TAMPA, United States (AFP) — SpaceX blasted off a load of supplies Monday for the International Space Station aboard a rocket and a cargo ship that has both flown before, marking the second such flight for the California-based company. “Falcon 9 is on its way,” a SpaceX commentator said as the white rocket surged skyward over Cape Canaveral, Florida at 4:30 pm (2030 GMT). SpaceX’s Jessica Jensen, director of Dragon mission management, said the booster […]
Tag: NASA
NASA pushes back giant space telescope launch to 2020
by Fanny Andre Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The launch of NASA’s next giant space telescope has been delayed until at least May 2020, the US space agency said Tuesday, in the latest setback for the much-anticipated project. The James Webb Space Telescope — which NASA has long expected to replace the fabled Hubble — was initially meant to go into service this year but has faced multiple hitches. The Webb telescope […]
Two Americans, one Russian blast off for ISS
by Vyacheslav Oseledko Agence France Presse BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Two astronauts, a cosmonaut and a ball set to be used in the forthcoming football World Cup in Russia blasted off Wednesday for a two-day flight to the International Space Station. NASA’s Drew Feustel and Richard Arnold lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a five-month mission in a Soyuz MS-08 under the command of Russian colleague Oleg Artemyev at the expected time […]
US blasts off another satellite to boost weather forecasts
by Kerry Sheridan Agence France-Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A new US satellite that offers speedy, high-resolution images of storms and may save lives by making forecasts more accurate blasted off Thursday from a NASA launchpad. “Three, two, one and liftoff!” said a NASA commentator as the Atlas V rocket rumbled into the blue sky at 5:02 pm (2202 GMT) over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S […]
US wants to privatize International Space Station: report
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Could the International Space Station become a commercial venture run by private industry? That is the wish of the White House, which hopes to end funding for the costly program within a few years, The Washington Post reported Sunday. The US plan, the paper said, involves privatizing the ISS, a low-orbit space station piloted by the US space agency NASA and developed jointly with its Russian counterpart. The station has […]
Two US spacewalkers replace latching end of robotic arm
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Two US astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Tuesday for a seven-hour, 24-minute spacewalk to repair the orbiting outpost’s aging robotic arm, NASA said. During what NASA commentator Rob Navias described as a “textbook” spacewalk, NASA flight engineers Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle replaced a faulty latching end on the 57-foot (17-meter) Canadian-made robotic arm, called Canadarm2. The arm is used to grasp incoming cargo ships and […]
Black NASA astronaut is replaced in sudden crew shuffle
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Jeanette Epps, 46, a former CIA agent turned astronaut, was about to become the first African-American to embark on a mission lasting several months at the International Space Station. It’s still unclear why, but plans for her June liftoff suddenly changed, and another astronaut was chosen in her place, NASA has announced. “A number of factors are considered when making flight assignments; these decisions are personnel matters, for which NASA […]
Deep, buried glaciers spotted on Mars
by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Buried glaciers have been spotted on Mars, offering new hints about how much water may be accessible on the Red Planet and where it is located, researchers said Thursday. Although ice has long been known to exist on Mars, a better understanding of its depth and location could be vital to future human explorers, said the report in the US journal Science. “Astronauts could […]
Pentagon mum on fate of secret satellite
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The mystery surrounding the fate of a secret military satellite deepened Thursday when the Pentagon refused to answer even simple questions about whether the mission to launch it had gone awry. On Sunday, private space firm SpaceX blasted a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying the secret government satellite, known as Zuma. US media this week reported that the billion-dollar payload did not make it into orbit and […]
McCandless, first astronaut to fly untethered, dies at age 80
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Bruce McCandless, an astronaut who was the first to fly untethered from his spacecraft in a gripping scene watched around the world, has died at the age of 80, NASA announced on its website. The US space agency did not give the cause of death on Thursday for the longtime resident of the western state of Colorado. The son and grandson of decorated war heroes, he graduated near the […]
NASA picks finalists to explore comet, Saturn’s moon
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA on Wednesday announced two finalists for billion-dollar robotic missions — one to explore a comet and another Saturn’s moon Titan — with a launch by the winner planned in the 2020s. “These are tantalizing investigations that seek to answer some of the biggest questions in our solar system today,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Titan is Saturn’s largest moon, and is seen as one […]
‘Dragon back’ as cargo reaches space station
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo ship docked on Sunday with the International Space Station, bringing supplies and experiments for the astronauts in orbit. “Dragon installed,” a NASA commentator said at 1326 GMT after the delicate, hours-long process of sealing 16 bolts joining the two craft was complete. At that moment, they were flying 250 miles above the North Atlantic. Earlier, as the Dragon arrived, the space station’s robotic arm, operated by […]





