Month: December 2018

NASA’s New Horizons On Target For New Years Day Flyby of Most Distant Object Ever – ‘Ultima Thule’

This image shows the first detection of 2014 MU69 (nicknamed “Ultima Thule”), using the highest resolution mode (known as “1×1”) of the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) aboard the New Horizons spacecraft. Three separate images, each with an exposure time of 0.5 seconds, were combined to produce the image shown here. All three images were taken on Dec. 24, 2018,

How to Watch NASA New Horizons ‘Ultima Thule’ Flyby Events + Latest Mission Update

Illustration of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft encountering 2014 MU69 – nicknamed “Ultima Thule” – a Kuiper Belt object that orbits one billion miles beyond Pluto. Set for New Year’s 2019, New Horizons’ exploration of Ultima will be the farthest space probe flyby in history. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –28 December 2018 JHU APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY, MD / KENNEDY

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 1st Upgraded GPS III Satellite for Air Force: Gallery

Released from the Transporter-Erector 9 Merlin 1D first stage engines soar past gripper arm in Up Close view as SpaceX Falcon 9 soars to MEO carrying GPS III SV01 from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, Dec. 23, 2018 at 8:51 a.m. EST for USAF. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –25 December 2018

SpaceX Targeting Dec. 20 for 3rd Launch Attempt of Inaugural New GPS Constellation on Falcon 9 after 2nd Scrub Today

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket poised for liftoff carrying GPS III SV01 mission for the US Air Force from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on Dec. 20, 2018.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –19 December 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL- Will the third time be the charm? After scrubbing this morning’s 2nd

NASA’s Mars InSight Lander Seen in First Images from Mars Orbit

NASA’s InSight spacecraft, its heat shield and its parachute were imaged on Dec. 6,  and 11, 2018 by the HiRISE camera onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.  Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –18 December 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  The exact location of the newest resident on Mars, NASA’s InSight Lander, has been uncovered thanks to detective work

SpaceX Falcon 9 Raised at Night for Inaugural Launch of USAFs Most Powerful GPS Satellite Series: Photos, Watch Live

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket poised at night on Dec. 17 for liftoff on GPS III SV01 mission for the US Air Force from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on Dec. 18, 2018 at 9:11 am EST. Expendable booster will not be recovered and lacks grid fins and landing legs. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com &

Maiden Next-Gen USAF GPS Satellite Launch by SpaceX Targets Dec. 18, VP Pence Visits

Technicians prepare to encapsulate Lockheed Martin’s GPS III Space Vehicle 01 within a SpaceX payload fairing at Astrotech Space Operations’ Florida facility on Dec. 7.  Scheduled for SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on Dec. 18, 2018. Credit: Lockheed Martin Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –17 December 2018 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –  Liftoff of the maiden next generation Global Positioning System (GPS)

Last Look at Last SpaceX Dragon Resupply Launch to ISS in 2018: Gallery

SpaceX Dragon CRS-16 spacecraft launches to the International Space Station at 1:16 p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2018, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying more than 5,600 pounds of research equipment, cargo and supplies on the 16th resupply mission for NASA. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM