Posts by Thomas Roeder
Long-Awaited Space Tourist Season to Launch for Virgin Galactic in Late June, 2023
Virgin Galactic announced it will operate regular tourists flights to the edge of space after a successful launch and landing of its Unity craft hit an altitude of 54 miles during an 80-minute flight on May 25. The firm, founded by Richard Branson, stated tourist flights will begin with flight Galactic 01, planned for a late June launch.
Read MoreESA Celebrates Mars Express Success with Live Imagery Broadcast
The European Space Agency celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Mars Express mission by broadcasting an hour of live imagery from the orbiter. Mars Express, launched in 2003, orbits Mars at an altitude of about 200 miles. Designed to create mosaic photographs of 30-square-mile areas of Mars, the orbiter has sent still imagery of the planet that scientists have used to accurately map the Martian surface.
Read MoreBiden Welcomes 90 Space Force Guardians at Air Force Academy Graduation
President Joe Biden welcomed 90 new lieutenants to the Space Force on Thursday in Colorado with an Air Force Academy commencement address that highlighted the space service’s contribution to America’s Ukrainian allies.
Read MoreNASA selects Blue Origin for its second lunar lander, 2029 mission to Moon’s south pole
Five astronauts will ride Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander for the 2029 Artemis V mission to the lunar south pole as part of a $7 billion deal announced May 19, 2023.
Read MoreStrikes in Ukraine Spotlight U.S., European Deficits in Hypersonic Arms Race
Russia’s use of hypersonic weapons in Ukraine is the latest escalation in a growing arms race for missiles that can travel through the atmosphere at more than Mach 5. The U.S. and its allies are accelerating spending on hypersonic weapons development, but haven’t fielded one to date, prompting leaders to fear a missile gap. . .
Read MoreSpace Force Outlines Culture Goals in Handbook
America’s newest military service in April got its first document outlining the culture Space Force leaders want their troops to embrace.
“The Guardian Spirit,” is a manual for Space Force officers and enlisted Guardians that lists the behaviors they are expected to emulate and is considered the service’s guidebook on culture.
Read MoreNASA’s Artemis Plans Call for $8.1 billion in 2024
NASA made headlines in April by naming the crew for the Artemis II lunar fly-by mission that’s expected to launch in late 2024. But even flying past the moon, much less landing, will require a Herculean effort on the ground and massive federal spending in the budget now under consideration by lawmakers. The second Artemis…
Read MoreU.S., Russia Discussing Repair Options for Space Station Following Discovery of Coolant Leak
A micrometeorite the width of a pencil tip sliced through a Soyuz spacecraft docked at the International Space Station at nearly 16,000 mph, wrecking a radiator for the spacecraft’s computers and delaying the return of three astronauts in orbit by months, officials from NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos said during a rare joint news conference Wednesday.
Read More