In this frame provided by NASA of a stop motion video taken during the NASA rover Mars landing, the heat shield falls away during Curiosity’s descent to the surface of Mars on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS / AP In this frame provided by NASA of a stop motion video taken during… Continue reading
Tag Archives: a-news-briefing
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover to get software upgrade
As NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover prepares for its surface mission, it will download the latest version of its operating system. Continue reading
Cargo spaceship makes superspeed trip to space station
An unmanned Russian cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station Wednesday, less than six hours after it launched into orbit. The successful maneuver marked the first time a same-day docking has ever been accomplished at the massive orbiting outpost. Continue reading
Russia launches ship on same-day trip to space station
A robotic Russian cargo ship launched toward the International Space Station Wednesday to deliver a fresh load of supplies and test a new same-day docking plan that, if successful, will make it the first spacecraft ever to arrive at the orbiting lab within hours of liftoff. The unmanned Progress 48 cargo ship blasted off atop a Soyuz rocket at 3:35 p.m. EDT (1935 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in central Asia Continue reading
Russia to retry space station docking
Russia will try to test a new spacecraft docking system again Saturday with an unmanned cargo ship at the International Space Station, after a first attempt earlier this week failed and was prematurely aborted. Continue reading
Next Space Station Crew to Try 'Fishy' Science
When the next Russian-built Soyuz capsule launches to the International Space Station in October, it will deliver three new crewmembers to the orbiting outpost. But the trio of spaceflyers will be sharing their ride with some special cargo: 32 small fish for a science experiment at the space lab. Continue reading
NASA launches hypersonic inflatable heat shield
NASA launched a novel new heat shield prototype on a successful test flight Monday (July 23), a mission that sent a high-tech space balloon streaking through Earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic speeds of up to Mach 10. The test flight blasted off atop a suborbital rocket at 7:01 a.m. EDT (1101 GMT) from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va Continue reading
Will NASA's Mars rover land safely? Glitch could delay news. (+video)
NASA’s Curiosity rover is due to touch down on the Martian surface on August 5, but a malfunction in another NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars will mean we’ll all have to wait longer to find out if the landing is successful. NASA is just 20 days away from landing a car-size rover on Mars, but mission managers might have to wait a little longer than anticipated to learn whether the challenging touchdown succeeds or not. Subscribe Today to the Monitor Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition NASA’s 1-ton Curiosity rover, the centerpiece of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, is slated to land on the Martian surface on the night of Aug. Continue reading
NASA: SpaceX docking ranks near top of space-age 'firsts'
The successful docking of the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the International Space Station Friday is a landmark moment in opening space to wider use, NASA officials say. Continue reading
NASA: SpaceX docking ranks near top of space-age 'firsts' (+video)
The successful docking of the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the International Space Station Friday is a landmark moment in opening space to wider use, NASA officials say. The first commercially operated cargo ship destined for the International Space Station entered the record books Friday when the station’s crew confirmed that SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was securely docked to the orbiting outpost. Dragon cleared its first major hurdle of the day Friday when station flight engineer Don Petitt, the mission’s grappler-in-chief, captured the Dragon capsule with the station’s robotic arm as the craft free-floated some 30 feet from the docking port. Continue reading