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Hera Beats the Weather – Sets Sights on Dual Asteroid

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft has lifted off on a unique mission to the binary asteroid pair Didymos and Dimorphos. The probe will seek new insights into planetary defense techniques that could protect the Earth from asteroid impacts in the future, following up on NASA’s DART mission which intentionally struck Dimorphos in September of 2022.

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FAA Waives Hera Launch – Falcon 9 Remains Grounded

Falcon 9 currently finds itself in the midst of its third grounding in 2024. Following a successful launch of the Crew-9 mission and crew aboard Crew Dragon Freedom on September 28th, the Falcon 9 second stage experienced an anomaly during its deorbit burn, causing it to fall outside of the designated safe zone.

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Crew-9 Launches Two Astronauts to ISS

SpaceX’s ninth crew rotation to the International Space Station is underway, carrying two crew members uphill to the orbiting laboratory. Crew-9 evaded stormy weather to lift off on September 28th, 2024 at 1:17 PM EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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Crew-9 Set to Launch with Two Astronauts

In periods of uncertainty, one thing is clear in spaceflight – the show must go on. With this mantra in mind, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are preparing to launch on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.

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SpaceX Makes Adjustments For Crew Dragon’s Future

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has been a resounding success, both for SpaceX itself and for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. After ending a 9-year gap in the United States’ crewed launch capability, the spacecraft has become the de facto leader in the developing commercial orbital economy.

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Polaris Program Aims High with First Commercial Spacewalk

On September 10, 2024, one of the farthest-reaching civilian missions in human history lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aiming to smash records and push boundaries in support of human spaceflight objectives. The Polaris Dawn mission, launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9, also completed the first commercial spacewalk, with Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis exiting the spacecraft for an extravehicular activity (EVA) lasting just under two hours.

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New Glenn Comes Together, but Plans Change

On Friday, September 6th 2024, NASA announced an official delay of the EscaPADE mission’s launch to March of 2025. The agency specified that the decision came at potential risk to spacecraft health in the event that the twin Mars orbiters had to be unfueled following a launch delay. Regardless, work continues towards the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn.

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ISS Crews Face Upcoming Shakeups amid Curtailed Seat Exchanges

In an age marked by aggression and deterioration of relationships, it appears that the end of a long standing practice, seat exchange on partner vehicles, is coming to an end – thrusting the station into a period of uncertainty as it faces the twilight years of its operation.

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Pressure Mounts as New Glenn Nears Launch Date

2024 is far from over and another new rocket is still expected to earn its wings: Blue Origin’s New Glenn.
If all proceeds according to plan it could happen in less than 60 days. However, substantial milestones remain incomplete, raising questions on the rocket’s readiness.

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A Graceful Exit, Part 2: What Comes After ISS?

The end of the International Space Station will mark a tectonic shift in human spaceflight. The ISS program united the efforts of fifteen nations, including a landmark union between the United States and Russia, and citizens from eight other countries have since visited the orbiting laboratory. Now, approaching retirement, we begin to ask the question of what comes next?

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Blue Origin, SpaceX, ULA Selected for National Security Missions

In an announcement on June 13th, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin were selected for the Department of Defense’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 program. All three providers are now eligible to compete for a series of 30+ launches, with a combined value of $5.6 billion.

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Starliner Launches first Crew to ISS

On June 5, 2024 at 10:52 AM, America’s newest crew capable spacecraft lifted off from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. 61 years, 21 days, 1 hour, 48 minutes and 1 second since Atlas LV-3B 130-D launched Gordon Cooper into orbit aboard Faith 7, the mighty Atlas V continues the dream.

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Boeing and NASA Prepare for Crewed Flight Test

On May 6th, 2024, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is set to fly for the third time, this time carrying its most important cargo to date: a human crew. Flown by veteran NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, this mission intends to fully certify the vehicle for human flight.

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NASA’s Newest Ocean Mission Takes Flight

After nearly nine years of planning, preparation, and even once being slated for cancellation entirely, NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Earth-observation mission lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on February 8, at 1:33:36 AM.

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ESA Shuffles Copernicus Sats Amidst Launcher Uncertainty

Amidst schedule delays and uncertainties surrounding the return to flight of the Vega launch vehicle, the European Space Agency and European Commission are considering the purchase of an American Falcon 9 rocket to launch their Sentinel-1C climate satellite, with a decision expected in the coming days or weeks.

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Crew-2 is set for an early morning liftoff tomorrow – here’s what to expect

Crew-2 is set to liftoff April 23 at 5:49 a.m. ET – here’s everything you need to know, including full detailed timelines of the mission.

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Crew-1: What to expect for SpaceX’s first operational crew flight

NOV. 14, 2020–With just a day and a half to go before the first operational Commercial Crew mission, we’ve compiled some information as a guide to help you get the best experience out of Crew-1.

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