THE HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT BLOG: From the Space Shuttle to Beyond

The Latest Update on an Artemis Lunar Lander...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 May 2026 06:17:00 +0000

NASA

Blue Origin Moon Lander Completes Testing at NASA Vacuum Chamber (News Release - May 4)

Also known as Endurance, MK1 is an uncrewed cargo lander funded by Blue Origin as a commercial demonstration mission to advance Human Landing System capabilities in support of NASA’s Artemis program. The tests in Chamber A represent a public-private partnership model, with Blue Origin conducting work through a reimbursable Space Act Agreement.

Endurance will demonstrate precision landing, cryogenic propulsion, and autonomous guidance, navigation, and control capabilities in support of future lunar surface operations. In addition to its primary objectives, MK1 will carry two NASA science and technology payloads under the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative to the lunar South Pole region this year: the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies, an array of high-resolution cameras that will collect imagery of the interaction between the lander’s engine plume and the lunar surface during descent and landing, and the Laser Retroreflective Array, which helps orbiting spacecraft determine a more precise location using reflected laser light.

Through CLPS, NASA partners with American companies to deliver science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon, advancing understanding of the lunar environment and supporting future crewed missions as part of the agency’s Artemis campaign.

Testing in NASA Johnson’s Chamber A, one of the world’s largest thermal vacuum test facilities, enabled engineers to model the vacuum of space and the extreme temperature conditions that the spacecraft would experience during flight. By recreating these conditions on the ground, teams evaluated system performance and verified structural and thermal integrity prior to launch. NASA and Blue Origin will incorporate lessons learned from MK1’s design, integration and testing to support NASA’s future Artemis missions that will return American astronauts to the Moon.

MK1’s development contributes to technology maturation and risk reduction for future human-class systems, including Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2), a larger crewed landing system designed to safely transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back, enabling sustained human exploration at the Moon’s South Pole region.

Testing of MK1 at NASA Johnson is enabled through the agency’s “front door” approach — a coordinated process that provides commercial partners access to NASA facilities and technical expertise while maintaining safety, mission assurance, and alignment with agency objectives.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

Blue Origin

Blue Origin

Three More Nations Have Joined NASA's Moon Exploration Initiative...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 May 2026 03:33:00 +0000

NASA

NASA Welcomes Ireland as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory (News Release)

Ireland signed the Artemis Accords on Monday during a signing ceremony hosted by NASA, becoming the latest nation to commit to the responsible exploration of space for all humanity.

Ireland, a longstanding member of ESA (European Space Agency) and a valued international partner for NASA, now joins all 23 ESA member states as a signatory of the Artemis Accords.

“It is my privilege to welcome Ireland as the 66th and newest signatory to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during remarks. “The Emerald Isle is now part of a growing community of like-minded nations committed to the peaceful, transparent and responsible exploration of space. Ireland joins at a pivotal moment. Artemis II was the opening act in humanity’s return to the Moon. What comes next is a sustained campaign of missions that will take us back to the lunar surface, not just for flags and footprints, but to build a base and stay.”

Underscoring the longstanding cultural ties and shared heritage between the United States and Ireland, the signing was celebrated during a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington attended by U.S. Congressional staffers and interagency representatives.

Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, T.D., signed on behalf of the country.

“From an island shaped by the sea, whose people have always looked beyond the horizon and journeyed across the world, forging connections far beyond our shores, Ireland is proud to bring that same spirit to a new frontier and to join a global community committed to the peaceful exploration of space,” said Burke.

Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America Geraldine Byrne Nason and Chief of Staff in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs William Cappelletti, U.S. Department of State, participated in the event. U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Edward Walsh also attended.

In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.

The Artemis Accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety and coordination between like-minded nations as they explore the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Signing the Artemis Accords means committing to explore peaceably and transparently, to render aid to those in need, to enable access to scientific data that all of humanity can learn from, to ensure activities do not interfere with those of others, and to preserve historically-significant sites and artifacts by developing best practices for space exploration for the benefit of all.

More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead, as NASA continues its work to establish a safe, peaceful and prosperous future in space.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

Morocco signs the Artemis Accords https://t.co/zPUwMJCxWW pic.twitter.com/yrV2PWUhQe
— SpaceNews (@SpaceNews_Inc) April 30, 2026

Congratulations, Malta. Welcome to the Artemis Accords as we build toward the Moon, Mars, and beyond. pic.twitter.com/cAYPxkTj8g
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) May 4, 2026

The Third SLS Core Stage Booster Will Soon Complete Final Assembly While Integrity Is Back in Florida...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 03:45:00 +0000

NASA / Glenn Benson

NASA’s Artemis III Moon Rocket Hardware Arrives, Artemis II Capsule Returns to Kennedy (News Release)

On the heels of a successful Artemis II test flight, teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are pressing forward for the next Artemis mission. Technicians maneuvered NASA’s massive core stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket inside the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA Kennedy on April 28 in preparation for Artemis III, as the Artemis II crew module arrived back at Kennedy for post-flight analysis.

The Artemis III core stage will be placed horizontally in the transfer aisle of the VAB before being lifted into High Bay 2, where it will be connected to the engine section and its boat-tail, which were integrated in August 2025. At 212 feet tall when fully assembled, the core stage houses two propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to fuel four RS-25 engines, as well as the flight computers, or avionics, that act as the brains of the rocket to control flight during ascent. This marks the first time core stage assembly operations are taking place at NASA Kennedy.

Booster Motor Segments for Artemis III Processing

Other SLS hardware for Artemis III is arriving in Florida. The first shipment of booster motor segments for the flight arrived at Kennedy on April 13. These components will form the twin solid rocket boosters for SLS, which generate more than 75% of the rocket’s thrust at liftoff.

A second shipment of booster motor segments is expected this summer.

Shipped by rail across eight states in specialized transporters, the segments were manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah before making their journey to the spaceport. Teams are now processing the hardware inside Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where each segment will be inspected and prepared for integration.

Once ready, the motor segments will be moved to the VAB and stacked with forward and aft assemblies to form the towering, 17-story-tall boosters. Working together with the SLS core stage and its four RS-25 engines, the boosters will help produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust—powering Artemis III and future missions as NASA continues its campaign of lunar exploration.

Artemis II Orion Arrives at Kennedy

Arriving on the opposite side of the spaceport after carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon and returning them safely to Earth, Artemis II's Orion spacecraft Integrity arrived back at NASA Kennedy’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility.

Now at Kennedy, technicians will begin de-servicing operations on Integrity. This includes removing payloads from the crew module, removing avionics boxes for reuse, and retrieving data on the spacecraft to better understand how it performed to inform procedures and plans for future Artemis missions. Integrity’s heat shield and other elements will be removed for extensive analysis, and remaining hazards such as excess propellant will be offloaded.

While detailed Artemis II post-flight assessments are underway, engineers are completing major functional testing of the Artemis III Orion crew module at NASA Kennedy before joining it with its service module later this summer. All 186 Avcoat blocks for its upgraded heat shield have been installed, cured and inspected. Teams also completed thermal cycle testing and ultrasonic inspections of the heat shield.

The Artemis III Orion service module has successfully undergone thermal cycle testing, deployment checks of all four solar array wings, and installation of the adapter cone that connects Orion to the SLS rocket. NASA plans to integrate the crew and service modules with the launch abort system later this year.

Next year’s Artemis III mission will launch astronauts to Earth’s orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft on top of SLS to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land Artemis IV astronauts on the Moon in 2028.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Glenn Benson

NASA / Tiffany Fairley

The Booster for the Third SLS Flight Has Arrived at Cape Canaveral...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:35:00 +0000

NASA / Ben Smegelsky

NASA’s Artemis Core Stage Arrives at Kennedy (News Release)

The largest rocket section for NASA’s Artemis III mission arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27. The SLS (Space Launch System) core stage traveled 900 miles on the Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the stage is manufactured, to complete assembly of the massive rocket at NASA Kennedy.

Teams will transport the top four-fifths of the 212-foot-long core stage, the section containing the liquid hydrogen tank, liquid oxygen tank, intertank and forward skirt, on Tuesday, April 28 to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building to join the previously delivered boat-tail and engine section in the facility’s High Bay 2 for outfitting and vertical integration to complete the full stage.

Artemis III will launch crew aboard the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.

Watch a livestream of the unloading and transporting of the core stage to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy beginning at approximately 8 a.m. EDT on April 28.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Ben Smegelsky

Meeting the Next Crew Dragon Astronauts to Fly to the ISS...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 04:25:00 +0000

NASA

NASA Shares SpaceX Crew-13 Assignments for Space Station Mission (News Release - April 23)

As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission, four crew members from three space agencies will launch no earlier than mid-September to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition.

NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. They will be joined by CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, who will serve as mission specialists. After arriving at the orbiting laboratory, Crew-13 will become members of the space station’s Expedition 75.

This flight is the 13th crew rotation with SpaceX to the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA is advancing the launch date of Crew-13 from November to help increase the frequency of U.S. crew rotation missions to the space station. The crew will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and benefit people on Earth.

This will be the second flight to the space station for Watkins, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. Watkins grew up in Lafayette, Colorado, and earned an undergraduate degree in geological and environmental sciences from Stanford University, as well as a doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a geologist, she studied the Martian surface and was a member of the Curiosity rover science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Watkins first launched to the space station as a crew member aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission, spending a total of 170 days in space across Expeditions 67/68 in 2022. She will be the first NASA astronaut to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft twice.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Delaney earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of North Florida and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School. The Florida native is a distinguished naval aviator who participated in exercises throughout the Asia Pacific region and conducted missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As a test pilot, Delaney evaluated developmental aircraft systems and served as a test pilot instructor.

Delaney also worked as a research pilot at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he supported airborne science missions. This is the first spaceflight for Delaney.

The Crew-13 mission is also the first spaceflight for Kutryk. Prior to his selection as a CSA astronaut in 2017, he served as a CF-18 fighter pilot, flying missions in support of Canada’s NATO, U.N., and North American Aerospace Defense Command commitments. A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Kutryk also worked as an experimental and operational test pilot at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alberta.

Kutryk received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and he is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot school in Edwards, California. He has master’s degrees in space studies, flight test engineering, and defense studies.

Crew-13 will be Teteryatnikov’s first trip to the orbiting laboratory. He graduated from the Naval Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2011 as an engineer specializing in ship power plant operations. Before his selection as a test cosmonaut, Teteryatnikov served in various naval engineering roles, including undersea vessels and specialized engine room operations.

Teteryatnikov was selected for the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center Cosmonaut Corps in 2021 and has served as a test cosmonaut since 2023.

For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that aren’t possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low-Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

Nation #63 Has Joined NASA's Moon Exploration Initiative...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:57:00 +0000

NASA

NASA Welcomes Jordan as 63rd Artemis Accords Signatory (News Release)

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan signed the Artemis Accords on Thursday during a ceremony hosted by NASA at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, becoming the latest nation to commit to responsible space exploration to benefit humanity.

“It is my privilege to welcome Jordan as the newest signatory to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “By signing the accords today, Jordan brings valuable perspective and capabilities that will help expand the Golden Age of exploration for all mankind. They join at a pivotal moment, as we take the accords principles and put them into practice with humanity’s return to the Moon. Through Artemis, we’re going back to the lunar surface, with contributions from our international partners, to build a Moon Base and to stay.”

Ambassador Dina Kawar of Jordan signed the accords on behalf of the country. U.S. Department of State Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Ruth Perry also participated in the ceremony.

“Jordan has more engineers per capita than almost any country in the world,” said Kawar. “Through the National Council for Future Technologies, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein is ensuring that talent has a direction, transforming Jordan into a regional and global technology hub across AI, digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and now space. Today’s signing is proof that this ambition has no ceiling. We invite our American partners to build what comes next with us.”

In 2018, Jordan launched the JY1 satellite, a CubeSat developed by university students. The CubeSat transmitted images and audio from orbit after its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Jordan’s growing interest in space includes a privately-operated analog research facility in Wadi Rum, where the Jordan Space Research Initiative conducted its PETRA1 and PETRA2 missions in 2024 and 2025 to advance human spaceflight and planetary research for real-world benefits on Earth.

In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies. The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety and coordination between like-minded nations as they explore the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Signing the Artemis Accords means committing to explore peaceably and transparently, to render aid to those in need, to enable access to scientific data that all of humanity can learn from, to ensure activities do not interfere with those of others, and to preserve historically-significant sites and artifacts by developing best practices for space exploration for the benefit of all.

More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead, as NASA continues its work to establish a safe, peaceful and prosperous future in space.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA

Nation #62 Has Joined NASA's Moon Exploration Initiative...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 03:19:00 +0000

NASA

NASA Welcomes Latvia as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory (News Release - April 20)

The Republic of Latvia signed the Artemis Accords on Monday during a ceremony hosted by NASA at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, becoming the 62nd nation to commit to responsible space exploration for all of humanity.

“We are proud to welcome Latvia to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Each new signatory strengthens a coalition committed to the transparent and peaceful exploration of space. The accords are the foundation for real missions and real cooperation on the lunar surface, and Latvia’s commitment strengthens our shared vision for this next great era of exploration.”

Latvia’s Minister for Education and Science Dace Melbārde signed on behalf of the country. Chargé d’affaires a.i. at the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia to the United States Jānis Beķeris and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg also participated in the event.

“Today, Latvia aligns with a shared vision for humanity beyond Earth, grounded in international cooperation and the peaceful, transparent and responsible exploration of outer space,” said Melbārde. “By joining the Artemis Accords, we make a clear commitment to these principles. Latvia already contributes to the global space ecosystem through its industry and research, and we look forward to the opportunity to deepen cooperation with the United States and NASA, contributing to future space activities under the Artemis framework. Participation in the Artemis Accords is also an investment in the development of our students, researchers and innovators.”

Last month, NASA announced plans to return to the Moon routinely and affordably, establishing an enduring presence and building a sustained lunar base. More than 40 Artemis Accords countries across six continents sent representatives to Washington for the event, announcing new opportunities for exploration and science. The group represented more than two thirds of the current Artemis Accords signatories.

In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies. The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety and coordination between like-minded nations as they explore the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Signing the Artemis Accords means committing to explore peaceably and transparently, to render aid to those in need, to enable access to scientific data that all of humanity can learn from, to ensure that activities do not interfere with those of others, and to preserve historically-significant sites and artifacts by developing best practices for space exploration for the benefit of all.

More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead, as NASA continues its work to establish a safe, peaceful and prosperous future in space.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA

The Booster for the Third SLS Flight Will Soon Head to KSC...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 23:43:00 +0000

NASA / Eric Bordelon

NASA Rolls Out Artemis III Moon Rocket Core Stage (News Release)

Following the recent successful test flight of NASA’s Artemis II mission around the Moon, NASA rolled out the core stage, or the largest section, of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will launch the crewed Artemis III mission in 2027. The stage departed from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Monday for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking key progress on the path to the agency’s first crewed lunar landing mission to the Moon under the Artemis program in two years.

Using highly-specialized transporters, engineers maneuvered the top four-fifths of the SLS core stage, the section containing the liquid hydrogen tank, liquid oxygen tank, intertank and forward skirt, from inside NASA Michoud to the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to NASA Kennedy. After arrival, teams will complete the stage outfitting and vertical integration, and the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will stack the rocket’s components in preparation for launch.

“Seeing this SLS rocket hardware roll out is a powerful reminder of our progress toward returning humans to the lunar surface,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This is the backbone of Artemis III. As it heads to Florida for final integration, we are one step closer to testing the critical capabilities needed to land Americans on the Moon, and ultimately, paving the way for our first crewed missions to Mars.”

At 212 feet tall, the completed core stage will consist of the top four fifths of the rocket combined with its engine section. The top four-fifths include the two propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to fuel four RS-25 engines. During launch and flight, the fully-integrated stage will operate for more than eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to propel astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft into orbit.

Building, assembling and transporting the core stage is a collaborative process for two of NASA’s prime contractors, Boeing and L3Harris Technologies. Boeing is responsible for the overall design and assembly of the core stage, and L3Harris manufactures the rocket’s RS-25 engines. Recent announcements by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman enabled the agency to standardize the SLS configuration, streamline operations, and optimize production to accelerate the Artemis program.

Next year’s Artemis III mission will launch astronauts to Earth’s orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft on top of SLS to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land Artemis IV astronauts on the Moon in 2028. NASA’s SLS is the only rocket capable of sending Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

As part of the Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Michael DeMocker

NASA / Eric Bordelon

Boeing

Kennedy Space Center Will Soon Begin Ground Preps for Artemis 3...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 03:41:00 +0000

NASA / Kim Shiflett

NASA’s Mobile Launcher Arrives at Vehicle Assembly Building (News Release)

After successfully being used to launch the Artemis II lunar test flight on April 1, NASA’s Mobile Launcher is now inside NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in Florida in preparation for the Artemis III test flight mission's rocket-stacking operations.

NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program rolled the launcher on a 4-mile trek from Launch Complex 39B to the VAB along the crawlerway on April 16. The trip, which normally takes eight to 12 hours on top of the agency’s Crawler-Transporter 2, had several built-in pauses to allow teams to rest. The launcher arrived inside the VAB at 11:40 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 17.

Standing at 380 feet tall, the Mobile Launcher – which will be used to assemble, process and launch the Artemis III mission’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft – contains all of the connection lines, known as umbilicals, and ground support equipment that will provide the rocket and spacecraft with the power, communications, fuel and coolant necessary for launch. This was the Mobile Launcher’s last solo trek out to the launch pad ahead of integration of the SLS rocket, and it will remain inside the VAB until it is ready to return to the pad with the rocket.

Now inside the VAB, technicians and engineers will finish conducting Artemis II post-launch inspections and repairs in preparation for the Artemis III mission next year.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Kim Shiflett

NASA / Kim Shiflett

NASA / John Kraus

NASA / Kim Shiflett

NASA / Kim Shiflett

More Flight Components for the Third SLS Rocket Are Now Arriving in Florida...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:25:00 +0000

NASA / Frank Michaux

Artemis III SRB Arrival Unboxing - LH (Left-Hand) Booster Segment (Photo Release)

The left-hand forward solid rocket booster segment for NASA’s Artemis III SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is removed from its shipping container ahead of processing inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

The SLS rocket’s twin boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, will provide more than 75 percent of the SLS rocket’s total thrust at launch.

The Artemis III mission will launch crew in the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Frank Michaux

The Latest Update on America's Next-Generation Spaceplane...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:55:00 +0000

Sierra Space

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser® Spaceplane Successfully Completed Milestone at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (Press Release)

LOUISVILLE, Colo. – Sierra Space Corp. (“Sierra Space”), a defense-tech space company delivering solutions for the nation’s most critical missions and advancing the future of security in space, announced today the completion of launch acoustic testing for its Dream Chaser® spaceplane, Tenacity, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF). This milestone validates the spaceplane’s ability to withstand the intense vibrations produced from sound waves during a rocket launch as it prepares for its first flight to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).

Rigorous Testing for Launch Readiness

Acoustic testing at NASA’s SSPF utilized an array of 90 stacked speakers to simulate sound and airborne vibrations experienced during a rocket launch. The Dream Chaser spaceplane was positioned at the center of the test setup with its wings stowed, mirroring its configuration inside the 5-meter payload fairing during actual launch. The successful test validated the durability of Dream Chaser’s critical electronic systems and confirmed the structural integrity of the spacecraft.

“We believe Dream Chaser represents a transformative capability for space-based civilian and national security operations,” said Dr. Dan Polis, Dream Chaser program manager and vice president of Engineering at Sierra Space. “It is designed to carry both pressurized and unpressurized payloads, combined with reusability and gentle runway landings, making it ideal for missions critical and time-sensitive missions.”

Preparing for First Flight

Dream Chaser has achieved several key milestones, including EMI/EMC testing, high-speed tow testing, and a post-landing recovery rehearsal. It also demonstrated command and telemetry capabilities with Mission Control in Louisville, Colo, using NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.

With acoustic testing complete, Dream Chaser has been transported to Colorado for final modifications and mission-specific upgrades. On its first mission, the spaceplane will operate as a free-flying platform in support of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract.

Source: Sierra Space

Photo of the Day: Marking 45 Years Since the Launch of STS-1...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:39:00 +0000

NASA

Hail, Columbia! Just thought I'd share this iconic image of NASA's first space-worthy orbiter lifting off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A on April 12, 1981. And two days later, this test flight—known as STS-1—would come to a successful end when astronauts Robert Crippen and John Young piloted Columbia to a landing in the middle of a dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. And so began the 30-year space shuttle program that included such highlights as the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the deployment of the Magellan robotic probe to Venus, the send-off of the Galileo orbiter to Jupiter, and eventually, the commencement of construction on the International Space Station.

But sadly, this program would also include two tragedies that claimed the lives of 14 brave astronauts (in 1986 and 2003), and the in-flight loss of Columbia herself.

Even though Columbia didn't ultimately make her way into a museum like Enterprise, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour did, her legacy will live on. The storied space shuttle program gave rise to Artemis...which utilizes shuttle hardware on the Space Launch System and Orion, respectively, as they are now looking ahead to their third lunar flight on Artemis 3. Columbia may have spent all of her career in low-Earth orbit, but the amount of knowledge gleamed from flying her and her sister ships (excluding Enterprise, the orbiter prototype) for over three decades have no doubt played a role in guiding astronauts back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Columbia may be gone, but the spirit of human spaceflight (which began 60 years ago today with the launch of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on Vostok 1) remains stronger than ever. Ad astra.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: THE ARTEMIS 2 CREW IS SAFELY BACK ON EARTH!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 19:53:00 +0000

NASA \ Josh Valcarcel

Over nine days after embarking on their historic lunar trip from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis 2 astronauts are safely back on Earth! Their Orion capsule Integrity successfully splashed down into the Pacific Ocean 50 miles off the coast of San Diego at 5:07 pm, PDT yesterday.

A few hours after splashdown, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were transported back to shore by way of helicopters from the U.S. Navy recovery ship, USS John P. Murtha. The Artemis 2 crew then took a NASA charter jet back to Houston to reunite with their families. Navy personnel fully secured Integrity inside the well deck of the John P. Murtha earlier this morning.

With Artemis 2 now in the history books, NASA is looking ahead to Artemis 3...which is scheduled to launch on an Earth-orbiting test flight later next year! The core stage booster for Artemis 3's Space Launch System rocket will roll out of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans on April 20th—in preparation for its trip to Kennedy Space Center to complete final assembly and eventual launch preps. Stay tuned!

NASA

NASA

NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA / Bill Ingalls

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class David Rowe

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class David Rowe

NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA / Bill Ingalls

NASA / Bill Ingalls

NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA / Joel Kowsky

Do you have rocket fever? We have something for that.

Digital creators and social media storytellers are invited to register to attend the rollout of the Artemis III core stage from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans later this month. Registration is open from April… pic.twitter.com/fJwP00uhEi
— NASA (@NASA) April 7, 2026

Celebrating Artemis 2 Here in SoCal...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:17:00 +0000

Richard T. Par

As NASA's latest voyage to the Moon comes to an end later today, just thought I'd share these photos that I took as Artemis 2 was celebrated here in Los Angeles County.

In the images directly above and below, the Fox Theater in the city of Pomona—the hometown of Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover—honored Glover on the marquee sign above the theater's entrance. I should've taken this picture at night...as the neon lights at this theater would've made this photo look more interesting! Not that it needs to be more interesting; Pomona should be proud of the fact that one of its own, who is also the first African-American astronaut to leave Earth's gravity, flew to the Moon!

And the last two pictures in this entry are of the two Krispy Kreme doughnuts I bought that commemorated Artemis 2 during a special offer which began on March 31 and ends today. The doughnuts were delicious—but for health reasons, I definitely should only buy one next time. And as for the Artemis baseball cap, I do recall that I bought it online at The Space Store a few years back.

Have a nice weekend, everyone...and Godspeed on your safe return to Earth, Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy!

Richard T. Par

Richard T. Par

Richard T. Par

The Artemis 2 Astronauts Continue Their Journey Back to Earth...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:53:00 +0000

NASA

Crew Prepares to Come Home (News Release)

On their last full day in space, the Artemis II crew began the morning with Lonesome Drifter by Charley Crockett as they approached Earth at 147,337 miles.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will continue preparing for their return to Earth set for Friday, April 10, including reviewing re-entry and splashdown procedures and conducting a return trajectory correction burn.

Cabin configuration for re-entry

Koch and Hansen will begin by stowing equipment that they have had out during the mission, removing cargo and locker netting, installing and adjusting crew seats to ensure all items are secured before their return to Earth. As part of the day’s activities, the crew will review the latest weather briefing, recovery force status, and entry timeline. Throughout the day, they will also work through post‑landing operations.

Another push home

Orion’s thrusters are scheduled to ignite for the second return trajectory correction burn at 9:53 p.m. EDT to fine‑tune the spacecraft’s path towards Earth. The maneuver will further refine Orion’s trajectory and ensure that the spacecraft remains aligned for atmospheric re-entry. During the burn, Hansen will review the procedure steps and monitor Orion’s guidance, navigation and propulsion systems.

Preparing for splashdown

As Artemis II nears its return to Earth, NASA teams on the ground are completing final preparations for Orion’s re-entry and splashdown around 8:07 p.m. (5:07 p.m. PDT) on Friday, April 10, off the coast of San Diego.

The agency will continue to provide updates about the test flight during the daily mission briefing. Today’s mission status briefing is at 3:30 p.m. and will stream on NASA’s 24/7 coverage on the agency’s YouTube channel.

During re-entry, the service module will separate around 7:33 p.m., about 20 minutes before Orion reaches the upper atmosphere southeast of Hawaii. At 7:37 p.m., a final trajectory‑adjustment burn will fine‑tune the flight path before the spacecraft begins a series of roll maneuvers to safely distance itself from departing hardware. Orion will reach its maximum velocity — approximately 23,864 mph — just before entry interface.

As Orion descends through about 400,000 feet, the spacecraft will enter a planned six‑minute communications blackout at 7:53 p.m. as plasma forms around the capsule during peak heating. The crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs in a nominal landing profile.

After emerging from blackout, Orion will jettison its forward bay cover, deploy its drogue parachutes near 22,000 feet at 8:03 p.m., and then unfurl its three main parachutes around 6,000 feet at 8:04 p.m. to slow the capsule for splashdown off the coast of San Diego.

Within two hours after splashdown, the crew will be extracted from Orion and flown to the USS John P. Murtha. Recovery teams will retrieve the crew using helicopters, and once aboard the ship, the astronauts will undergo post‑mission medical evaluations before returning to shore to board an aircraft bound for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA

🚨📰 #USNAVY UPDATE: USS John P. Murtha to support NASA's Artemis II mission

SAN DIEGO – Amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is slated to serve as the recovery ship for the Orion spacecraft and its crew upon their return from the historic Artemis II… pic.twitter.com/eMUDr04rhP
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) April 8, 2026

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: THE ARTEMIS 2 ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE THEIR HISTORIC FLYBY OF THE MOON...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 06:59:00 +0000

NASA

I'm at a loss for words in terms of what to say about all of these amazing images that were taken by the Artemis 2 astronauts during their historic lunar flyby yesterday, so I'll let these pictures do most of the talking!

From 'Earthset' photos to otherwordly images of the Orion spacecraft passing behind the Moon during a solar eclipse that couldn't be witnessed by anyone here on Earth, this treasure trove of pictures will obviously be gracing science and history books for generations to come. Well-done, Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy!

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

Orion Continues to Stay the Course on its Journey towards the Moon...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 06:59:00 +0000

NASA

Outbound Trajectory Correction Burn Update (News Release)

NASA’s Artemis II crew in Orion continues on a precise trajectory to fly by the Moon on Monday, April 6. Flight controllers in mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston elected to cancel the spacecraft’s first outbound trajectory correction burn, as the spacecraft’s trajectory is on the right flight path.

This burn was the first of three planned trajectory adjustments in the mission timeline to fine‑tune the spacecraft’s velocity and trajectory. Any adjustments needed may be incorporated into a subsequent correction burn.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA

The Artemis 2 Astronauts Are Officially Headed to their Lunar Destination...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:59:00 +0000

NASA / Reid Wiseman

Orion Completes TLI Burn, Crew Begins Journey to the Moon (News Release)

NASA’s Artemis II crew is on the way to the Moon.

After the mission management team polled “Go” on Thursday, NASA’s Orion spacecraft fired its main engine for five minutes and 50 seconds beginning at 7:49 p.m. EDT, to successfully complete the translunar injection (TLI) burn, sending the crew in Orion out of Earth orbit and on a trajectory towards the Moon.

Orion’s main engine provides up to 6,700 pounds of thrust, enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 mph in about 2.7 seconds. At the time of the burn, Orion’s mass was 58,000 pounds and burned approximately 1,000 pounds of fuel during the firing.

Crew members are also spending time exercising on the spacecraft’s flywheel exercise device. During exercise, teams on the ground monitored the spacecraft’s air revitalization system, which maintains a breathable, comfortable cabin environment for the crew, and assessed how exercise impacts movement of the spacecraft.

The flywheel uses a simple cable‑based mechanism that supports both aerobic exercises like rowing and resistive movements such as squats and deadlifts. Operating much like a yo‑yo, the device provides resistance proportional to the force applied, allowing loads up to 400 pounds. This capability is especially important in deep space, where astronauts do not have access to the extensive exercise equipment aboard the International Space Station.

On the station, crews rely on more than 4,000 pounds of exercise hardware spread across roughly 850 cubic feet. In contrast, Orion’s flywheel weighs just 30 pounds and is about the size of a carry‑on suitcase—meeting the strict mass and volume constraints of deep‑space missions while still supporting crew health and reentry readiness.

The crew members – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – have successfully checked out the AVATAR scientific payload.

Engineers also determined that a brief loss of two-way communications between the ground and crew that occurred shortly after the crew reached orbit was due to a ground configuration issue involving the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system. The issue was rectified quickly with no impact to mission operations.

Lunar Science Team Prepares for Flyby

After the TLI burn that sent Orion on its path to the Moon, the lunar science team began building a Lunar Targeting Plan, a guide to what the crew will look at on the Moon’s surface during its approximately six-hour observation on Monday, April 6.

The targeting plan will include documenting features that can help scientists understand how the Moon and Solar System formed, such as craters, ancient lava flows, and cracks and ridges created as the Moon’s outer layer slowly shifted over time.

One feature that will be added to the plan is a solar eclipse, which will last for nearly an hour towards the end of the flyby window. During the eclipse, the Sun will be hidden from view as it moves behind the Moon from the perspective of Orion. The crew will see a mostly-dark Moon at this time — an opportunity for them to look for flashes of light from meteoroids striking the Moon’s surface, dust lofting above the edge of the Moon, and deep space targets, including planets.

While the Sun slides behind the Moon, the crew will observe the solar corona, the Sun’s outermost atmosphere, while it’s visible.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Reid Wiseman

THE FIRST CREWED LUNAR FLIGHT SINCE 1972 HAS BEGUN!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:35:00 +0000

NASA / Keegan Barber

Liftoff! NASA Launches Astronauts on Historic Artemis Moon Mission (News Release)

Spurred by American ingenuity, astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission are in flight, preparing for the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT Wednesday, sending four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a planned test flight around the Moon and back.

“Today’s launch marks a defining moment for our nation and for all who believe in exploration. Aboard Orion are four remarkable explorers preparing for the first crewed flight of this rocket and spacecraft, a true test mission that will carry them farther and faster than any humans in a generation,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Artemis II is the start of something bigger than any one mission. It marks our return to the Moon, not just to visit, but to eventually stay on our Moon Base, and lays the foundation for the next giant leaps ahead.”

The successful launch is the beginning of an approximately 10-day mission for NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. As the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, among its objectives, the flight will demonstrate life support systems for the first time with crew and lay the foundation for an enduring presence on the Moon ahead of future missions to Mars.

After reaching space, Orion deployed its solar array wings, enabling the spacecraft to receive energy from the Sun, while the crew and engineers on the ground immediately began transitioning the spacecraft from launch to flight operations to start checking out key systems.

“Artemis II is a test flight, and the test has just begun. The team that built this vehicle, repaired it, and prepared it for flight has given our crew the machine they need to go prove what it can do,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “Over the next 10 days, Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy will put Orion through its paces so the crews who follow them can go to the Moon’s surface with confidence. We are one mission into a long campaign, and the work ahead of us is greater than the work behind us.”

About 49 minutes into the test flight, the SLS rocket’s upper stage fired to put Orion into an elliptical orbit around Earth. A second planned burn by the stage will propel Orion, which the crew named Integrity into a high-Earth orbit extending about 46,000 miles beyond Earth. After the burn, Orion will separate from the stage, flying free on its own.

In several hours, a ring on the rocket’s upper stage, which will be a safe distance away from the spacecraft, will deploy four CubeSats – small satellites from Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, German Aerospace Center, Korea AeroSpace Administration, and Saudi Space Agency – to perform scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.

The spacecraft will remain in high-Earth orbit for about a day, where the crew will conduct a manual pilot demonstration to test Orion’s handling capabilities. The astronauts, with Mission Control Center teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will continue checking spacecraft systems.

If all systems remain healthy, mission controllers will give Orion’s European-built service module a command to conduct the translunar injection burn on Thursday, April 2. This move is an approximately six-minute firing to send the spacecraft on a trajectory that will simultaneously carry crew around the Moon, while also harnessing lunar gravity to slingshot them back to Earth.

During a planned multi-hour lunar flyby on Monday, April 6, the astronauts will take photographs and provide observations of the Moon’s surface as the first people to lay eyes on some areas of the far side. Although the lunar far side will only be partially illuminated during the flyby, the conditions should create shadows that stretch across the surface, enhancing relief and revealing depth, ridges, slopes and crater rims that are often difficult to detect under full illumination. Crew observations and other human health scientific investigations during the mission, such as AVATAR, will inform science during future Moon missions.

Following a successful lunar flyby, the astronauts will return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

As part of the Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Aubrey Gemignani

NASA / Aubrey Gemignani

NASA / Keegan Barber

NASA / Keegan Barber

NASA / Bill Ingalls

NASA / Joel Kowsky

Brian Lail

NASA

NASA

The Clock Is Now Ticking Down to the First Crewed Flight to the Moon in Over 53 Years...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 04:29:00 +0000

NASA / Bill Ingalls

NASA’s Artemis II Launch Mission Countdown Begins (News Release)

The countdown for NASA’s Artemis II test flight is underway at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with members of the launch team arriving at their consoles inside the Rocco Petrone Launch Control Center. The onsite countdown clock started ticking down at 4:44 p.m. EDT to a targeted launch time of 6:24 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. Artemis II is the first crewed launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft.

With countdown officially underway, engineers are powering up flight hardware, checking communication links, and preparing the rocket’s cryogenic systems for the precise fueling sequence required to load hundreds of thousands of gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. At Launch Complex 39B, teams will begin filling the sound suppression system’s massive tank with water, which will unleash a protective deluge at liftoff to shield the vehicle from the roar of its own engines.

The Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, remains in Astronaut Crew Quarters inside NASA Kennedy’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. The crewmates have spent the final countdown phase focused on readiness and technical verification, remaining in quarantine under strict health monitoring and completing medical checks to ensure fitness for launch. They have been following a controlled sleep schedule and nutrition plan to maintain energy and hydration for launch, while continuing to receive regular updates on the rocket’s configuration and weather conditions from crew quarters.

NASA and weather officers with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 continue to pay close attention to weather conditions ahead of tanking operations. The weather forecast for launch day shows an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions with primary concerns being cloud coverage and the potential for high winds in the area. Teams will continue to monitor the weather in the coming days.

Broadcast coverage begins with live views and audio commentary of tanking operations beginning at 7:45 a.m. on April 1, on NASA’s YouTube channel, as teams load propellant into the SLS rocket. Full coverage on NASA+ begins at 12:50 p.m. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

Clock is running. pic.twitter.com/8in1FtYFXh
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) March 31, 2026

The First Astronauts to Embark on a Lunar Journey Since 1972 Have Arrived in Florida for their Mission...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:27:00 +0000

NASA / Kim Shiflett

Artemis II Crew Arrives at Launch Site, Shares Moon Mascot (News Release)

The four astronauts set to fly around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II test flight arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 27. NASA continues to target as soon as Wednesday, April 1, for launch within a two-hour window that opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT.

During remarks at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility, Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman announced “Rise,” designed by Lucas Ye of Mountain View, California, as the zero-gravity indicator that will fly with the crew around the Moon. “Rise” was inspired by the iconic Earthrise moment from the Apollo 8 mission. A zero-gravity indicator is a small plush item that typically rides with a crew to visually indicate when they are in space.

The design was selected from more than 2,600 submissions from over 50 countries, including K-12 students, that were part of a Moon Mascot contest. During the selection process, the crew narrowed a list of 25 finalists to five top designs, including:

-- “Big Steps of Little Octopus,” Anzhelika Iudakova, Finland
-- “Corey the Explorer,” Daniela Colina, Peru
-- “Creation Mythos,” Johanna Beck, McPherson, Kansas
-- “Lepus the Moon Rabbit,” Oakville Trafalgar School, Canada
-- “Rise,” Lucas Ye, Mountain View, California

While work continues to prepare the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and ground systems for launch, the crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will review their launch day timeline and mission activities, participate in medical checkouts, and spend time with family.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA

Artemis Update: The Lunar Gateway Has Been Shelved in Favor of a Moon Base, While a Nuclear-powered Mission Heads to Mars in 2028...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 05:53:00 +0000

NASA

NASA Unveils Initiatives to Achieve America’s National Space Policy (News Release)

As part of its Ignition event on Tuesday, NASA announced a series of transformative agencywide initiatives designed to achieve the president's National Space Policy and advance American leadership in space. These actions reflect the urgency of the moment, but also the tremendous opportunity ahead for world-changing science and discovery.

“NASA is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again, to build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space. This is why it is essential we leave an event like Ignition with complete alignment on the national imperative that is our collective mission. The clock is running in this great‑power competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

“If we concentrate NASA’s extraordinary resources on the objectives of the National Space Policy, clear away needless obstacles that impede progress, and unleash the workforce and industrial might of our nation and partners, then returning to the Moon and building a base will seem pale in comparison to what we will be capable of accomplishing in the years ahead.”

NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said, “Today we are aligning NASA around the mission. On the Moon, we are shifting to a focused, phased architecture that builds capability landing by landing, incrementally, and in alignment with our industrial and international partners. In low-Earth orbit (LEO), we are recognizing where the market is and where it isn’t, recognizing the incredible value of the International Space Station, and building a transition that builds a competitive commercial ecosystem rather than forcing a single outcome the market cannot support.

"In our science missions, we are opening the lunar surface to researchers and students nationwide, and with Space Reactor‑1 Freedom, we are finally putting nuclear propulsion on a trajectory out of the laboratory and into deep space. And this is all possible by investing in our people, bringing critical skills back into the agency, putting our teams where the machines are being built, and creating real pathways for the next generation of NASA leaders. Our workforce is the jewel of NASA, and from their leaders, they need clear mission goals, the tools to execute, and to get out of their way. This is what Ignition is about.”

Going back to the Moon

The announcements build on recent updates to the Artemis program, including standardizing the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket configuration, adding an additional mission in 2027, and undertaking at least one surface landing every year thereafter. Under this previously updated architecture, Artemis III – scheduled for 2027 – will focus on testing integrated systems and operational capabilities in Earth orbit in advance of the Artemis IV lunar landing.

Looking beyond Artemis V, NASA announced on March 24 that it will begin to incorporate more commercially-procured and reusable hardware to undertake frequent and affordable crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially targeting landings every six months, with the potential to increase cadence as capabilities mature.

To achieve an enduring human presence on the Moon, NASA also announced a phased approach to building a lunar base. As part of this strategy, the agency intends to pause Gateway in its current form and shift focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations. Despite challenges with some existing hardware, the agency will repurpose applicable equipment and leverage international partner commitments to support these objectives.

In the coming days, NASA will release Requests for Information (RFIs) and draft Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to ensure continued progress in meeting national objectives.

Building the Moon Base

NASA’s plan for establishing a sustained lunar presence will roll out in three deliberate phases.

-- Phase One: Build, Test, Learn
NASA shifts from bespoke, infrequent missions to a repeatable, modular approach. Through CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) deliveries and the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) program, the agency will increase the tempo of lunar activity, sending rovers, instruments and technology demonstrations that advance mobility, power generation (including radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators), communications, navigation, surface operations, and a wide range of scientific investigations.

-- Phase Two: Establish Early Infrastructure
With lessons from early missions in hand, NASA moves toward semi‑habitable infrastructure and regular logistics. This phase supports recurring astronaut operations on the surface and incorporates major international contributions, including JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) pressurized rover, and potentially other partner scientific payloads, rovers, and infrastructure/transportation capabilities.

--Phase Three: Enable Long‑Duration Human Presence
As cargo‑capable Human Landing Systems (HLS) come online, NASA will deliver heavier infrastructure needed for a continuous human foothold on the Moon, marking the transition from periodic expeditions to a permanent lunar base. This will include ASI’s (Italian Space Agency) Multi-purpose Habitats (MPH), CSA’s (Canadian Space Agency) Lunar Utility Vehicle, and opportunities for additional contributions in habitation, surface mobility and logistics.

Ensuring American presence in low-Earth orbit

While building a sustainable lunar architecture, NASA is also reaffirming its commitment to low-Earth orbit. For more than two decades, the International Space Station has served as a world‑class orbital laboratory, enabling more than 4,000 research investigations, supporting more than 5,000 researchers, and hosting visitors from 26 countries. The space station required 37 shuttle flights, 160 spacewalks, two decades, and more than $100 billion to design, develop and build.

The orbital laboratory cannot operate indefinitely. The transition to commercial stations must be thoughtful, deliberate and structured to support long‑term industry success.

NASA is introducing and seeking industry feedback on an additional LEO strategy that preserves all current pathways while adding a phased, International Space Station‑anchored approach to avoid any gap in U.S. human presence and mature a robust commercial ecosystem. Under this alternative approach, NASA would procure a government‑owned Core Module that attaches to the space station, followed by commercial modules that are validated using International Space Station capabilities and later detach into free flight. After maturing technical and operational capabilities and market demand is realized, the stations would detach and NASA would be one of many customers purchasing commercial services.

To stimulate the orbital economy, NASA would expand industry opportunities, including private astronaut missions, commander seat sales, joint missions, multiple module competitions, and prize‑based awards.

An industry RFI opens on Wednesday, March 25, to inform partnership structures, financing, and risk mitigation.

Advancing world-changing discovery with current, developing science missions

In a Golden Age of exploration and discovery, NASA takes full advantage of every opportunity to get science into space. The James Webb Space Telescope continues to transform our understanding of the early Universe, Parker Solar Probe has flown through the atmosphere of the Sun, NASA has shown that it can defend the planet by deflecting asteroids, and Earth science data is used extensively by American companies, U.S. agriculture, and disaster relief. On the International Space Station, NASA is conducting groundbreaking experiments in quantum science.

Future opportunities will advance U.S. leadership in space science. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching as early as this fall, will advance our understanding of dark energy, and has created a new standard for the management of large science missions. Dragonfly will launch a nuclear-powered octocopter in 2028, arriving at Saturn’s moon Titan in 2034 to explore its complex, organic-rich environment.

In 2028, NASA will launch and deliver ESA’s (European Space Agency) Rosalind Franklin Rover to Mars, with NASA’s contributed mass spectrometer for the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) instrument, which may result in the most advanced detection and analysis of organic matter ever conducted on Mars. A new Earth science mission launching next year will measure for the first time the evolution of the dynamics within convective storms to improve the prediction of extreme weather events up to six hours before the storm occurs.

The agency detailed how advancements in lunar science will also be afforded by the build out of the Moon Base and underpin future Moon and Mars exploration. With an accelerated CLPS cadence, targeting up to 30 robotic landings starting in 2027, NASA is expediting delivery of science and technology to the lunar surface. There will be many opportunities for payload delivery including rovers, hoppers and drones with contributions welcomed from industry, academia and international partners.

Near-term payloads include the VIPER rover and the LuSEE‑Night mission. An RFI will be released on March 24 that calls for payloads capable of supporting NASA’s science and technology goals for additional 2027 and 2028 flights. It will enable students and researchers across the country to work on scientific instruments for use on the surface of the Moon in the years ahead.

This RFI will also solicit payloads incorporated on future missions to Mars including the Mars Telecom Network (MTN) and a nuclear technology demonstration mission.

The agency intends to partner with philanthropic and privately-funded research organizations with shared objectives in space science.

Other RFIs released on March 24 will strengthen “Science as a Service” partnerships and commercial capabilities, allowing NASA to streamline legacy operations and focus investment on the transformational missions that only the agency can lead.

Finally, NASA will unveil a previously unseen pair of images from the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes. These images show the planet Saturn in unprecedented detail in both infrared and visible wavelengths.

America underway on nuclear power in space

In addition to these scientific missions, after decades of study and in response to the National Space Policy, NASA announced a major step forward in bringing nuclear power and propulsion from the lab to space.

NASA will launch the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom, the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028, demonstrating advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space. Nuclear electric propulsion provides an extraordinary capability for efficient mass transport in deep space and enables high power missions beyond Jupiter where solar arrays are not effective.

When SR-1 Freedom reaches Mars, it will deploy the Skyfall payload of Ingenuity‑class helicopters to continue exploring the Red Planet. SR-1 Freedom will establish flight heritage nuclear hardware, set regulatory and launch precedent, and activate the industrial base for future fission power systems across propulsion, surface, and long‑duration missions. NASA and its U.S. Department of Energy partner will unlock the capabilities required for sustained exploration beyond the Moon and eventual journeys to Mars and the outer Solar System.

None of these endeavors can succeed without the NASA workforce. As previously announced, the agency is rebuilding its core competencies, converting thousands of contractor positions to civil service, and restoring the engineering, technical and operational strengths expected of the world’s premier space organization.

NASA is expanding opportunities for interns and early‑career professionals and, in partnership with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and NASA Force, is creating new pathways for experienced industry talent to serve through term‑based appointments. The agency is also seeking to open opportunities for NASA employees to gain valuable experience working within the most technologically-advanced space industry in history.

The changes announced on March 24 will be implemented during the coming months, with teams agencywide ensuring a smooth transition while advancing key programs and partnerships.

NASA will embed subject‑matter experts across the supply chain – at every major vendor, subcontractor and critical‑path component – to challenge assumptions, solve problems, accelerate production, and help ensure that the right outcomes are achieved.

Through these reforms, NASA is strengthening its ability to deliver on the president’s National Space Policy and ensure continued American superiority in space.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC), Michael Wong (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

.@NASAMoonBase has landed on X. Join us as we explore, innovate, and build a sustained human presence on the Moon. pic.twitter.com/qNgYX8cJWU
— NASA (@NASA) March 24, 2026

SLS Has Returned to its Pad for a Flight Attempt on April 1...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:33:00 +0000

NASA / Aubrey Gemignani

NASA’s Artemis II Rocket Arrives at Launch Complex 39B (News Release)

At 11:21 a.m. EDT on Friday, March 20, NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at Launch Complex (LC)-39B after an 11-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA’s Crawler-Transporter 2 began its 4-mile trek with the integrated SLS and Orion stacked on top of the Mobile Launcher at 12:20 a.m. EDT. Moving at a maximum speed of just 0.82 mph, the crawler carried the 322-foot-tall Moon rocket and spacecraft slowly and steadily toward the pad.

Now that the rocket is at LC-39B, NASA teams are gearing up for the final stretch of prelaunch preparations ahead of launch as soon as Wednesday, April 1. The early April launch window includes opportunities through Monday, April 6.

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Christina Koch of NASA, along with CSA’s (Canadian Space Agency) Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen will embark on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back.

As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, Artemis II is another step towards new U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon’s surface, leading to a sustained presence on the Moon that will help the agency prepare to send astronauts to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

SLS Is on its Way Back to LC-39B...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 04:59:00 +0000

NASA / Joel Kowsky

Artemis II Moon Rocket Heads Back to Launch Pad (News Release)

NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft slated to send four astronauts around the Moon began rolling to Launch Complex 39B at 12:20 a.m. EDT on Friday, March 20. Rollout operations at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida were delayed earlier in the day due to high winds in the area.

The trek to the pad is expected to take up to 12 hours, as NASA’s Crawler-Transporter 2 carefully carries the rocket on top of the Mobile Launcher approximately 4 miles along the crawlerway. A live feed of the rollout is available on NASA’s YouTube channel.

Following a successful wet dress rehearsal on February 21, teams identified an issue preventing helium from flowing to the rocket’s upper stage, prompting a return to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where the issue was repaired.

While the rocket and spacecraft were in the VAB, engineers also refreshed and retested several systems on the rocket. Engineers activated a new set of flight termination system batteries, replaced other batteries on the upper stage, core stage, and solid rocket boosters, and charged Orion’s launch abort system batteries. Engineers also replaced a seal on the core stage liquid oxygen feed line and reassembled and retested the oxygen tail service mast umbilical plate to confirm a tight seal interface.

Artemis II will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back, marking the first crewed flight of the Artemis program.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA / Joel Kowsky

SLS Will Return to the Pad a Week from Today for its Second Moon Mission Next Month!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 03:43:00 +0000

NASA / Aubrey Gemignani

Artemis II Flight Readiness Polls Go to Proceed Toward April Launch (News Release)

NASA completed the agency’s Artemis II Flight Readiness Review on Thursday, March 12, and polled “go” to proceed towards launch. NASA is targeting Thursday, March 19, to roll the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Complex 39B in advance of a launch attempt on Wednesday, April 1, pending closeout of remaining open work.

Agency leaders provided updates about the outcome of the readiness review in a news conference.

Source: NASA.Gov

****

NASA