Aerospace
4,410 news found
AerospaceProgress 51 cargo craft undocks from the International Space Station
Houston, USA - The "Albert Eisntein" will arrive on June 15
A trash-filled ISS Progress 51 resupply craft undocked from the aft-end port of the Zvezda service module Tuesday at 9:58 am EDT (1:58 pm GMT/UTC). Commander Pavel Vinogradov closed the Russian cargo craft’s h... more
AerospaceNASA's Orion spacecraft successfully passes its static loads tests
Orlando, Usa - First flight scheduled in September 2014
After a month of being poked, prodded and pressurized in ways that mimicked the stresses of spaceflight, the Orion crew module of the American space agency NASA successfully passed its static loads tests. When... more
AerospaceAriane 5 rocket with ATV-4 on its way to the International Space Station (VIDEO)
Kourou, French Guinea - The arrival at the orbiting laboratory is scheduled on June 15
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo craft (ATV-4) launched atop an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou Spaceport, French Guiana, at 5:52 pm EDT on Wednesday (9:52 pm GMT/UTC) to... more
AerospaceNASA gets ready to launch the satellite which will perform the best Sun observation ever
Houston, USA - IRIS is scheduled to leave on June 26
The American space agency NASA is about to launch a new scientific satellite, which will provide the most detailed look ever at the sun's lower atmosphere or interface region. The Interface Region... more
AerospaceESA: ten years at Mars
Rome, Italy - New global maps of Mars released on the 10th anniversary
New global maps of Mars released on the 10th anniversary of the launch of ESA’s Mars Express trace the history of water and volcanic activity on the Red Planet, and identify sites of special interest f... more
AerospaceAsteroid 1998 QE2 to fly close to Earth tonight (VIDEO)
Rome, Italy - Radar imagery reveal that the celestial body has its own satellite
The asteroid 1998 QE2 will fly close to the Earth in the evening of Friday 31 May 2013: the closest approach of the asteroid will occur at 8:59 pm GMT/UTC, when the celestial body will get no closer than... more
AerospaceThree new crew members on the ISS, celebrations at the Italian Space Agency (VIDEOs)
Rome, Italy - "Pride of a space Italy", ASI's president Saggese commented
The Italian Space Agency (ASI) welcomed in its Roman headquarters several authorities, VIPs and space sector enthusiasts to follow the departure of the three new crew members of the International Space... more
AerospaceLunar dust from Apollo mission found after 40 years
Berkeley, USA - The vials were in the warehouse of a Californian laboratory
Samples of Lunar dust which were collected by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission have surprisingly resurfaced in the warehouse of a Californian laboratory, more than 40 years after the historical... more
AerospaceInternational Space Station: the three new members of Expedition 36 are preparing for their launch
Baikonur, Kazakistan - Liftoff scheduled at 4:31 pm EDT on May 28
Three new Expedition 36 crewmates are preparing at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for their Tuesday 28 May same-day launch and docking to the Rassvet module of the orbiting laboratory. Soyuz Commander... more
AerospaceCuriosity performs second drilling on Mars
Pasadena, USA - The results of the analysis will be compared with the findings relative to the first sample
Curiosity the Mars rover of NASA, the American space agency, has used the drill on its robotic arm to collect a powdered sample from the interior of a rock called "Cumberland". Plans call for delivering... more
AerospaceNASA and Obama pay tribute to Sally Ride
Washington, USA - The first US' woman astronaut will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The American space agency NASA and President of the United States Barack Obama are honoring the life and legacy of Sally Ride on the day a national tribute was held for the first American woman in space,... more
AerospaceNASA seeks proposals for its commercial launch programme
Orlando, Usa - "It's in the agency's and our nation's best interest"
NASA, the American space agency, announced the intention to issue an announcement for proposals, probably during this week, for the commercial use of Launch Pad 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center... more
AerospaceNASA begins testing of the Dream Chaser space vehicle (VIDEO)
Edwards, USA - Meanwhile some astronauts will perform fly simulations to assess the spacecraft's handling
Sierra Nevada Corporation's (SNC) Space Systems Dream Chaser flight vehicle arrived at Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, of the American Space Agency NASA to begin tests of its flight... more
AerospaceASI and Jaxa: the collaboration between the Italian and Japanese space agencies continues
Tokyo, Japan - The historical collaboration on the space activities between the two Countries protagonist of the conference "Italy and Japan: Space Cooperation Frontiers"
The use of the ISS (International Space Station), the terrestrial observation for the control of natural disasters, science and technology: these are the sectors in which Italy and Japan have reinforced... more
AerospaceInternational Space Station: Expedition 35 crew members lands in Kazakhstan (VIDEOs)
Houston, USA - Astronaut-rocker Kevin Chris Hadfield back on Earth
Expedition 35 Commander Kevin Chris Hadfield and Flight Engineers Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko landed their Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft in southern Kazakhstan at 10:31 pm EDT Monday (00:31 am on Tuesday... more
AerospaceCuriosity team selects second drilling target on Mars
Houston, USA - The rover will set course to the drilling location in coming days
The team operating NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Mars has selected a second target rock for drilling and sampling. The rover will set course to the drilling location in coming days. This second drilling... more
AerospaceUpdate on the ammonia leak on the International Space Station (VIDEO)
Houston, USA - A spacewalk of more than 5 hours was needed to fix the damaged part
NASA, the American Space Agency, provided an update on the ammonia leak which occurred in these days on the International Space Station. Expedition 35 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn completed... more
AerospaceAmmonia leak on the International Space Station
Houston, USA - The interested cooling loop could shutdown in about 48 hours
NASA, the American space agency, communicated that at around 10:30 am CDT (3:30 pm GMT/UTC) on Thursday 9 May 2013 the Expedition 35 crew reported seeing small white flakes floating away from an area of... more
AerospaceNASA extends critical contract for engineering services
Houston, USA - A 287-million-dollar agreement
NASA, the American space agency, has extended the already-existing contract for the supply of engineering services with MEI Technologies, a Houston-based company which operates in the aerospace, defense,... more
AerospaceESA: Vega has completed its flight with a new success (VIDEO)
Rome, Italy - The first launch in February 2012
The second flight of ESA’s newest launch vehicle has been completed from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Two Earth observation satellites, ESA’s Proba-V and Vietnam’s VNREDSat?1A, were re... more
AerospaceNASA: a ride on the Soyuz costs 70 million dollars per astronaut
Washington, USA - Administrator of the space agency full support of 2014 programme
The bill which was presented by Russia to NASA, the American space agency, for the transport of the US' astronauts on board of the Soyuz to the International Space Station (ISS) is particularly pricey:... more
AerospaceNASA completes new series of tests on the Orion spacecraft
Yuma, USA - Simulation of two types of parachute failures on the capsule
NASA, the American space agency, communicated it completed during the past days a simulation of two types of parachute failures on the Orion spacecraft. In the test, conducted in Yuma, Arizona, the mock... more
AerospaceNASA is looking for messages to send to Mars
Washington, USA - They will depart in November on board of the MAVEN spacecraft
NASA, the US' space agency, is inviting members of the public to submit their names and a personal message online for a DVD to be carried aboard a spacecraft that will study the Martian upper atmosphere.... more
AerospaceVirgin Galactic spacecraft breaks speed of sound in first rocket-powered flight (VIDEO)
Mojave, USA - The SpaceShipTwo reached a speed of Mach 1.2
On Monday 29 April 2013 Virgin Galactic completed the first rocket-powered flight of its space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2). The test, conducted by teams from Scaled Composites (the American aerospace company,... more
AerospaceDespite a technical issue, Russian cargo spacecraft docked with the ISS
Washington, USA - One of the antennas of the Progress 51 failed to deploy
The Russian ISS Progress 51 cargo craft completed a two-day journey to the International Space Station when it was captured at the Zvezda service module on Friday at 8:25 am EDT (12:25 pm GMT/UTC), despite... more
AerospaceNASA releases video of the Solar activity in the past three years (VIDEO)
Washington, USA - Among the images also a transit of Venus and two partial eclipses
NASA, the American space agency, has released a fascinating video of the activity of the Sun during the past three years: the images come from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which since 2012 captures... more
AerospaceNASA: successful launch of the first Antares rocket (VIDEO)
Wallops, USA - A demonstration mission to resupply the space station will be operated later this year
NASA commercial space partner Orbital Sciences Corporation on Sunday 21 April launched its Antares rocket at 5 pm EDT (9 pm GMT/UTC) from the new Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at the US' space... more
AerospaceInternational Space Station astronauts to perform a spacewalk today
Washington, USA - Vinogradov and Romanenko will work on some experiments and replace a faulty device
Two members of the Expedition 35 crew will venture outside the International Space Station Friday for a six-hour spacewalk to deploy and retrieve several science experiments and install a new navigational... more
AerospaceLaunch of the first Antares rocket postponed because of a last-minute glitch
Wallops, USA - New liftoff scheduled no earlier than Friday
The launch of the first Antares rocket has been postponed because of a technical issue which occurred at the last moment. The liftoff of the test flight was scheduled at 5:00 pm EDT (9:00 pm GMT/UTC) from... more
AerospaceEverything is ready for the first launch of an Antares rocket
Wallops, USA - But there is the problem of possible poor weather conditions
Orbital Sciences, commercial partner of NASA, the American space agency, is scheduled to launch its first Antares rocket from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility... more
AerospaceFrom Earth to Mars in 30 days: NASA funds development of a new conception engine
Washington, USA - According to the simulations, the propulsor could move a spacecraft at 30 km/s
One of the main difficulties of space exploration has always been the speed: existing engines, even if capable of pushing spacecrafts up to speeds which are extraordinary if considered with terrestrial... more
AerospaceNASA: roll-out of the first Antares rocket completed
Wallops Island, USA - Liftoff for the test flight scheduled on April 17
Orbital Sciences Corp completed roll-out of the first fully-integrated Antares rocket to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at the Wallops Flight Facility of NASA, the American space agency. The... more
AerospaceNASA selects two missions for 2017
Washington, USA - One of them involves a new instrument for the International Space Station
Astrophysics Explorer Program of NASA, the US' space agency, has selected two missions for launch in 2017: a planet-hunting satellite and an International Space Station instrument to observe X-rays from... more
AerospaceNew crew arrives on the International Space Station (VIDEO)
Baikonur Cosmodrome , Kazakhstan - Less than six hours needed for the journey
The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft carrying three new Expedition 35 crew members docked with the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 10:28 pm EDT Thursday (2:28 am GMT/UTC on Friday), completing i... more
AerospaceThales Alenia Space: first four O3b satellites ready to be shipped (VIDEO)
Rome, Italy - The first batch will leave Rome, bound for French Guiana, in early April
The first four satellites in the O3b medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation, operated by O3b Networks, are ready to be shipped to the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. They will leave Thales Alenia... more
AerospaceSpaceX Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth with 1210 kg of science samples
Washington, USA - "The scientific community has eagerly awaited it"
A Space Exploration Technologies Corp SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully completed the company's second cargo flight to the International Space Station on Tuesday, March 26, with a 12:36 pm EDT (4:36... more
AerospaceSpaceX Dragon spacecraft ready to for the trip back to Earth, with a one-day delay
Washington, USA - Splashdown scheduled on Tuesday at 4:36 pm GMT/UTC
More than three weeks after arriving at the International Space Station, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is ready for the trip back to Earth, now scheduled for Tuesday, March 26. The spacecraft's originally... more
AerospaceESA: Planck, the space telescope, reveals an almost perfect Universe
Rome, Italy - The image is based on the initial 15.5 months of data
Acquired by ESA’s Planck space telescope, the most detailed map ever created of the cosmic microwave background – the relic radiation from the Big Bang – was released on March 21 revealing the existence of fe... more
AerospaceExpedition funded by Amazon's CEO recovers engines of the Apollo missions
Washington, USA - "This is a historic find", NASA Administrator Charles Bolden states
An expedition funded and led by Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, recovered in the Atlantic Ocean two engines of the Apollo missions which, between the '60s and the '70s, helped boost US'... more
AerospaceItalian (ASI) and American (NASA) Space Agencies: bilateral agreement signed
Washington, Usa - It coincides with the celebration of the first 50 years of collaboration in this sector between the two States
Italy and the United States signed on March 19 an important agreement for the promotion and development of collaboration in space. The agreement opens new opportunities in the economic, scientific, and... more
AerospaceSoyuz undocking from the ISS postponed because of inclement weather (VIDEO)
Arkalyk, Kazakhstan - One more day in space for Ford, Tarelkin and Novitskiy
Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency, has decided to postpone the landing of Expedition 34 and its Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft, which was initially scheduled on Thursday 14 March (AVIONEWS), because inclement... more
Aerospace"Changing of the guard" on the ISS: three astronauts ready to come back home
Houston, USA - A Canadian is in command until the arrival of the next crew
Everything is ready on board of the International Space Station (ISS) for the departure of the three astronauts of Expedition 34: on Thursday 14 March 2013 NASA, the American space agency, will broadcast... more
AerospaceSwiss company presents satellite launch system which uses an Airbus A-300 aircraft (VIDEO)
Payerne, Switzerland - Dassault and Spaceport Malaysia are among the partners of the project
Payerne-based aerospace company Swiss Space Systems (S-3) officially presented a new reusable small-satellite launch system which utilizes an Airbus A-300 aircraft, whose test flight should begin in 2017. The... more
AerospaceNASA: Curiosity finds clues of possible presence of life on Mars in ancient times
Washington, USA - The rover analyzed the samples collected into the Gale Crater
The analysis of a rock sample collected by NASA's Curiosity rover shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes, according to the American space agency. Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen,... more
AerospaceMars: memory issues for Curiosity's computer, NASA engineers put the rover into a minimal-activity status
Pasadena, USA - Scientific investigations have been suspended
The ground team for NASA's Curiosity has switched the rover to a redundant onboard computer in response to a memory issue on the computer that had been active so far on the Mars rover of the American space... more
AerospaceWeather conditions are favourable: everything is ready for SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
Cape Canaveral , USA - The Dragon spacecraft will deliver 544 kg of supplies to the ISS
According to the figures released by NASA, the American space agency, the weather forecast is now 80% favorable for liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft at 10:10 am EST (5:10 pm... more
AerospaceESA selects the instruments or its Jupiter mission
Paris, France - "The mission represents an unprecedented opportunity to showcase leading European technological and scientific expertise
The ESA's (European Space Agency) JUpiter ICy moons Explorer mission, JUICE, will carry a total of 11 scientific experiments to study the gas giant planet and its large ocean-bearing moons. JUICE is the... more
AerospaceLuca Parmitano will be the first Italian to perform a spacewalk (VIDEO)
Turin, Italy - "It is really a beautiful emotion", President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) Enrico Saggese commented
NASA, the American space agency, officially communicated that Luca Parmitano, the Italian astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA), who will be involved in the Expedition 36 mission (nicknamed "Volare",... more
AerospaceNASA is looking for new small satellite propulsion system ideas
Washington, USA - "We need better miniaturized systems"
In the context of the Space Technology Program NASA, the American Space Agency, is calling for proposals to develop miniaturized electrospray propulsion technologies that could revolutionize small satellite... more
AerospaceCuriosity: NASA confirms first sampling of the interior of a Martian rock
Pasadena, USA - "It is incredibly gratifying: many of us have been working toward this day for years"
NASA, the American space agency, confirmed that its Mars rover Curiosity has relayed new images that confirm it has successfully obtained the first sample ever collected from the interior of a rock on... more