Category: General News

NASA Targets Crew 1 Launch for Nov. 14 and SpaceX Crew Dragon Arrives KSC Pad 39A

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –   NASA is targeting Nov. 14 for launch of the next crew of astronauts from American soil to the International Space Station (ISS) as the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex-39A from its processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for integration with the

SpaceX Launches 4th Next Gen GPS III Navigation Satellite: Photos

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL – SpaceX successfully launched the newest next generation  GPS III series navigation satellite on a newly manufactured Falcon 9 rocket for the U.S. military and the Space Force to orbit Thursday evening from Florida’s Space Coast – with enhanced speed and antijamming capabilities . The successful launch furthermore fortifies the

ULA Delays Atlas V Launch of NRO Spysat To Resolve Technical Issues After Rollout: Photos

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL –  United Launch Alliance (ULA) called off their planned Election Day launch of a clandestine surveillance satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to resolve technical issues impacting and potentially damaging the payload’s environmental control system umbilicals that likely arose from powerfully high winds buffeting the rocket and launch pad

OSIRIS-REx Stows and Seals Asteroid Bennu Sample Inside Earth Return Capsule

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA’s daring OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully stowed and sealed the overflowing huge sample estimated at perhaps a kilogram (1 pound) or more of asteroid Bennu inside the probes Sample Return Capsule (SRC) for the return trip to Earth. “On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the mission team sent commands to the spacecraft, instructing it

NASA’s SOFIA Observatory Discovers Water Molecules on Sunlit Surface of Moon Aiding Artemis

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Scientists utilizing NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airborne telescope observatory have made the first ever unambiguous discovery of water molecules on the sunlit surface of Earth’s Moon – centered at Clavius crater  in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.  These results could potentially aid  NASA’s Project Artemis plans for human lunar landings. This

OSIRIS-REx Starts Asteroid Sample Stowage Into Return Capsule

  For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA’s bold OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has started the complex process to carefully stow the huge stash of asteroidal samples collected from asteroid Bennu last week on Oct. 20 in the sampling head into the sample return capsule for the return trip to Earth. NASA reported that the OSIRIS-REx mission team commanded the

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Touches and Samples Asteroid Bennu

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a journey of over 200 million miles (321 million km) from Earth NASA’s daring OSIRIS-REx mission touched and sampleg Asteroid Bennu for six seconds with its pogo stick like TAGSAM robotic arm exactly as planned with incredible precision on Oct. 20 and successfully collected NASA’s first ever samples of asteroidal dust