SpaceX has done it again, albeit with a bit of difficulty. They launched a Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon module to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). The launch itself was perfect off the pad, but just about 90 seconds into the flight, one of the vehicle’s nine engines malfunctioned. The Dragon docked successfully with the ISS today, but …
Dragons Exist!
Activities in space and on Earth today continued the opening of a new chapter in spaceflight. An uncrewed capsule, hight Dragon, containing a nominal mass of otherwise expendable and relatively unimportant cargo, docked with the International Space Station (ISS). This it the first time a commercial construct has docked with the ISS; previously, only capsules officially from governments have done …
New Heavy-launch System: What Will We Use It For?
After too much time, effort, and political wrangling, Charles Bolden, the NASA administrator, has announced to the world the design for a new heavy-lift Space Launch System. Nominally designed to take over the Space Shuttle’s duties with respect to servicing the International Space Station, it is also being touted as our ride into the next chapters in the U.S.’s (and, …
Leadership and the End of the Shuttle Era
The era of the Space Shuttle is over. Atlantis landed today, after a perfect trip to the International Space Station (ISS). Note that I referred to this voyage as a trip, despite NASA’s insistence on referring to such things as “missions”, or “expeditions”. I mean no disrespect–to the contrary! I’ve been a space cadet since before NASA existed. I cut …