a planet that does not like earthlings. Only 30 per cent of Soviet-Russian launches to Mars were successful, the Americans have had 50 per cent success, while all attempts by Japan...
View ArticleProton rocket replenishes Russian navigation system
A Proton launcher rocketed into orbit Friday with three Glonass navigation satellites for the Russian government, delivering reinforcements for the military-run fleet of positioning and timing...
View ArticleRussia races to rescue Mars probe from Earth orbit
MOSCOW — A Russian spacecraft on its way to Mars with 12 tons of toxic fuel is stuck circling the wrong planet: ours. And it could come crashing back to Earth in a couple of weeks if engineers can't...
View ArticleBehind the scenes inside the ATV factory
As one European cargo ship ended its mission Tuesday, production teams in Germany are testing the next Automated Transfer Vehicle before shipping it to the launch site in August. Liftoff of the third...
View ArticleRussian Mars mission halted by glitch in low Earth orbit
Russia's Phobos-Grunt mission, an audacious effort to retrieve samples from a Martian moon, is stranded in low Earth orbit following a successful liftoff Tuesday from Kazakhstan, according to Russian...
View ArticleZenit 2FG/Phobos-Grunt launch timeline
NOTE: Times approximate. T-00:00:00 Launch Producing 1.6 million pounds of thrust, the Zenit 2FG rocket soars into the sky at 2016 GMT (3:16 p.m. EST) Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in...
View ArticleRussia to restart planetary exploration with Mars probe
Russia will launch a probe to a moon of Mars on Tuesday, resuming the country's exploration of the solar system after funding woes and mission failures hindered progress over the last two decades. The...
View ArticleRussia trying to salvage Phobos-Grunt mission
One day after a Russian Mars probe was left stranded in low Earth orbit, engineers planned to begin trying to save the mission Wednesday in hopes the problem was a relatively simple software glitch....
View ArticlePhobos-Grunt Mars probe remains silent in Earth orbit
Russia officially remained silent on the status of its beleaguered Phobos-Grunt Mars probe Friday as concerns grew that the toxic fuel-laden spacecraft could crash back to Earth by December. File photo...
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