Month: May 2018

Thruster Firings Boost Healthy TESS Planet Hunter over Halfway to Final Science Orbit Prior to Critical May 17 Lunar Flyby: Interview

Artist’s concept of NASA’s Orbital ATK-built Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) planet hunting satellite orbiting the Earth-Moon system. Credit: NASA/Orbital ATK Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   13 May 2018 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – NASA’s recently launched TESS planet hunting probe is healthy, operating very well, and more than halfway through the demanding regimen of on board thruster firings required

Beautiful Blastoff of Bangabandhu-1 for Bangladesh on 1st New and Improved SpaceX Falcon 9: Photos

Beautiful blastoff of Bangabandhu-1 geostationary communications satellite for nation of Bangladesh on 1st new and improved Block 5 version of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 11, 2018 at 4:14 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida – as seen from the pad crawlerway. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   11

Technical Glitch Aborts SpaceX Launch of 1st Newly Improved Falcon 9 in Final Seconds at KSC, Reset to May 11

First newly improved SpaceX Block 5 Falcon 9 booster vents gaseous oxygen in the final seconds of countdown before aborting planned May 10, 2018 liftoff with Bangabandhu-1 geocomsat for Bangladesh on Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Launch reset to May 11. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   11 May 2018 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER,

1st Upgraded SpaceX Block 5 Falcon 9 Poised for Blastoff May 10 from KSC Carrying 1st GeoComsat for Bangladesh: Watch Live

First upgraded SpaceX Block 5 Falcon 9 booster stands erect beside a recovered Falcon Heavy side boost and poised for blastoff on May 10, 2018 with Bangabandhu-1, the 1st ever geostationary communications satellite for the nation of Bangladesh from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   10 May 2018

SpaceX Targets May 10 Launch for 1st Upgraded Block 5 Falcon 9 Carrying Bangabandhu-1 Comsat

After completing hold down static fire test of first stage engines on May 4 of the first upgraded Block 5 Falcon 9 booster, SpaceX targets May 10, 2018 launch of the Bangabandhu-1 communications satellite from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   7 May 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – 

InSight Lander Blasts Off on NASA Mission to Elucidate the Vital Signs of the Red Planet

The NASA InSight spacecraft launches onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket, Saturday, May 5, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California through thick fog to study the “inner space” of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core.  Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   5 May 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  The InSight lander blasted off in the

SpaceX Completes Static Fire Test of 1st Upgraded Block 5 Falcon 9 booster for Bangabandhu-1 Launch in May: Gallery

SpaceX team conducts hold down static fire test of first stage engines on the first upgraded Block 5 Falcon 9 booster prior to launch of the Bangabandhu-1 communications satellite from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida in May 2018.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   4 May 2018 PLAYALNDA BEACH CANAVERAL NATIONAL SEASHORE, FL

NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Ready for Blastoff to the Red Planet May 5: Watch Live

Artist’s rendering of the NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander on Mars launching on May 5, 2018 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif .  Credits: NASA Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   4 May 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  NASA’s InSight Mars lander is ready for blastoff to the Red Planet on Saturday, May 5,

NASA, Boeing May Expand Scope of 1st Starliner Commercial Crew Test Flight to 3 Astronauts and 6 Months at ISS

Artist image of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft docking to the International Space Station. Image credit: Boeing Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   2 May 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA and Boeing are studying a significant expansion to the scope of the first crewed orbital test flight of the Starliner commercial crew spacecraft that would essentially change its nature from a