Space News

Dedication ceremonies and flights at Virgin Galactic Spaceport America

Virgin Galactic have held dedication ceremonies and flown the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo aircraft in front of 800 guests at the New Mexico Spaceport. Read more

Boeing selects Atlas V Rocket for initial Commercial Crew Launches

The Boeing Company have today announced that it has selected the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket to launch the Boeing Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft from Florida’s Space Coast. Read more

NASA tests future deep space vehicle for water landings

As NASA closes the chapter on the Space Shuttle Program, a new era of exploration vehicles is beginning to take off.

Testing began this month at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, in the new Hydro Impact Basin to certify the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) for water landings. The Orion MPCV will carry astronauts into space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure safe re-entry and landing. Read more

NASA'S proud as space program ends with final Shuttle flight by Atlantis

Wrapping up 30 years of unmatched achievements and blazing a trail for the next era of U.S. human spaceflight, NASA’s storied Space Shuttle Program came to a “wheels stop” on Thursday at the conclusion of its 135th mission.

Shuttle Atlantis and its four-astronaut crew glided home for the final time, ending a 13-day journey of more than five million miles with a landing at 5:57 a.m. EDT at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Read more

Boeing GPS navigation satellite begins post-launch operational tests

Boeing has received the first on-orbit signals from the second of 12 Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF navigation satellites it is building for the U.S. Air Force. GPS IIF-2, renamed SVN-63, is functioning normally and ready to begin on-orbit maneuvers and operational testing. Read more

NASA awards Lockheed Martin Hubble Telescope follow up contract

NASA has awarded a follow-on contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Corporation (LMSSC) for Mission Operations, Systems Engineering and Software (MOSES-II) for the Hubble Space Telescope.

This is a five-year cost-plus-award fee sole source contract with Lockheed Martin Space Systems Corporation with a value of $133,070,796, which includes the maximum award fee. Read more

QUICK - Competition to meet a NASA Astronaut

If you are 8 years old or over and would like to meet a spaceman – sorry Astronaut – then follow the link below!

The Royal Aeronautical Society is launching a challenge to young people in the United Kingdom that will give them the chance to meet British born NASA Astronaut, Dr Piers Sellers. The challenge is for the young people to explain how space exploration has inspired them. The winners will have the opportunity to share their story and be further inspired by meeting with Dr Piers Sellers, NASA Astronaut and veteran of three Shuttle Missions. Read more

Virgin Galactic fly-by at Spaceport runway dedication

The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) today dedicated the nearly two-mile long “Governor Bill RIchardson Spaceway” at Spaceport America, representing significant progress toward launching commercial customers into space from the desert of New Mexico. Governor Bill Richardson, Sir Richard Branson and approximately 30 of more than 380 Virgin Galactic future astronauts attended the event along with guests from around the world and watched a flyover and landing by Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo, in a captive carry with SpaceShipTwo. Read more

Video: Virgin Galactic VSS Enterprise triumphs in test flight

The Virgin VSS Enterprise has achieved manned free flight from over 45,000 ft (13,700 metres) and successfully glided to land at Mojave Air and Spaceport.

Yesterday Virgin Galactic, the US company developing the world’s first commercial manned space flight system and tourism business, announced the successful completion of the first piloted free flight of SpaceShipTwo, named the VSS Enterprise. The spaceship was released from its mothership at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 metres). Read more

Space Shuttle Atlantis returns home after its final planned mission

Space shuttle Atlantis and six astronauts ended a 12-day journey of more than 4.8 million miles with an 8:48
a.m. EDT landing Wednesday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The third of five shuttle missions planned for 2010, this was the last scheduled flight for Atlantis. The mission, designated STS-132, delivered the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the International Space Station. Also known as Rassvet (“dawn” in Russian), the module provides additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Read more