space flight

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Billionaire's Crew Prepares for Challenging SpaceX Flight

It's the first of three Polaris missions intended to move space travel along

(Newser) - The crew has arrived in Cape Canaveral to prepare for SpaceX's next private flight, a free-flying, challenging five-day mission that is to include a spacewalk. Polaris Dawn is the first flight of three that billionaire Jared Isaacman bought two years ago for his human spaceflight effort called the Polaris...

Of Human Remains Headed to Moon, Navajo Say No

Navajo Nation wants commercial mission to deposit remains of US presidents, others halted

(Newser) - A space mission that will deposit a whole lot of human remains on the moon appears to be moving forward despite the Navajo Nation's objections. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren sent a letter to NASA and the US Department of Transportation last month, requesting the mission be postponed from...

Military Space Plane Blasts Off on Secretive Mission

X-37B could be in space for years

(Newser) - The US military's X-37B space plane blasted off Thursday on another secretive mission that's expected to last at least a couple of years. Like previous missions, the reusable plane resembling a mini space shuttle carried classified experiments. There's no one on board. The space plane took off...

NASA Puts New Moon Rocket on Launch Pad

Lunar test flight is scheduled for Aug. 29

(Newser) - NASA's new moon rocket arrived at the launch pad Wednesday ahead of its debut flight in less than two weeks. The 322-foot rocket emerged from its mammoth hangar late Tuesday night, drawing crowds of Kennedy Space Center workers, many of whom were not yet born when NASA sent astronauts...

Michael Strahan Is Going to Space
Michael
Strahan
Is Going
to Space
Nov 23, 2021 9:25 AM CST

Michael Strahan Is Going to Space

'Good Morning America' co-host will be a passenger on Blue Origin flight

(Newser) - Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan is going to space next month. The former NFL star, who turned 50 on Sunday, will join Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of astronaut Alan Shepard, on the Dec. 9 mission aboard the Blue Origin rocket, per the AP . The New Shepard spacecraft...

And They're Off: SpaceX Launch Makes History

Inspiration4 mission sends 4 space tourists into orbit

(Newser) - SpaceX’s first private flight blasted off Wednesday night with two contest winners, a health care worker, and their rich sponsor, the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It was the first time a rocket streaked toward orbit with an all-amateur crew—no professional astronauts. The Dragon capsule’s...

FAA Is Investigating Branson's Space Flight

Trip veered off course, but Virgin Galactic insists there was no danger

(Newser) - Richard Branson famously became the first billionaire to rocket into space, just ahead of Jeff Bezos, but it seems that Branson's flight was a little rockier than first thought. Now the FAA is taking a closer look at what transpired on the Virgin Galactic trip, reports the Wall Street ...

Bezos Says View of Earth Changed His Priorities

Amazon's founder announces his recommitment to environment work

(Newser) - Jeff Bezos has made plans and donations to combat the effects of climate change, but he's been criticized for not doing more, even by Amazon employees. Now that he's satisfied his space itch, Bezos said his focus will turn to environmental issues. He gained a new perspective up...

What Time Will Jeff Bezos Go to Space, and More Answers
Jeff Bezos' Flight
Will Last About 10 Minutes
the rundown
Jul 20, 2021 6:58 AM CDT

Jeff Bezos' Flight Will Last About 10 Minutes

Amazon founder is launching Tuesday morning

(Newser) - It's launch day for Jeff Bezos: In a rocket and capsule developed by the Amazon founder's private space company, Blue Origin, the billionaire will participate in the company's first crewed launch of the New Shepard on Tuesday. Some inevitable questions in the lead-up to the flight, and...

Richard Branson's 3am Visitor Before Space Flight: Elon Musk

Tesla founder stopped by Branson's kitchen

(Newser) - Richard Branson got a visit from another billionaire in the wee hours of Sunday, just before his historic trip to space: Elon Musk. The Virgin Group founder tweeted a photo of himself with the (barefoot) Tesla founder two hours before the flight launched, Business Insider reports. Branson later explained at...

2nd Time's the Charm: Virgin Orbit Reaches Space

Richard Branson's company succeeds Sunday, 8 months after failed flight

(Newser) - Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit reached space on Sunday, eight months after the first demonstration flight of its air-launched rocket system failed, the company said. A 70-foot-long LauncherOne rocket was released from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft off the coast of Southern California, ignited moments later,...

NASA Wants You for a 'Unique Adventure'

You can get paid to live for 8 months in social isolation as study for future moon, Mars missions

(Newser) - When astronauts venture to the International Space Station, they may be socially isolated from everyone else on Earth for months on end, but they're able to spread out and take part in activities that can keep them occupied during downtime. But, as BGR.com notes, with a manned mission...

Own a Chunk of the Moon—for a Price

Big rock up for sale at Christie's for $2.5M

(Newser) - Rich space enthusiasts who can't get a seat on a rocket now can settle for having space come to them. Christie's has a chunk of the moon for sale, and it's valued at $2.5 million, reports Reuters . The lunar meteorite (designated formally as NWA 12691) weighs...

Waiting for Astronauts Back on Earth: Fame, Accolades ... Herpes?
Astronauts'
Newest Health
Concern: Herpes
NEW STUDY
Mar 19, 2019 2:03 AM CDT

Astronauts' Newest Health Concern: Herpes

Study finds dormant viruses can reactivate in individuals who've endured stresses of space travel

(Newser) - Astronauts who "boldly go where no man has gone before," as William Shatner's Captain Kirk once put it , likely anticipate their body will undergo certain changes while in space. But how many have guessed they might see a herpes flare-up? New research from NASA shows that the...

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Reaches Space

It's a big milestone for the commercial space industry

(Newser) - Virgin Galactic has officially reached space. Sir Richard Branson's company launched a spacecraft more than 50 miles into the air Thursday, not reaching orbit but successfully meeting the Federal Aviation Administration's definition of space, the Washington Post reports. It was the first spacecraft with humans aboard to be...

Branson: I'll Be in Space Within 'Months'

Virgin founder announces imminent test flights

(Newser) - Justin Bieber and others with a $250,000 reservation to board Virgin Galactic's tourist spaceship won't have too much longer to wait. Richard Branson tells CNBC that commercial space test flights will begin in "weeks, not months," forging a path for the Virgin founder to board...

SpaceX Capsule Full of Experiments Lands

High seas had delayed its return; another launch set for tomorrow

(Newser) - A SpaceX capsule loaded with space station experiments is back on Earth. The unmanned Dragon capsule parachuted yesterday into the Pacific, west of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. It departed the International Space Station earlier in the day with 3,300 pounds of gear for NASA, including valuable science samples.

Air Force Spacecraft Ends 15-Month Secret Mission

X37-B space plane lands itself at military base

(Newser) - An American spacecraft landed itself at a military base in California on the weekend, ending a 15-month mission—but don't expect to hear much about what the unmanned plane was doing up there. The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is an Air Force plane and while the military says the...

Space Station May Be Forced to Go Unmanned

Would be first time in a decade

(Newser) - The failure of a Russian spaceship, which crashed back to Earth shortly after its launch last week, could lead to the International Space Station being unmanned for the first time since 2001. Russian engineers are trying to determine why the unmanned ship crashed, but they only have a short time...

First 'Spaceport' Coming to New Mexico

But project is late and getting expensive

(Newser) - Now that the shuttle's blasted off for the last time, attention is turning to the private space industry, and NPR has found an interesting piece of that puzzle: America’s first spaceport. The structure, under construction in a New Mexico desert, aims to be something like an airport for...

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