Space

With its fourth flight test on Mars, NASA is transitioning its Ingenuity technology demonstration project into an extended 30-day mission to develop and test operations for future science rotorcraft.

NASA and SpaceX late April 29 delayed for a second time the planned undocking and splashdown of the four Crew-1 Dragon astronauts from the International Space Station due to high winds.

Up to five test runs of the rotorcraft are planned by May 4.

First mission is to send an uncrewed Orion capsule into lunar orbit.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Dave Calhoun is giving himself a dual mandate of returning Boeing to financial eminence while reinstalling engineering prowess. The gambit could decide the embattled company’s fate.

The less-remembered third Apollo 11 astronaut also helped to establish the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Northrop Grumman hit a proverbial home run with its first-quarter 2021, reporting outsized revenue and earnings, as well as providing a slightly higher forecast for the whole year.

The EU’s 2021-27 budget for space activities has received its final approval, from members of the European Parliament.

Arianespace’s Vega light launcher placed six satellites into orbit on April 28 in a successful return to flight that was crucial for the program.

China has launched the first module of its new Tiangong (Heaven’s Palace) space station.

After a brief pause to send the SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA last week, SpaceX on April 28 resumed launching its Starlink broadband constellation into low Earth orbit.

The new arrivals temporarily boosted station staffing to 11 people for the first time since 2010.

Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins, who orbited the Moon alone for about 28 hr. while crewmates Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land and walk on the surface of another planetary body, has died.

German satellite launcher firms Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) and ISAR Aerospace have signed agreements to launch from a new orbital launch site planned for Andoya, Norway.

Officials from Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, have not approached NASA about ending Russia’s long partnership in the International Space Station, NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk says.

The core booster for the debut launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket arrived at Kennedy Space Center on April 27, representing a milestone a decade in the making.

Eutelsat Communications is buying a quarter stake in recently reborn constellation provider OneWeb for $550 million, the companies announced April 27.

Collins Aerospace said it recently transmitted data via the new Iridium Certus satellite communications service using a high-gain antenna, marking a critical milestone in its development of Certus hardware.

Arianespace is planning on a Vega launch on April 28, five months after mission VV17 failed due to an assembly error.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to rule by Aug. 4 on a pair of protests filed over NASA’s $2.9 billion award to SpaceX for a human lunar lander flight demonstration.

NASA and Space X have announced that the planned splashdown of four Crew-1 Dragon astronauts returning from the International Space Station will now take place on May 1 rather than April 28.

A future involving military operations in near-lunar orbit may exploit new Draco reactor.

Blue Origin and Dynetics filed separate protests on April 26 with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) over NASA’s $2.9 billion award to rival SpaceX for a human lunar landing system demonstration mission.

Keeping the International Space Station’s U.S. segment steadily staffed at five astronauts is continuing to significantly contribute to the research and technology demonstrations underway aboard the orbiting science laboratory, says NASA astronaut Shannon Walker.