NASA

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts are preparing to launch to the International Space Station aboard a new SpaceX Dragon capsule! Get the scoop on this upcoming mission in today's Launch Pad post. Meet the four astronauts flying into space next month for the SpaceX Crew-4 mission. From left: NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, NASA astronaut Robert "Bob" Hines, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Image credit: SpaceX Each month, in our Launch Pad series we cover notable spaceflight missions set to lift off soon. At a glance Launch date: No earlier than April 19, 2022 Launch site: NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida Launch vehicle: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket Destination: The International Space Station (ISS) About th...

SEOUL, South Korea — Singapore has become the 18th country to join the U.S.-led Artemis Accords for space exploration, hoping to use the agreement to enhance its nascent domestic space industry. Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong signed the agreement March 28 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, on the sidelines of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s working visit to the United States. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and U.S. State Department principal deputy assistant secretary Jennifer Littlejohn attended the signing ceremony. “I hope that by joining the Artemis Accords, Singapore will be able to cooperate more closely with like-minded partners like the U.S. to progress the international conversation on the space norms and spur the development of the global spac...

Members’ Earth Day SoireeFriday, April 22 | 6:30 p.m. Not a member? Join today! Our 2nd annual Plant Earth Celebration explores sustainability, weather, conservation and more. Celebrate planet Earth at Space Center Houston April 22-23 with activities, speakers, and special tram tours showing why our planet is so special and what we can do to conserve our natural resources. Explore sustainability, investigate acceptable weather conditions for a spacecraft launch, hear from guest speakers and experts, watch an atmospheric balloon launch, and more. Learn about space sustainability efforts and reusable rockets like Space Center Houston’s twice-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. As a special treat for Space Center Houston members, we are hosting an evening of VIP access to the Planet Ear...

TAMPA, Fla. — The Philippines is set to become the first country in Southeast Asia to access SpaceX’s Starlink broadband services, its government announced March 31. Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez has committed to assist SpaceX’s expansion into the archipelago as it seeks to register services there, the country’s Department of Trade and Treasury said in a news release. “Their system will augment as well as complement existing broadband capacities,” Lopez said in a statement. “This will further capacitate micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), facilitate online learning, e-commerce and fintech.” The news release said Starlink aims to deploy three gateways in an initial phase and target areas where connectivity has been difficult or impossible. SpaceX is also in ...

The James Webb Space Telescope will peer at the first stars and galaxies as a cosmic time machine, look beyond to distant worlds, and unlock the mysteries of the universe. But before it can do any of those things, it needs to “train” for traveling to its destination — 1 million miles away from Earth!So how does Webb get ready for space while it’s still on the ground? Practice makes perfect. Different components of the telescope were first tested on their own, but now a fully-assembled Webb is putting all of its training together. Here are 10 types of tests that Webb went through to prepare for its epic journey:1. Sounding OffA rocket launch is 100 times more intense and four times louder than a rock concert! (That’s according to Paul Geithner, Webb’s deputy project manager – technical.) ...