For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – In another major mission milestone NASA’s Perseverance rover has just ejected the belly pan cover protecting the Sample Caching System and dropped it flat onto the Martian surface on March 12 and 13 (Sol 21 and 22)- and thereby successfully exposed the sample collection system critical to gathering and storing cored samples
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM PORT CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – In a historic first a dynamic duo of recovered SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stages stood vertical simultaneously at sunset Tuesday, March 16 in Port Canaveral, Florida making an absolutely amazing sight to behold – after the 1st booster ever to fly to space and safely return nine times sailed into port
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – After completing repairs to a balky liquid oxygen pre-valve NASA announced that the agency is targeting Thursday, March 18 to perform a second Green Run hot fire test on the Space Launch System (SLS) mega Moon rocket’s core stage planned for the Artemis-1 moon launch. The second test is a direct result
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – A recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket established a new record by launching and landing the first time ever for the ninth time after blasting off at pre- sunrise this morning Sunday, March 14, and successfully delivered another tranche of 60 Starlink broadband internet satellites to orbit – marking the 3rd Falcon 9
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – In a very late in the flow change of plans NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei has joined the crew of the next Russian Soyuz mission blasting off in less than 4 weeks time to the International Space Station – as has been rumored recently in space circles Both NASA and Roscosmos confirmed the assignment in
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA and SpaceX announced a small two-day delay as expected to the next astronaut flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and are targeting no earlier than (NET) April 22 for liftoff of the Crew-2 mission on the second commercial crew rotation mission from the United States at Florida’s Spaceport. The four
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, FL – Another tranche of SpaceX Starlink broadband internet satellites soared to space during the spectacular middle-of-the-night blastoff of a veteran Falcon 9 booster from Florida’s Space Coast overnight this morning March 11 – while the firm maintained a relentlessly rapid launch cadence starting off the new year. The flawless liftoff
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA’s Perseverance rover extended and flexed her high-tech robotic arm for the first time Monday, March 8 on Sol 17 while commanding it to perform multiple maneuvers with the arm and science instrument turret raised high and outward to begin check out and test its functionality which will be critical for coring soil
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM TITUSVILLE/CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – SpaceX successfully conducted a static fire test on a recycled Falcon 9 booster at dusk Monday, March 8, and is now targeting launch of the next batch of 60 Starlink broadband internet satellites for Tuesday evening March 9 from pad 40 on Florida’s Spaceport – and the weather looks great for both
For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Soon after NASA’s Perseverance rover performed her first test drive on Martian terrain, the six wheeled robot captured a unique pair of images I’m naming the ‘Shadow of a Martian Robot – Perseverance’ on Sol 15, Saturday, March 6 and which I have stitched into a beautiful shadow selfie mosaic that