Author: Ken Kremer

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.

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

Gallery: Stunning Sunset Blastoff Starts NASA’s TESS Exoplanet Hunter Streak to Space Searching for New Earth’s

NASA’s next planet-hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 18, 2018 from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL – in this view from a pad camera. TESS will search for new worlds outside our solar system for further study.   Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com 

NASA’s TESS Probe to Discover New Earth-like Habitable Exoplanets Soars to Orbit on SpaceX Falcon 9

NASA’s next planet-hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on April 18, 2018. TESS will search for new worlds outside our solar system for further study.   Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   18 April 2018 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – NASA’s powerful TESS probe aiming to discover new Earth-like habitable worlds

SpaceX Resolves Rocket Issues after Scrub, Rolls Falcon 9 to Florida Pad and Poised for Liftoff with NASA TESS Exoplanet Searcher: Apr 18 Watch Live

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and NASA TESS exoplanet hunter poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 18 at 6:51 pm EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   18 April 2018 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After Mondays planned launch of NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter was scrubbed due to problems

Most Powerful ULA Atlas V Propels AF MilSat Duo to Orbit during Stunning Sunset Liftoff: Gallery

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Air Force Space Command AFSPC-11 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on April 14, 2018 at 7:13 p.m. EDT on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.  Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com Ken Kremer  —   SpaceUpClose.com  —   16 April 2018 CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL – A duo of military research