station

China’s Shenzhou 13 astronauts stream live science lecture from space station

by

China broadcast a live classroom from its new space station on Dec. 9, in an effort to both inspire students and present a friendly image of the country’s space ambitions. The three Shenzhou 13 astronauts aboard the orbiting Tianhe module connected with 1,420 students on Earth in five classrooms across China in Beijing, Guangxi Zhuang … Read more

China launches new Tianlian data relay satellite for space station in 50th orbital launch of 2021

by

China’s 50th orbital launch of 2021 sent a new data relay satellite into orbit on Monday (Dec. 13) to support the country’s space station and crewed missions. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at (1609 GMT, or 12:09 a.m. local time Dec. 14), successfully sending … Read more

Boeing plans to launch its Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station in May 2022

by

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The next launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is slated for May 2022, company officials announced on Monday (Dec. 13). That is if everything goes as planned.  Teams from both Boeing and NASA have spent the last four months combing over data and inspecting valves on the Starliner spacecraft in an effort … Read more

NASA greenlights Axiom Space’s 2nd private mission to International Space Station

by

NASA has given the go-ahead to another private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The agency will work with Axiom Space to find a window for the Houston-based company’s second ISS mission, NASA officials said in an update Monday (Dec. 13). That flight, known as Ax-2, is currently scheduled to launch from NASA’s … Read more

Building a private space station: Q&A with Axiom Space CTO Matt Ondler

by

Private companies are getting ready to take the baton from the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS, which has hosted rotating astronaut crews continuously for more than 20 years, is expected to retire around 2030. (Congress has officially approved it to operate only through 2024, but an extension is widely expected.) If all goes according … Read more

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

by

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