NASA
- arstechnica.com Eminent officials say NASA facilities some of the “worst” they’ve ever seen
Buildings at Johnson Space Center in Houston are among the worst at any NASA facility.
> Around 83 percent of NASA's facilities are beyond their design lifetimes, and the agency has a $3.3 billion backlog in maintenance. When you consider NASA's $250 million estimate for normal year-to-year maintenance, it would take a $600 million uptick in NASA's annual budget for infrastructure repairs to catch up on the backlog within the next 10 years.
"Worst" in terms of being overdue for repairs, not that they don't produce great work.
- www.nasa.gov NASA Decides to Bring Starliner Spacecraft Back to Earth Without Crew - NASA
NASA will return Boeing’s Starliner to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the spacecraft, the agency announced Saturday. The
- science.nasa.gov NASA Citizen Scientists Spot Object Moving 1 Million Miles Per Hour - NASA Science
Most familiar stars peacefully orbit the center of the Milky Way. But citizen scientists working on NASA’s Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project have helped discover an object moving so fast that it will escape the Milky Way’s gravity and shoot into intergalactic space. This hypervelocity object is the ...
- arstechnica.com NASA chief to scientists on budget cuts: “I feel your pain”
"I can't go and print the dollars."
> Teams completed ground hot fire testing at White Sands and are working to evaluate the test data and inspect the test engine. The ongoing ground analysis is expected to continue throughout the week. Working with a reaction control system thruster built for a future Starliner spacecraft, ground teams fired the engine through similar inflight conditions the spacecraft experienced on the way to the space station. The ground tests also included stress-case firings, and replicated conditions Starliner’s thrusters will experience from undocking to deorbit burn, where the thrusters will fire to slow Starliner’s speed to bring it out of orbit for landing in the southwestern United States.
> Integrated ground teams also are preparing for an in-depth Agency Flight Test Readiness Review, which will evaluate data related to the spacecraft’s propulsion system performance before its return to Earth. The date of the agency review has not yet been solidified.
- edition.cnn.com NASA waves off spacewalk after astronaut suit springs a leak | CNN
US astronauts Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt abandoned plans to exit the International Space Station on Monday to conduct maintenance due to a spacesuit malfunction.
>The delayed spacewalk is only the latest in a string of setbacks around operations on the International Space Station in recent weeks.
>This marks the second spacewalk in recent days that has been abruptly called off due to spacesuit issues.
>In addition to the aborted Monday spacewalk, the federal agency has been aiming to carry out another on July 2 — before giving Boeing’s Starliner capsule the green light to undock from the orbiting laboratory and make its return home.
>The Starliner spacecraft has been on its first crewed test flight to the space station. But the vehicle encountered several key issues during the first leg of its trip, including springing helium leaks and experiencing thruster outages, that have delayed its return.
- spacenews.com NASA extends Starliner stay at ISS for additional testing
NASA and Boeing will keep the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft at the International Space Station for at least four more days to perform additional testing.
- spacenews.com Voyager 1 returning science data again
The four instruments on NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft are returning science data for the first time since a computer malfunction last November.
- spacenews.com Armenia signs Artemis Accords
Armenia signed the Artemis Accords regarding safe and responsible space exploration June 12, the tenth country to do so this year.
- arstechnica.com NASA is commissioning 10 studies on Mars Sample Return—most are commercial
SpaceX will show NASA how Starship could one day return rock samples from Mars.
>NASA announced Friday that it will award contracts to seven companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, to study how to transport rock samples from Mars more cheaply back to Earth. > >The space agency put out a call to industry in April to propose ideas on how to return the Mars rocks to Earth for less than $11 billion and before 2040, the cost and schedule for NASA's existing plan for Mars Sample Return (MSR). A NASA spokesperson told Ars the agency received 48 responses to the solicitation and selected seven companies to conduct more detailed studies. > >Each company will receive up to $1.5 million for their 90-day studies. Five of the companies chosen by NASA are among the agency's roster of large contractors, and their inclusion in the study contracts is no surprise. Two other winners are smaller businesses.
- • 100%www.jpl.nasa.gov NASA Launches Second Small Climate Satellite to Study Earth’s Poles
Data from the pair of CubeSats will offer new insights into how much heat the Arctic and Antarctica radiate into space and how this influences global climate.
- www.nasa.gov NASA Astronauts Practice Next Giant Leap for Artemis - NASA
The physics remain the same, but the rockets, spacecraft, landers, and spacesuits are new as NASA and its industry partners prepare for Artemis astronauts to
- spacenews.com Congressional language alters plans for NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory
Congressional language intended to accelerate work on a future NASA space telescope has the side effect of forcing NASA to disband a team working on it.
- spacenews.com Peru and Slovakia sign the Artemis Accords
Peru and Slovakia signed the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for responsible space exploration, bringing the countries who have signed to 42.
- spacenews.com NASA defends Artemis cost and schedule amid planning of possible changes
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the cost and schedule performance of the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration effort.
- spacenews.com Lithuania 40th nation to sign Artemis Accords
Lithuania has become the 40th nation to sign the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for responsible space exploration.
- spacenews.com NASA and JAXA to operate XRISM as-is despite instrument issue
NASA and JAXA plan to operate an instrument on an X-ray astronomy satellite as-is for at least 18 months despite an issue affecting one of its instruments.
- arstechnica.com NASA confirms “independent review” of Orion heat shield issue
"There's no guarantee that changing the trajectory is the answer," says the Artemis II pilot.
Crossposted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/19032559
- spacenews.com Congressional letter seeks big increase in NASA science budget
More than 40 House members have signed a letter asking for a significant increase in NASA’s science budget for 2025 despite challenges from spending caps.
T-7 hours until the first crewed launch of Starliner!
Launch thread with additional info has been posted over on !spaceflight@sh.itjust.works:
Starliner CFT Launch Thread! (First crewed flight of Boeing Starliner capsule)
I will be posting updates there. Come join us in that thread!
- spacenews.com NASA awards studies for commercial Mars missions
NASA has selected nine companies to perform feasibility studies of commercial approaches to deliver spacecraft to Mars and provide services there.
- arstechnica.com NASA says Artemis II report by its inspector general is unhelpful and redundant
"The redundancy in the above recommendations does not help."
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14947835
> >After concurring with each of the six recommendations in the inspector general's report, Koerner made the following comment: > > > >"NASA is dedicated to continuous enhancement of our processes and procedures to ensure safety and address potential risks and deficiencies," she wrote. "However, the redundancy in the above recommendations does not help to ensure whether NASA’s programs are organized, managed, and implemented economically, effectively, and efficiently." > > > >A careful reading of the second sentence reveals that Koerner feels that the inspector general's efforts are both redundant and unhelpful. This is not accidental language. Koerner's response was certainly reviewed by NASA's senior managers, who could have flagged and removed the text. And yet they went through with it.
- spacenews.com NASA inspector general report highlights issues with Orion heat shield
A report by NASA’s inspector general highlights problems with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield and other issues that delayed its first crewed launch.
- spacenews.com Nelson lobbies Congress to fund ISS deorbit vehicle in supplemental spending bill
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson asked a House committee to include money for a space station deorbit vehicle in a supplemental funding bill.
- spacenews.com NASA planning September launch of Mars smallsat mission on first New Glenn
A NASA Mars smallsat mission is slated to launch in late September on the first flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, if the vehicle is ready in time.
- arstechnica.com Recoding Voyager 1—NASA’s interstellar explorer is finally making sense again
"We're pretty much seeing everything we had hoped for, and that's always good news.”
- spacenews.com NASA continues work on response to biological and physical sciences decadal survey
NASA is continuing to refine its response to a decadal survey for biological and physical sciences, balancing ambitious science goals with limited budgets.
- arstechnica.com NASA officially greenlights $3.35 billion mission to Saturn’s moon Titan
Dragonfly will push the boundaries of engineering and science as it explores Titan.
Nuclear-powered double-quadcopter. (octacopter?)
- www.jpl.nasa.gov NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth
After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — for the first time in five months — check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence.
- spacenews.com Slovenia signs Artemis Accords
Slovenia signed the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for sustainable space exploration April 19, the third European country to do so in five days.
- spacenews.com Nelson defends “very tough choices” in NASA’s budget proposal
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the agency’s plans to cut back or cancel some agency programs at a House hearing.
- spacenews.com Sweden signs Artemis Accords
Sweden signed the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for responsible space exploration April 16, the second European country in as many days to join.
- arstechnica.com A chunk of metal that tore through a Florida home definitely came from the ISS
"I don't think I've seen or heard, after my own research, any of these events occurring."
- spacenews.com NASA open to significantly reduced return of Mars samples
NASA is willing to consider proposals for revamping its Mars Sample Return program that would return as few as 10 sample tubes.
- www.nasaspaceflight.com As Europa Clipper nears October launch date, scientists anticipate groundbreaking results - NASASpaceFlight.com
Later this year, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch from Launch Complex 39A at…
- arstechnica.com NASA says it needs better ideas on how to return samples from Mars
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is losing its grip on managing NASA's next flagship mission.
- spacenews.com Switzerland signs Artemis Accords
Switzerland formally signed the Artemis Accords April 16, becoming the latest nation to join an agreement about sustainable space exploration.
- spacenews.com NASA to look for new options to carry out Mars Sample Return program
NASA will seek “out of the box” ideas in a bid to reduce the costs and shorten the schedule for returning samples from Mars.
