NASA

HELSINKI — China’s human spaceflight agency has revealed the exterior design of the spacesuit for the country’s future crewed lunar landing missions. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) unveiled the extravehicular lunar suit Sept. 28 in Chongqing, southwest China. CMSA is also soliciting suggestions for a name for the suit. The suit is being developed as one element of China’s goal of landing astronauts on the moon before 2030. China is also currently working on a new human-rated launcher, the Long March 10, a deep space crew spacecraft and a crew lander for the mission. A crew rover is also being designed. As part of the reveal, a promotional video showcased both the outer appearance and the suit’s key capabilities. Astronauts Wang Yaping, China’s second woman in space, and Zha...

ALTOn November 14, NASA is set to launch the uncrewed Artemis I flight test to the Moon and back. Artemis I is the first integrated flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and Exploration Ground Systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These are the same systems that will bring future Artemis astronauts to the Moon.ALTStanding 322 feet (98 meters) tall, the SLS rocket comprises of a core stage, an upper stage, two solid boosters, and four RS-25 engines. The SLS rocket is the most powerful rocket in the world, able to carry 59,500 pounds (27 metric tons) of payloads to deep space — more than any other vehicle. With its unprecedented power, SLS is the only rocket that can send the Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and cargo directly to the Moon on a s...

SAN FRANCISCO — Firefly Aerospace won a contract to launch Quicksounder, a prototype for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s next-generation of environmental satellites in low-Earth orbit. The value of the award was not disclosed. NASA awarded the contract to Texas-based Firefly on behalf of NOAA through the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. Through VADR, NASA awards fixed-price contracts for satellite launches. QuickSounder is the first element of NOAA’s Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON), a new generation of polar-orbiting weather satellites. The mission is intended to gather weather data for many organizations including the National Weather Service. The Southwest Research Institute is building the QuickSou...

Since the 19th century, women have been making strides in areas like coding, computing, programming and space travel, despite the challenges they have faced. Sally Ride joined NASA in 1983 and five years later she became the first female American astronaut. Ride’s accomplishments paved the way for the dozens of other women who became astronauts, and the hundreds of thousands more who pursued careers in science and technology. Just last week, we celebrated our very first #AllWomanSpacewalk with astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. Here are just a couple of examples of pioneers who brought us to where we are today: The Conquest of the Sound BarrierPearl Young was hired in 1922 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA’s predecessor organization, to work at its La...

PARIS — The Federal Aviation Administration announced its intent to fine SpaceX more than $633,000 for violating its launch licenses on two occasions in 2023, a decision SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he will fight in court. The FAA announced Sept. 17 that it notified SpaceX of $633,009 in proposed fines for violating terms of its launch licenses during the June 2023 Falcon 9 launch of the Satria-1, or PSN Satria, broadband satellite and the July 2023 Falcon Heavy launch of Jupiter-3, or EchoStar-24, broadband satellite. Both launches were successful. For the Satria-1 launch, the FAA said in its enforcement notice to the company that SpaceX had requested in May 2023 changes to its communications plan to allow the use of a new launch control center at the company’s “Hangar X” facility a...