Latvia joins the Artemis Accords
Latvia is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords as part of a new push to use the Accords to foster cooperation on NASA’s lunar exploration ambitions.
US and Latvian officials at the singing ceremony.
Latvia becomes the 62nd nation to sign the Artemis Accords in an event at NASA HQ this morning.
A second orbit dataset from SpaceForce for the BlueBird-7 sat shows it in a 265 x 485 km x 43.0 deg orbit, indicating that the upper stage delivered about 1000 m/s, mostly changing orbital inclination. This is about half the dV that would have been needed for the target orbit
An ad on the DC Metro for a crypto company showing a Ferris wheel in the Moon with the tagline “Go Where Dollars Won’t.”
Evidently that future lunar base will even have a Ferris wheel, but you’ll have to pay in crypto to ride it.
AST SpaceMobile, the customer for today's Blue Origin New Glenn launch that placed the payload in an "off-nominal" orbit, says the satellite "is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will de-orbited."
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Third New Glenn launch suffers upper stage malfunction
Blue Origin’s New Glenn suffered a malfunction of its second stage on the rocket’s third flight April 19, stranding its payload in an “off-nominal” orbit.
From Blue Origin: "We have confirmed payload separation. AST SpaceMobile has confirmed the satellite has powered on. The payload was placed into an off-nominal orbit. We are currently assessing and will update when we have more detailed information."
BlueBird 7 separation from the New Glenn second stage was scheduled for T+75 minutes, according to the timeline published before launch. But no updates from Blue on payload deployment or the earlier second burn of the upper stage.
Companies make the case for commercial space station markets
Companies proposing to develop commercial space stations are pushing back against claims by NASA that a market for such stations has yet to develop.
New EU Space Act draft seen as a step backward
A revised draft of a proposed European Union space regulation is a step backward, creating uncertainty about how the law would be applied outside the EU, critics argue.
Artemis 2 astronauts praise performance of Orion
The astronauts who flew around the moon on Artemis 2 said they were confident the Orion spacecraft is ready to support future missions.
NASA selects Falcon Heavy to launch ESA Mars rover mission despite budget threat
NASA has selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch a European Mars rover, support for which the agency is once again proposing to cancel.
Rocket Lab wins contract for three more iQPS launches
Rocket Lab has won a contract from Japanese radar satellite company iQPS for three additional Electron launches.
Except it's not true: Musk commented on the mission several times on X, and even got a post in response from Wiseman after splashdown.
Falcon 9 launches Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS
A Falcon 9 launched a Cygnus cargo spacecraft April 11 as Northrop Grumman continues its dependence on a competitor to fly resupply missions to the International Space Station.
My Space Review article is about how the intelligence community tracked a Soviet helicopter carrier in the Black Sea based upon its radar emissions. Harry Stranger just found this 1971 photo of a Soviet helicopter carrier in port. thespacereview.com/article/5195/1
The helicopters carrying the four Artemis 2 astronauts have landed on the deck of the recovery ship, USS John P. Murtha. They'll now head to the ship's medical bay for post-flight checks.
The Artemis 2 astronauts are starting to exit Orion. They'll be hoisted onto helicopters for a short flight to the recovery ship.
except the people watching more than a dozen Dragon splashdowns in the last decade
Splashdown. Artemis 2 has safely returned to Earth.
Main chutes deployed.
Drogues deployed.
End of comms blackout. Nominal trajectory.
View from Orion window at beginning of reentry.
Orion has reached the entry interface and started a planned six-minute communications blackout.
The crew capsule has completed a raise burn to put it the desired orientation for reentry.
Crew module separation.
Crew capsule has separated from the service module.
Orion and Earth.
Less than 30 minutes until the Orion crew capsule separates from the service module.
Artemis 2 science gets underway as Orion begins its return trip
As Artemis 2 begins its return to Earth, scientists are just starting to review the images and observations taken by the crew as they flew around the moon.
