Weekly Spacecraft Mission News (English, German) – 20.11.19

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Regular Crew Launches by SpaceX, Boeing Likely Won’t Start Until Summer 2020, NASA Inspector General Says

NASA’s crew launches to the ISS on private vehicles built by SpaceX and Boeing likely won’t begin until summer 2020, warns a new report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

The 1st Sun Details from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Are Out. And They’re Hot!

Want to see the sun in a whole new way?

NASA’s 1st SLS Megarocket Core Stage for the Moon Has Its Engines (Photos)

NASA’s first new megarocket bound for the moon now has all of its engines for the first uncrewed lunar flight of the U.S. space agency’s Artemis program.

Here’s How Much NASA Is Paying Per Seat on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon & Boeing’s Starliner

Boeing’s astronaut taxi will cost NASA about 60% more per seat than SpaceX’s vehicle will, according to a new report by the space agency’s Office of Inspector General.

India Could Land on the Moon in 2020 with Chandrayaan 3

Just months after a landing anomaly, India is ready to make another try at touching down on the moon, according to a news report.

China Considers Voyager-like Mission to Interstellar Space

The mission includes a flyby of Neptune and measurements of the heliosphere, the electrically charged gas bubble surrounding our solar system

Rocket Lab’s ‘Rosie’ the Robot Can Build a Booster in Just 12 Hours

The private spaceflight company Rocket Lab unveiled a new rocket-building robot designed to speed up manufacturing of Electron launch vehicles.

Challenging spacewalks for Luca

On 20 July 2019, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano was launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During the Beyond mission he will participate in several spacewalks (EVA) to repair the dark matter hunter Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS-02. Attached to the station during the STS-134 shuttle mission in May 2011, the AMS was never designed to be maintained in orbit.

Erster von vier Ausstiegen zur AMS-Reparatur erfolgreich abgeschlossen

Der italienische ESA-Astronaut Luca Parmitano und sein US-Kollege Andrew Morgan haben am Freitag mit der Reparatur des Alpha-Magnet-Spektrometers (AMS) an der Internationalen Raumstation ISS begonnen.

Spacewalkers Complete First Excursion to Repair Cosmic Particle Detector

Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan concluded their spacewalk at 1:18 p.m. EST. During the six hour and 39 minute spacewalk, the two astronauts successfully positioned materials, removed a debris cover on the AMS, and installed handrails in preparation for the subsequent spacewalks.

Astronauts Are Taking a Tricky Spacewalk to Fix a Dark Matter Experiment. Here’s How to Watch

Two astronauts are taking one of the most complicated spacewalks in NASA history today (Nov. 15) to revive an ailing $2 billion experiment on the International Space Station and you can watch it live online.

Start des russischen Wissenschaftlich-Energetischen Moduls verzögert sich weiter

Der Start des Wissenschaftlich-Energetischen Moduls (NEM) für das russische Segment der Internationalen Raumstation ISS verzögert sich weiter. Es soll nun 2023 auf die Umlaufbahn gebracht werden und damit das Segment vollenden, wie aus Dokumenten der RKK Energija hervorgeht. Ursprünglich waren zwei solcher Module geplant, die 2014 […]

Advanced Tech, Biology Research in Between Spacewalks

The Expedition 61 crew is starting the workweek in between spacewalks and running a variety advanced space investigations. A set of small satellites is also being readied for deployment outside the International Space Station by midweek

A very good start

The first spacewalk to service the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) could not have gone better. Lead spacewalker ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano is imaged here hitching a ride on the International Space Station’s 16-metre long robotic arm to kick off the first of four ventures to service the particle physics detector on 15 November.

GK Roskosmos plant zwei russische Dreier-Sojus-Besatzungen zur ISS

Die Sojus-Besatzungen, die im Oktober 2020 und im Frühjahr 2021 zur Internationalen Raumstation ISS starten, könnten nach 19 Jahren Unterbrechung jeweils wieder aus drei russischen Kosmonauten bestehen. So sieht es die bisherige Planung der GK Roskosmos vor, wie Moskauer Medien berichten. Die letzte rein russische Besatzung ist 2000 zur Raumstation […]

Agriculture and Disease Studies Ahead of Next Spacewalk

Today’s biology research aboard the International Space Station is helping scientists improve the health of astronauts in space and people on Earth. The Expedition 61 crew is also deploying a set of tiny satellites on Wednesday while getting ready for another spacewalk on Friday.

Wie Weltraummüll alle (be-)trifft

Die Erde ist in eine Wolke aus defekten Satelliten und Raketenteilen eingehüllt. Die Zunahme an Weltraumschrott gefährdet nun etliche Weltraumprojekte.

NASA Picks SpaceX, Blue Origin and More to Join Private Moon Lander Project

NASA has picked SpaceX, Blue Origin and three other companies to join its private moon lander project to deliver big payloads to the moon.

NASA’s Life-Hunting Mars 2020 Rover Will Search for Alien Microfossils

Jezero Crater, the 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) hole in the ground that the Mars 2020 rover will begin exploring in February 2021, has ample deposits of minerals that are good at preserving microfossils here on Earth.

The Weird Plumes of Jupiter’s Moon Europa Are Spewing Water Vapor

The Jupiter moon Europa’s elusive and enigmatic water-vapor plumes do indeed seem to be real.

Scientists Want NASA to Send a Flagship Mission to Venus

NASA has asked a team of scientists to figure out what they could learn from sending a major mission to Venus and how such a mission might work.

Bundesregierung bekennt sich zur Europa-Rakete Ariane 6

Die Bundesregierung hat sich ausdrücklich zur neuen Europa-Rakete Ariane 6 bekannt. Das Bundeskabinett habe sich am Mittwoch mit der Planung zur ESA-Ministerratskonferenz Ende November befasst und die „vorrangige Nutzung der Ariane 6-Trägerrakete für Starts der Bundesregierung beschlossen“, teilte der Koordinator für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Thomas Jarzombek, mit.

‘Artemis Is Here:’ Vice President Pence Stresses Importance of 2024 Moon Landing

Fifty years to the day after the United States launched the second-ever crewed mission to the surface of the moon, Vice President Mike Pence stressed the importance of going back.

Nato-Weltraumstrategie: Säbelrasseln im All

Auf ihrem Außenministertreffen will die Nato auch den Weltraum zum Militärgebiet erklären. Das Bündnis sorgt sich um die verwundbare Satelliten-Infrastruktur – doch ein Schutz vor Angriffen ist kaum möglich.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Abort System Aces Ground Test Ahead of Major Launch

SpaceX successfully test-fired the launch abort system for its Crew Dragon spacecraft in a ground test Nov. 13.

China Launches 2 Rockets Within 3 Hours in Latest Space Rally (Videos)

A Chinese Long March 6 rocket launched five satellites into orbit on the Ningxia-1 mission Wednesday (Nov. 13), just three hours after another launch.

Driving test for Luca Parmitano on robotic geology science

Today ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will take control of a robot in the Netherlands while orbiting Earth in the International Space Station at a speed of around 7.8 km per second.

SpaceX’s Starship May Start Flying Moon Missions in 2022

SpaceX’s huge Mars-colonizing Starship vehicle could make its first extraterrestrial touchdown just three short years from now.

SpaceX’s Full-Size Starship Prototype Takes Its 1st ‘Breath’

The full-size Starship Mk1 vehicle “breathed” during an apparent pressure test yesterday evening (Nov. 18) at SpaceX’s facilities near the South Texas village of Boca Chica.

Take a Fun Trip into a Black Hole: What’s It Like Inside?

You’re about to take a dip into the inky blackness of a giant black hole and see what’s on the other side of that enigmatic event horizon. What will you find inside? Read on, brave explorer.

Astronaut Spaceflight Training May Help Cancer Patients During, After Treatment

The workout routine astronauts use to prepare for space may also benefit cancer patients by reducing the long-term side effects of medical care.

50 Years Ago: NASA’s Apollo 12 Was Struck By Lightning Right After Launch … Twice! (Video)

Seconds after Apollo 12 launched, it was struck by lightning twice.

Truth of the Moon: The Brave Voyage of Apollo 12 | Video Show

Pete Conrad and Alan Bean make a jolly, blind, pinpoint lunar landing and grab rock samples revealing the Moon’s strange birth.