Independent 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 ArticleH-2A launch timeline
T-00:00 Liftoff With its LE-7A main engine and two solid rocket boosters firing, the 187-foot-tall H-2A rocket lifts off from the Yoshinobu launch complex on Tanegashima Island. A few moments later,...
View ArticleLand surveying satellite orbited by Chinese rocket
China launched a Long March rocket Monday with a high-resolution civil mapping satellite to survey natural resources and a craft to relay marine tracking data for U.S.-based Orbcomm Inc. The Long March...
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 ArticleSatellite pair launched by Long March rocket
An experimental technology demonstration satellite and a spacecraft to collect and relay data for disaster relief ascended into orbit on a Long March 2D rocket this weekend. The payloads lifted off at...
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 ArticleChina, Nigeria team up for broadcasting satellite launch
A Long March rocket launched Monday with a powerful Chinese-built, Nigerian-owned communications satellite to serve Africans with television, education, navigation and security services. Liftoff...
View ArticleBudget proposes $2 billion for U.S. weather satellites
NOAA's fiscal year 2013 budget request calls for more than $2 billion for the agency's weather and climate satellite programs to cover geostationary and polar-orbiting spacecraft, a space weather...
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 launch...
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 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 ArticleU.S. Air Force space plane marks one year in orbit
The U.S. Air Force's second X-37B space plane marked one year in orbit Monday, continuing its clandestine mission more than 200 miles above Earth. Artist's concept of an X-37B spacecraft in orbit....
View ArticleParachutes 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 ArticleMilitary space shuttle receives mission extension
Quietly orbiting Earth since March, the U.S. Air Force's second X-37B space plane will surpass its 270-day design life Wednesday with no sign the clandestine spacecraft is landing any time soon....
View ArticleRussia, Europe to sign ExoMars accord by year's end
Russia told European Space Agency officials last week it will partner with Europe on the ExoMars orbiter and rover missions after NASA dropped out of the project in February due to budgetary concerns,...
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 ArticleJapan's H-2A rocket orbits craft to aid climate scientists
A Japanese H-2A rocket deployed four satellites in orbit Thursday, putting up a research mission to track the changing role of water in Earth's climate and a South Korean payload to gather...
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 ArticlePowerful Nigerian satellite ready for liftoff from China
China will launch a massive Nigerian communications satellite Monday to link Africans with television programming, education services and navigation signals. Artist's concept of a Long March 3B rocket...
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...
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