Voyager 1 spent the last 47 years hurtling in a straight line away from Earth, exploring the deepest reaches of space that humanity has ever ventured. However, NASA must carefully manage Voyager 1 as the probe ages and slowly breaks down 15 billion miles away from the closest person. The most pressing dilemma is a … Read more
Photo: NASA On Friday NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had their first news conference from the International Space Station since the Boeing Starliner returned to Earth empty last week. While the pair wouldn’t discuss the troubled spacecraft in detail, they made it clear that NASA and themselves weren’t comfortable with going back on … Read more
A white spacecraft, lightly toasted like a marshmallow and smelling of singed metal, fell out of the night sky early on Sunday morning and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico not all that far from Key West. The darkened waters there were carefully chosen from among dozens of potential landing spots near Florida. This … Read more
There are a few basic things in life that should be free for everyone: water, education and sunlight. Sadly, there’s now a Californian startup hoping to monetize the latter with a fleet of mirrored satellites that offer on-demand sunlight. In order to show off what the tech could one day do, Reflect Orbital released a … Read more
Until now, NASA has paid Boeing roughly $2.7 billion of the $4.6 billion total potential value of its commercial crew contract, according to Finch. The Starliner contract NASA awarded Boeing in 2014 originally had a maximum value of $4.2 billion, but contract modifications since 2014 have added $400 million to the deal. Most of the … Read more
Boeing’s Starliner mission has been an utter cock up for the aerospace company. Shortly after the craft launched to the International Space Station with two astronauts onboard, issues were found with the craft that mean Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will now be stuck in space until 2025. Now, it’s emerged that the harsh realities … Read more
With no consensus on the safety of the Starliner crew capsule, NASA officials said Wednesday they need another week or two before deciding whether to bring two astronauts back to Earth on Boeing’s spacecraft or extend their stay on the International Space Station until next year. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, stricken by suspect thrusters and helium … Read more
A chunk of Mir is probably sitting perfectly preserved on the Pacific Ocean floorPhoto: NASA The final point of many space missions is an extremely isolated spot in the South Pacific Ocean, where spacecraft are splashed down and never seen again. Much of the focus on the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission has been on a … Read more
During a news conference on Wednesday, NASA officials for the first time publicly discussed divisions within the agency about whether the Starliner spacecraft is really reliable enough to return two veteran astronauts—Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—back to Earth from the International Space Station. The space agency also confirmed key elements exclusively reported by Ars over … Read more
It has now been eight weeks since Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launched into orbit on an Atlas V rocket, bound for the International Space Station. At the time NASA officials said the two crew members, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, could return to Earth as soon as June 14, just eight days later. Yes, there had … Read more
