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NASA announces Orion achievement on Apollo 11 anniversary
NASA and the White House used the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing to mark the latest achievement in the development of the Orion spacecraft and reaffirm plans to use it to return humans to the moon by 2024.
China’s Tiangong-2 space lab reenters over South Pacific
China carried out the controlled deorbiting of its Tiangong-2 space lab into the South Pacific, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced Friday.
U.S. Air Force to begin transferring space situational awareness data to Commerce Department
Kevin O’Connell, director of the Commerce Department’s Office of Space Commerce, said the repository, called the Unified Data Library, is the first step in the transfer of some space situational awareness responsibilities as requested by the White House last year.
Astronomy missions pass senior review
NASA has decided to extend the lifetimes of all eight astrophysics missions up for review, from large space telescopes to an instrument on the International Space Station.
Artemis cost estimate won’t be ready until 2020
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate committee July 17 that a cost estimate for landing humans on the moon by 2024 likely won’t be ready until the administration submits a budget request next February.
FAA to extend comment period again for revised launch licensing rules
The FAA plans to further extend the public comment period for a proposed revision of commercial launch and reentry regulations that’s faced significant industry criticism.
Bridenstine says NASA planning for human Mars missions in 2030s
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said July 15 that, as NASA presses ahead with plans to return humans to the moon by 2024, he will not rule out a first human mission to Mars as soon as 2033.
House committee takes skeptical view of ISS commercialization plans
A month after NASA rolled out a strategy to increase commercial use of the International Space Station, some in Congress are skeptical of the effort.
Bridenstine says leadership changes linked to urgency in NASA’s exploration programs
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he reassigned the agency’s human spaceflight head, Bill Gerstenmaier, because time was limited to address cost and schedule issues with the agency’s key exploration programs and still meet a 2024 deadline for returning humans to the moon.
NASA awards $73.7 million to Made In Space for orbital demonstration
NASA awarded a $73.7 million contract to Made In Space to additively manufacture beams on the Archinaut One satellite scheduled to launch in 2022.
China set to carry out controlled deorbiting of Tiangong-2 space lab
China appears set to deorbit its Tiangong-2 space lab in the near future, according to a social media release from the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
Questions linger about reassignment of NASA exploration officials
NASA’s leadership offered few details July 11 about the sudden reassignment of two top officials in its human spaceflight program the day before, a move that drew criticism from leading House members.
Senators working on “bold” new NASA authorization bill
The chairman of the Senate’s space subcommittee says he’s working with colleagues on a “bold” new NASA authorization bill to direct the future of the agency’s human spaceflight program.
NASA shakes up exploration leadership
In a move that took most people in the space industry by surprise, NASA has reassigned two top officials in its exploration program, including Bill Gerstenmaier, the longtime head of NASA’s human spaceflight programs.
Experts cite benefits, challenges of further space exploration
While the United States has the advanced technology and capable workforce it would need for further space exploration, it lacks the focus and prioritization that assured the success of the Apollo program, Apollo flight director Gene Kranz told Senators July 9.
