For the first time since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011, NASA says it may soon have the capability to send astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil.
Bigelow Aerospace founder Robert Bigelow believes existing technology, NASA interest, and business opportunities are ready now for a return to the moon — and his company is ready to provide a space station there. In an exclusive interview with FloridaPolitics.com Wednesday, the Las Vegas-based billionaire space entrepreneur made the argument that there already exists the technology, the opportunities for scientific research, a clear business case, and at least some NASA interest, for a return to the moon. And he said his company has ongoing…
Kennedy Space Center is back in the rocket-launching business — and this time it’s really a business. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off into space from historic Launch Complex 39A Sunday morning, the first launch from Kennedy since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. This was a business launch in almost every sense, except in purpose. The Dragon capsule sent into orbit by the rocket is full of 5,500 pounds of equipment and goods for the International Space Station.…
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center reopened for business Tuesday, relying on industrial air conditioners rushed in from around the country in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Director Robert Cabana said the damage – mostly ripped-off roofs – is still being tallied, but is in the millions of dollars. He said it would have been much worse had Matthew not weakened and veered slightly offshore Friday as it swept up the Florida coast. “We were definitely blessed,” Cabana, a former space shuttle…
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted through a picture-perfect spring Florida sky Friday afternoon and then landed softly and surely on a barge in the ocean 11 minutes later. The successful at-sea landing for the rocket’s first stage is a first, and it comes in SpaceX’s fifth try, bringing screaming cheers from the company’s California headquarters, webcast. The rocket landed just a few feet off dead-center on what SpaceX calls its drone ship, named “Of Course I Still Love You,”…
SpaceX says it’s close to launching rockets again six months after an accident. Chief executive Elon Musk announced via Twitter on Thursday a rocket test-firing for next Wednesday in Florida. A satellite launch for Orbcomm could come three days later – Dec. 19th. SpaceX has been stuck on Earth since June, when a broken strut doomed its Falcon rocket during liftoff. The accident left NASA without a viable U.S. supplier for the International Space Station. NASA’s other commercial shipper, Orbital…
An unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying supplies and the first-of-its-kind docking port to the International Space Station broke apart Sunday shortly after liftoff. It was a severe blow to NASA, still reeling from previous failed shipments. The accident occurred about 2 1/2 minutes into the flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Pieces could be seen falling into the Atlantic. More than 5,200 pounds of space station cargo were on board, including the first docking port designed for future commercial crew capsules. “The…