astronaut

SpaceX’s all-civilian Inspiration4 astronaut crew flew a meteorite back to space (briefly)

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After spending 50,000 years on Earth, a meteorite got the chance to visit space again for almost three days, during the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission in September. Pilot Sian Proctor shared a video on Twitter Friday (Dec. 10) showing a fragment of the immense Canyon Diablo space rock that slammed into northern Arizona, forming Barringer Crater (better … Read more

FAA ending commercial astronaut wings program as more people reach space

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After a record-breaking number of commercial spaceflyers in 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to end its commercial astronaut wings program. The FAA made the decision to do this after noting “the number of people launching to space [will] increase dramatically in the coming years,” the agency said in a statement Friday (Dec. 10). … Read more

Astronaut Alan Shepard’s daughter says she’s excited to follow him to space

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“An original Shepard will fly on the New Shepard.” Laura Shepard Churchley, the daughter of the first American in space, will embark on her own journey to space on board #NewShepard on December 9. pic.twitter.com/vQfzTKo1zeNovember 23, 2021 See more The daughter of NASA astronaut Alan Shepard can’t wait to go to space, just like her … Read more

On This Day in Space! Dec. 9, 2006: 1st Swedish astronaut launches to the space station

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On Nov. 10, 2013, Europe’s GOCE satellite fell to Earth. GOCE is short for Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer. Its mission was to map Earth’s gravitational field. GOCE did this for four years. Then it ran out of fuel.   Controllers weren’t sure where GOCE would fall back to Earth or linger in … Read more