Spaceflight Insider

SpaceX successfully launches CRS-20, recovers their 50th Falcon 9 Booster

Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Cold Static Test of Second Stage for OmegA Rocket

SpaceX successfully launches fourth batch of Starlink satellites

Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort’s successful completion clears way for crewed flights

Boeing’s Starliner capsule begins much-delayed first flight: UPDATE

Northrop Grumman’s NG 12 paints the sky in honor of an American legend

Delta IV Medium ends 17-Year run with 100% success

CRS-18 Falcon and Dragon brave storms to begin 18th ISS flight

Night time is the right time for SpaceX STP-2 mission

Anomaly occurs during OmegA first stage static fire test

Boeing CST-100 Starliner Testing Deficiencies Identified

Michael McCabe March 9th Cape Canaveral, FL – Details are emerging about exactly what and how testing was performed prior to Boeing launching their Starliner test capsule on December 20, 2019, a flight which resulted in a mixed outcome instead of what was supposed to be a resounding and highly anticipated success.

Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Cold Static Test of Second Stage for OmegA Rocket

Patrick Attwell February 28th PROMONTORY, Utah – Feb. 28, 2020 – Northrop Grumman has successfully completed a cold static test of the second stage of its OmegA rocket in Promontory, Utah, completing the full-duration (approx. 140 seconds) firing on the afternoon of February 27.

New Horizons parallax project seeks public participation

Laurel Kornfeld February 21st NASA’s New Horizons mission is seeking public participation in a project aimed at imaging the two closest stars, Proxima Centauri and Wolf 359, from Earth on April 22 and 23, the same day the spacecraft will photograph them from almost five billion miles (eight billion km) away.

Pluto’s heart feature controls its winds

Laurel Kornfeld February 20th Pluto’s iconic heart feature, named Tombaugh Regio, functions as a “beating heart” that controls the small planet’s winds and might even play a role in shaping its surface features.

Arrokoth data sheds light on planet formation

Laurel Kornfeld February 19th Data returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft taken during its January 2019 flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth, also known as 2014 MU 69, located four billion miles from Earth, supports the theory that planet formation in the solar system occurred in a gentle rather than violent process.

ULA successfully launches Solar Probe aboard Atlas V

Theresa Cross February 10th CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched a NASA probe its way to our Sun. At 11:03 p.m. EDT, February 9, the rocket left Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Pluto’s hazy atmosphere is similar to that of Titan

Laurel Kornfeld February 2nd Pluto is often compared to Neptune’s largest moon Triton, but its hazy atmosphere is actually more akin to that of Saturn’s largest moon Titan, which is sometimes viewed as an analog of early Earth.

Artemis I Orion spacecraft advancing through tests at Plum Brook Station

Michael Cole January 31st SANDUSKY, OHIO — Testing is fully underway on the Orion spacecraft for the upcoming Artemis I test flight mission at NASA’s Plum Brook Station testing facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The Orion crew capsule, integrated with its European Service Module, is currently inside the facility’s Space Environments Complex undergoing thermal vacuum tests in the largest thermal vacuum chamber in the world.

SpaceX successfully launches fourth batch of Starlink satellites

Theresa Cross January 29th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX launched their fourth batch of approximately 60 satellites for the Starlink broadband network at 9:06am EDT, January 29, after carefully “evaluating extreme weather in the recovery area,” according to SpaceX.

NASA broadcast celebrates Spitzer telescope’s accomplishments

Laurel Kornfeld January 24th In a live broadcast on Wednesday, January 22, NASA celebrated 16 years of incredible accomplishments by the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of its four “Great Observatories” in space.

Spitzer telescope to be decommissioned after 16 years

Laurel Kornfeld January 20th NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which has studied the universe in infrared light since its launch in August of 2003, will be decommissioned on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Gallery: SpaceX’s Dragon clears safety check paving way for crewed missions

Michael McCabe January 19th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Images from the Jan. 19 test of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft which successfully demonstrated the vehicle’s ability to pull astronauts away from the rocket in the event of an accident on its way to orbit.

Boeing CST-100 Starliner Testing Deficiencies Identified

Michael McCabe March 9th Cape Canaveral, FL – Details are emerging about exactly what and how testing was performed prior to Boeing launching their Starliner test capsule on December 20, 2019, a flight which resulted in a mixed outcome instead of what was supposed to be a resounding and highly anticipated success.

Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Cold Static Test of Second Stage for OmegA Rocket

Patrick Attwell February 28th PROMONTORY, Utah – Feb. 28, 2020 – Northrop Grumman has successfully completed a cold static test of the second stage of its OmegA rocket in Promontory, Utah, completing the full-duration (approx. 140 seconds) firing on the afternoon of February 27.

Artemis I Orion spacecraft advancing through tests at Plum Brook Station

Michael Cole January 31st SANDUSKY, OHIO — Testing is fully underway on the Orion spacecraft for the upcoming Artemis I test flight mission at NASA’s Plum Brook Station testing facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The Orion crew capsule, integrated with its European Service Module, is currently inside the facility’s Space Environments Complex undergoing thermal vacuum tests in the largest thermal vacuum chamber in the world.

SpaceX successfully launches fourth batch of Starlink satellites

Theresa Cross January 29th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX launched their fourth batch of approximately 60 satellites for the Starlink broadband network at 9:06am EDT, January 29, after carefully “evaluating extreme weather in the recovery area,” according to SpaceX.

Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort’s successful completion clears way for crewed flights

Theresa Cross January 19th SpaceX successfully completed yet another milestone under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to send astronauts to the International Space Station – the In Flight Abort Test.

SuperDraco engines set to be tested during SpaceX in-flight abort

Theresa Cross January 19th KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — With the in-flight Crew Dragon abort test set to launch in less than an hour, let’s take a look into the incredibly powerful and spacecraft specific SuperDraco engine.

SpaceX, NASA monitoring weather ahead of in-flight abort test.

Sean Costello January 19th CAPE CANAVERAL. Fla. — As the sun rises and the shorelines of the Space Coast communities fill with eager spectators, SpaceX and NASA engineers have their attention focused on the early Sunday morning weather systems.

SpaceX poised to take large step toward human space flight

Cullen Desforges January 17th SpaceX is ready to check off another box on the list of requirements that need to be completed before the company can send crewed missions to the International Space Station.

NASA graduates its newest class of Astronauts

Sean Costello January 10th As NASA prepares to send astronauts to destinations far beyond Earth, a new breed of space flyers has joined the elite cadre of the agency’s astronaut corps.

New Year, new headquarters for Blue Origin

Laurel Kornfeld January 9th With Blue Origin opening its new headquarters, 2020 appears to be a year of further expansion for NewSpace.

SpaceX starts 2020 with Starlink launch

Patrick Attwell January 6th SpaceX’s Starlink constellation just got a major boost.

What’s in a name? Mars 2020 wouldn’t know, it doesn’t have one – yet

James Rice December 30th NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is on the verge of traveling to the Red Planet and beginning its search for evidence of Martian life. But it’s missing something very important.

Launch of Shijian 20 lights up Chinese skies and exploration ambitions

SpaceFlight Insider December 28th China has big plans for its space program. But before it can achieve them, it needed to make sure a key launch vehicle was up to the task. A recent mission suggests that it is.

Russia launches final Rockot with trio of communications satellites

SpaceFlight Insider December 27th Russia launched its final mission on the nation’s 2019 manifest when it sent three communications satellites to orbit on Friday, Dec. 27. The flight marked the close of a vehicle designed for violence.

Boeing Blunder! Starliner timing failure prevents ISS rendezvous

SpaceFlight Insider December 20th “Unplanned but stable.” That’s how Boeing referred to the first flight of its Starliner “space taxi.” In layman’s terms, the spacecraft was placed in the wrong orbit and won’t be going to the International Space Station.

Boeing’s Starliner capsule begins much-delayed first flight: UPDATE

Cullen Desforges December 20th CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – After almost a year of continued delays, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner has finally launched. It is the culmination of years of development, but there’s still a ways to go before astronauts will be soaring aloft in the vehicle.

New Horizons parallax project seeks public participation

February 21st
NASA’s New Horizons mission is seeking public participation in a project aimed at imaging the two closest stars, Proxima Centauri and Wolf 359, from Earth on April 22 and 23, the same day the spacecraft will photograph them from almost five billion miles (eight billion km) away.

Pluto’s heart feature controls its winds

February 20th
Pluto’s iconic heart feature, named Tombaugh Regio, functions as a “beating heart” that controls the small planet’s winds and might even play a role in shaping its surface features.

Arrokoth data sheds light on planet formation

February 19th
Data returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft taken during its January 2019 flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth, also known as 2014 MU 69, located four billion miles from Earth, supports the theory that planet formation in the solar system occurred in a gentle rather than violent process.

ULA successfully launches Solar Probe aboard Atlas V

February 10th
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched a NASA probe its way to our Sun. At 11:03 p.m. EDT, February 9, the rocket left Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Pluto’s hazy atmosphere is similar to that of Titan

February 2nd
Pluto is often compared to Neptune’s largest moon Triton, but its hazy atmosphere is actually more akin to that of Saturn’s largest moon Titan, which is sometimes viewed as an analog of early Earth.

NASA broadcast celebrates Spitzer telescope’s accomplishments

January 24th
In a live broadcast on Wednesday, January 22, NASA celebrated 16 years of incredible accomplishments by the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of its four “Great Observatories” in space.

Spitzer telescope to be decommissioned after 16 years

January 20th
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which has studied the universe in infrared light since its launch in August of 2003, will be decommissioned on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Gallery: SpaceX’s Dragon clears safety check paving way for crewed missions

No in-flight abort for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft today

January 18th
SpaceX has been forced to stand down from today’s attempt to test out a critical element of the company’s crew-rated spacecraft.

Boeing releases video from recent OFT mission

January 16th
Boeing has released video from its failed attempt to send its “Starliner” spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Processing of Starlink 2 booster underway, following return to Port Canaveral

January 11th
SpaceX’s B1049.4 returned to Port Canaveral January 9, 2020 after the completion of its fourth flown mission delivering the third set of Starlink satellites into low-Earth-orbit (LEO). This is Spacex’s first launch supported by the newly-created U.S. Space Force and its forty-eighth successful booster recovery.

CRS-19 Dragon wet and waiting for next mission

January 7th
After spending nearly a month berthed to the International Space Station, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule left the Station and splashed down marking the successful completion of its mission.

OPINION: 2019 – Numbers and Names

January 1st
Well that happened. 2019 was a roller-coaster of ups and downs that will have far-reaching consequences for future space exploration efforts.

SpaceX prepares for first of many Starlink launches in 2020

December 31st
2020 looks to be a big year for space. The next twelve months could see the U.S. regain a long-lost capability and another rover should be sent on its way to the Red Planet. SpaceX is planning to kick off 2020 with the launch of the next batch of Starlink satellites.

NASA Mars 2020 rover passes driving test

December 27th
Remember how stressful it was taking your first driver’s test? Now imagine driving a car that’s worth $2.5 billion.

This was the decade the commercial spaceflight industry leapt forward

Led by SpaceX, there’s been a paradigm shift in the business of space

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Two years into the decade, on May 25th, 2012, a small teardrop-shaped capsule arrived at the International Space Station, packed with cargo and supplies for the crew living on board. Its resupply mission at the ISS wasn’t remarkable, but the vehicle itself was unique: it was a Dragon cargo capsule, owned and operated by a private company called SpaceX.

Before 2012, only vehicles operated by governments had ever visited the ISS. The Dragon was the first commercial vehicle to dock with the station. The milestone was a crowning achievement for the commercial industry, which has permanently altered the spaceflight sector over the last 10 years.

This decade, the space industry has seen a shift in the way it does business, with newer players looking to capitalize on different markets and more ambitious projects. The result has been an explosion of growth within the commercial sector. It’s allowing for easier access to space than ever before, with both positive and negative results. Such growth is providing the commercial space industry with lots of momentum coming into the 2020s, but it’s unclear if this pace is something that can be kept up.

A new paradigm

Commercial companies have been involved in spaceflight since the dawn of space travel. Private companies built the Saturn V rocket for NASA, which took the first humans to the surface of the Moon. But for much of the 20th century, the companies that built those rockets and spacecraft weren’t purely focused on space travel. Instead, behemoth contractors specialized in space technologies, while also focusing on other areas of tech such as aviation and defense. They pursued purely government contracts — either from NASA or the Department of Defense — and most often the government told them exactly what to do.

“Under the old model, the government would hire a Lockheed or a Boeing or somebody to build one of these rockets,” Brian Weeden, director of program planning for the Secure World Foundation, tells The Verge. “Almost all the money would come from the government, and the government would have almost complete control over what was built.” It’s the way the Space Shuttle was built; the way the International Space Station was built; the way the future James Webb Space Telescope is being built. All of these things are owned and operated by NASA, though they’ve all been built by contractors.

NASA’s Space Shuttle, built by contractors, flew its final flight in 2011 Image: NASA

For years, companies with the most spaceflight experience pursued these juicy government gigs, forsaking the private market. The US’s biggest launch provider since 2006, the United Launch Alliance, was mostly established to loft national security satellites for the DoD. “Because our companies became only interested in and focusing on the government customer, by 2010, at the beginning of the decade, we had no market share at all in the commercial space launch industry,” Greg Autry, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California specializing in new space, tells The Verge. “If a private company from Thailand wanted to launch a TV satellite or an Israeli company wanted to launch a communications satellite, an American launch vehicle was not even a consideration.”

But in the 2000s, a new player emerged in the commercial space arena. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., helmed by billionaire Elon Musk, took a different route than the contractors. The company was purely focused on space travel, with a very ambitious long-term goal: start a settlement on Mars someday. First, it had to build actual rockets, and the company had to be profitable doing so. Armed with private investment from Musk and early adopters, SpaceX started developing rockets on its own. And rather than focus entirely on government contracts, SpaceX pursued any customer it could, from NASA and the DoD, to commercial and international satellite operators. If you had something that needed to get to space, SpaceX wanted to fly it for you.

As SpaceX strived to make a name for itself, NASA started to experiment with a new way of doing business. Known as fixed-price contracting, the idea worked liked this: The space agency would put out a call for a service (for instance, a way to transport cargo to the ISS). Companies would then pitch their own ideas and vehicles to make that happen. If NASA liked the pitch, it would hand over a lump sum of money as investment, and the company would go into development. Once the vehicle was complete, NASA would pay for the use of it. It was meant to be a win-win. NASA would pay less money up front for a service, and private companies would own and operate their final creations.

This model was perfect for a company like SpaceX. It could use the investment from the government to supplement the development of its rockets, and then ultimately use the rockets to make money once development was complete. “That caused them to think creatively,” Lori Garver, the former deputy administrator of NASA under the Obama administration, tells The Verge. “There was a guaranteed market if you could get there.” That’s exactly what happened after SpaceX was tasked by NASA to start servicing the International Space Station. Once the company had developed its Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX tried to put as many satellites on top of the vehicle as possible.

SpaceX’s Dragon, captured by the robotic arm on the International Space Station, in May 2012 Image: NASA

To capture more customers, SpaceX strove to bring down launch costs through new methods of manufacturing and a vertically integrated business. Famously, SpaceX relentlessly pursued making its rockets reusable, by landing them after each flight — a feat that’s meant to save the company on manufacturing costs. SpaceX has reaped the benefits of its affordable launches, too. Despite a few notable rocket failures, the company is still the most prolific launch provider in the US at the moment, and holds contracts with numerous customers from around the world. “They want to pursue private markets,” Jim Muncy, founder of PoliSpace, a space policy consulting agency, tells The Verge. “And they want to stimulate private markets.”

For better or for worse

Capitalism finally infiltrated spaceflight in the 2010s, and that meant competition was in full swing. Other launch providers looked at ways to also bring down costs over the last decade, with some pursuing reusability as well. New players are coming onto the scene: Blue Origin, Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab, and more. As launch costs have come down, space has become more accessible than ever.

Over the last decade, Moore’s law has also finally taken hold of spaceflight, with satellites and vehicles being built smaller. These cereal box-sized satellites are easier and cheaper to make than their bus-sized predecessors, and they’re much cheaper to launch, requiring less overall room on a rocket. As a result, companies focused solely on building small satellites have seen enormous success. Research organizations and universities looking to put something into orbit have an easier time of making that happen. This trend, combined with more launch vehicles, has resulted in an explosion of new vehicles and satellite constellations from commercial companies.

With all this progress does come unintended consequences. The rise of SpaceX has also seen the rise of the SpaceX fans. Unlike other CEOs, Musk’s fans revere him as an almost godlike figure, a savior for humanity who will lead us to a utopia on Mars. Criticizing him and SpaceX for any reason comes with major risk, as you will likely be perceived as tearing down progress. That’s unfortunate, because healthy skepticism is warranted these days, as SpaceX’s claims and ambitions have grown loftier than ever. The latest claim is that the company will be landing a giant new vehicle on the Moon by 2022 — but that vehicle hasn’t yet been built, and it certainly hasn’t flown. “Every pronouncement that they make, no matter how wacky it is, is reported without critique, largely,” Linda Billings, a current consultant to NASA’s astrobiology and planetary defense programs, tells The Verge.

Some of the more formidable projects these companies want to undertake could also be detrimental down the road. Notably, SpaceX, OneWeb, and other companies have all been eyeing a new spaceflight market: filling low Earth orbit with tens of thousands of satellites, in order to beam internet coverage to the surface below. In an effort to bolster the progress of the commercial space industry, the government has taken a light touch approach to regulating these more entrepreneurial companies. The Federal Communications Commission, which provides licenses for launches, has been very lax in its approvals, giving SpaceX and OneWeb the go-ahead for their massive satellite initiatives. Now, there’s not much stopping them from increasing the amount of satellites in orbit by several orders of magnitude.

SpaceX’s first batch of Starlink satellites, just before being deployed Image: SpaceX

It’s unclear what that will do to the space around Earth. Already, there’s concern that so many satellites will transform the night sky, making it difficult for astronomers to make detailed observations of the Universe when so many vehicles are whizzing overhead. But even more concerning is how all these satellites will add to an already congested region of space. Injecting thousands of satellites into orbit over the next few years may drastically increase the chances of things colliding. The end result could be that low Earth orbit becomes too crowded, and essentially unusable.

While this decade saw ambitions grow along with enormous progress within the commercial space sector, many things that had been promised didn’t pan out. Most notably, human spaceflight on commercial vehicles has yet to fully mature. Space tourism ventures Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic argued that customers could be flying this decade. That dream will have to wait until the 2020s. “Branson was saying we were going to start flying tourists in 2008,” says Billings. “And where are we now?” Meanwhile, SpaceX and Boeing have been developing new vehicles to carry humans to the International Space Station, under the new contracting model that NASA used to resupply the ISS. While the process may be less expensive than other contracting methods, the development has still been fraught with delays and setbacks — whether that be from stringent oversight, low budgets, or just plain engineering problems. The first crews were supposed to fly in 2017. Now they will likely fly for the first time in 2020. Creating new passenger spacecraft that keep people alive and safe still takes a lot of time, no matter what contracting method you use.

What’s next?

As the 2020s get underway, the commercial space industry will have a lot to prove, especially since many have their sights set much higher than low Earth orbit. Numerous private companies are aiming to send robotic landers to the Moon in the next few years, while SpaceX, Blue Origin, and more all vow to send people to the Moon someday. It’s unclear how long it will take them to get there, if they can make it at all. The first private company, an Israeli nonprofit, attempted to land on the Moon this year and didn’t stick the landing.

Ultimately, it’s uncertain if there is a solid market for more ambitious forms of space travel. Even the satellite market has softened in recent years, which may explain why SpaceX has tried to turn itself into a consumer-facing business through its satellite constellation. It needs money to stay afloat. The scary thought is: what if there’s not much more money to squeeze out of space? Experts have long been forecasting days where private space stations will dominate low Earth orbit, frequented by tourists on vacation or their honeymoons. Eventually, private companies hope to scour the Moon’s surface for water ice, which they could turn into drinking water or rocket fuel for lunar bases. It all sounds like a great future. “Commercializing the lunar stuff, honestly, is not going to happen as fast, because there isn’t a market for it anytime soon,” says Garver. “But anyone could have told you there was a market for launch outside of NASA.”

The next decade will show us if the commercial spaceflight industry can match the progress it’s seen these last 10 years. Maybe these companies will finally take us beyond Earth orbit, with people along for the ride. Or it may reveal that the market for space is staying close to home for the foreseeable future.

Bachelor of Science in
Spaceflight Operations

Imagine the challenges one could face every day if their career were dedicated to launching a brand-new facet of space exploration and travel. Amazingly, there is a degree to match your ambitions. Embry-Riddle offers the world’s first Spaceflight Operations degree program. Linking the commercial space industry and regulatory agencies with Embry-Riddle’s well-established aviation and aerospace connections, this program teaches students to solve challenges such as airspace traffic coordination, launch operations, and training and certification requirements.

Students can be part of the world’s first commercial space operations degree program. An innovator in aerospace and aviation education, Embry-Riddle is backed with expertise and committed to teaching an interdisciplinary curriculum that aligns with global space industry demands.

Embry-Riddle collaborates with the Space Generation Advisory Council to promote space activities and strengthen the space workforce through education and career development.

This non-engineering degree program has been structured with the help of the commercial space industry and affiliated space agencies, including NASA and the FAA-Commercial Transportation office (FAA-AST), to help match the strengths of the graduates with the industry’s needs.

Students in this innovative program can specialize in either Space Policy and Operations or Operations Science and Technology.

DEGREE DETAILS

About Spaceflight Operations at the Daytona Beach, FL Campus

The Bachelor of Science in Spaceflight Operations program opens a doorway into one of the newest and most innovative non-engineering fields in the aerospace industry. This unique program focuses on policy, operations, safety, training, human factors, and planning elements of commercial and private space operations. The interdisciplinary nature of this program prepares students to integrate the many different factors involved in space operations while also allowing them to specialize in either Space Policy and Operations or Operations Science and Technology.

The Bachelor of Science in Spaceflight Operations degree is housed in the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences in the College of Aviation.

Embry-Riddle’s Spaceflight Operations program is designed to prepare students for work in the commercial spaceflight industry. Graduates will be skilled in areas of space policy, operations, regulation and certification, as well as spaceflight safety, space program training, management, and planning.

Embry-Riddle’s undergraduate Spaceflight Operations degree is an interdisciplinary program that encompasses the human factors of space flight and training; the safety, security, and risk assessment of space operations; and the simulation, training, and planning involved with the space flight projects, vehicles, and spaceports.

This new degree program introduces students to the exciting and expanding world of commercial and private space flight, private and cooperative space programs, and the growing area of commerce in space research.

The campus is adjacent to the Daytona Beach International Airport and the NextGen Test Bed, and is also close to NASA and Kennedy Space Center.

Who we are

The Manned Space Flight Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational foundation offering extensive science education programs and a space museum. The cornerstone of its education mission is Space Center Houston, a leading science and space exploration learning center. It is one of Houston’s top attractions, the area’s No. 1 attraction for international visitors, the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Since opening in 1992, Space Center Houston has welcomed more than 22 million people and hosts nearly 1.25 million visitors annually in its 250,000-square-foot educational complex.

The center earned a 2016 Top Workplaces Award by The Houston Chronicle and generates annually a $118.7 million economic impact, 1,710 jobs and $53.7 million in personal income in greater Houston, according to a 2018 economic study by Quanticon, LLC researchers Stephen Cotton, PhD, and Jason Murasko.

Fun and engaging education

Educational emphasis is placed on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in a fun and engaging way. It uses space exploration to inspire wonder and interest in science and math.

• Space Center Houston offers a rich array of education programming for teachers and students, providing extraordinary learning opportunities.
• Inspiring young people to choose careers in STEM is one of the outcomes of our program.
• Education programs are based on data-supported evidence of effective learning and teaching methods.

Educational complex and space museum

The center features more than 400 space artifacts, permanent and traveling exhibits, exhibits and experiences and theaters related to the exciting future and remarkable past of America’s human space-flight program – all for one admission price. The experience is designed to engage adults and children alike.

• There is always something new at Space Center Houston with an amazing array of traveling exhibits and astounding events.
• Space Center Houston has the world’s largest collection of moon rocks and lunar samples for public view.
• Known around the world as the home of NASA Mission Control, International Space Station Mission Control and astronaut training, guests are taken behind the scenes to see NASA Johnson Space Center.

Foundation History

JSC and NASA had a tremendous story to tell. It did not have the place or the resources to tell it. Artifacts and models were displayed in the hallways of the JSC employee auditorium. Hal Stall, director of Public Affairs at JSC, likened it to “displaying the Hope diamond in a shoe box.” Stall wanted to provide real role models for youth, showing them that working hard in math and science classes could pay off with a career as a spacecraft designer or astronaut. And he wanted to do it without using tax dollars.

So Stall gathered leaders from JSC and the community and formed Manned Space Flight Education Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Together, the group set out to provide a world-class facility where the public could come to touch the space program — and be touched by it.

The Foundation brought in the experts from Walt Disney Imagineering, the design and master planning arm of the Walt Disney Co. Using BRC Imagination Arts as a collaborating designer, Disney generated the concepts that would become Space Center Houston.

The Foundation sought support from corporations. Many companies backed the building of the Center by providing seed money. Finally, $68.4 million in tax-exempt bonds were sold to the public.

Modest admission fees would fund the daily operation of the Center. They would also support the Center’s extensive educational program, which now provides outreach to thousands of school children and teachers.

The construction team, headed by a joint venture of CRSS Sirrine and Linbeck, began construction of the facility. With Walt Disney lmagineering’s and BRC Imagination Arts’ concepts in hand, BRC Imagination Arts began production of the shows and displays. It would be a challenging task – the Center had to entertain and excite, but tell the true story of space in a realistic way.

The goal was a center that appeals on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one. A Center that reaches guests’ minds through their hearts.

The hands-on activities, films, exhibits and live shows do just that.

History of NASA Johnson Space Center

Established as the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in 1961, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) named in honor of the late President, is responsible for the design, development, and operation of human space flight. For more than four decades, JSC has been the world leader in human space flight operations for NASA.

The MSC opened in 1963 with Gemini IV as the first flight controlled here and became a hub of activity as the Gemini program ended and the Apollo program gained momentum. The Apollo program obtained the national goal, set by President Kennedy in 1961 of landing men on the Moon and returning them safely within the decade of the 1960’s.

The eyes of the world were on Houston and the MSC on July 20, 1969 as Neil Armstrong reported from the lunar surface, “Houston, the Eagle has landed.” Hours later, Armstrong descended the ladder of the Lunar Module (LM)”Eagle” proclaiming, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” as he took his historic first steps on the Moon’s surface. Later, in 1973, the MSC was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) and has been the heart of the manned space flight program ever since. Controlling flights from Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz through the current Shuttle program is the responsibility of JSC scientists, engineers, astronauts and other staff members.

JSC is the Training base and home for our nation’s astronauts and the site of Mission Control, where a talented cadre of flight controllers monitors the work of our women and men in space. The operations as JSC include the development, production and delivery of the Space Shuttle orbiters; the testing of spacecraft associated systems; the development and integration of experiments for human space flight activities; supporting scientific engineering and medical research; the selection and training of astronauts and the operation of human space flights.

For more information about the Johnson Space Center, please visit the official NASA website.

Category: Space Flight

SpaceX Has Requested Permission to Fly Starship as Early as March

In September of 2019, SpaceX unveiled the first Starship prototype, the first of several test vehicles that would validate the design of the next-generation spacecraft that would fulfill Musk’s promise of making commercial flights to the Moon and Mars. And while there was a bit of a setback in November of 2019 after the Mk. 1 suffered a structural failure, Musk indicated that the company would be moving forward with other prototypes.

As Musk explained at the time, this would consist of the Mk. 3 prototype conducting an orbital test flight to an altitude of 100 km (62 mi) sometime in 2020. According to recent filings made with the FCC, this test could be happening as early as mid-March and will involve the vehicle launching from the company’s test facility in Boca Chica, Texas, and flying to an altitude of 20 km (12.6 mi) before landing.

Record-Setting Space Travelers Return to Earth

A trio of space travelers returned to Earth this morning from the International Space Station, including NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, at 326 straight days. Also coming home was ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, who has now spent a total of 367 days in space (in two missions), more days than any ESA astronaut in history.

The crew of Expedition 61 also included Russian cosmonaut and Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov, who completed his third mission for a total of 546 days in space, placing him 15th on the all-time time-in-space list.

LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it’s Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit

LightSail 2 deployed it solar sail five months ago, and it’s still orbiting Earth. It’s a successful demonstration of the potential of solar sail spacecraft. Now the LightSail 2 team at The Planetary Society has released a paper outlining their findings from the mission so far.

Spaceflight Stories Expected for 2020

The year two thousand and twenty is almost upon us. And as always, space agencies and aerospace companies all around the world are preparing to spend the coming year accomplishing a long list of missions and developments. Between NASA, the ESA, China, SpaceX, and others, there are enough plans to impress even the most curmudgeonly of space enthusiasts.

Starliner Launches But it Can’t Reach the Station

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule launched successfully, but a mishap prevented it from docking with the ISS. The ship is undamaged and will return and land at its designated location, according to officials. This could delay the planned crewed flight of the Starliner next summer.

A Private Company in China Plans to Launch Reusable Rockets by 2021

A Chinese company is planning to launch a rocket with a reusable booster in 2021. The company is called i-Space, and the rocket is called Hyperbola-2. They’ve already developed and launched another rocket, called Hyperbola.

NASA Tests Autonomous Lunar Landing Technology

In anticipation of many Moon landings to come, NASA is testing an autonomous lunar landing system in the Mojave Desert in California. The system is called a “terrain relative navigation system.” It’s being tested on a launch and landing of a Zodiac rocket, built by Masten Space Systems. The test will happen on Wednesday, September 11th.

The Light Sail is Working… It’s Working!

Good news from The Planetary Society: LightSail 2’s solar sail is functioning as intended. After launching on June 25th, then deploying its solar sail system on July 23rd, mission managers have been working with the solar sail to optimize they way LightSail 2 orients itself towards the Sun. Now The Planetary Society reports that the spacecraft has used its solar sail to raise its orbit.

Check Out This Super-Cool Quad Video of the Falcon Re-Entry. Two Sonic Booms!

Elon Musk has posted a four-panel video of the Falcon re-entry on his Twitter feed and it’s driving even jaded space-watchers into a frenzy.

LightSail 2 is Sending Home New Pictures of Earth

LightSail 2, the brainchild of The Planetary Society, has gifted us two new gorgeous images of Earth. The small spacecraft is currently in orbit at about 720 km, and the LightSail 2 mission team is putting it through its paces in preparation for solar sail deployment sometime on or after Sunday, July 21st.

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Universe Today Podcast

In this week’s questions show, I explain why we should be excited for both Starship and Artemis. Do we have a cognitive bias when thinking about advanced civilizations? Should humans or robots explore space? And more.

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00:30 Why should Artemis bother? Starship is better

04:34 Do we have a cognative bias when thinking about aliens?

08:55 Do I have a bobble-head?

17:04 Can we land without fuel?

19:55 Can we see farther into the Universe?

21:48 Could superearth inhabitants launch rockets?

23:47 What if my content is wrong?

25:50 Can we predict when a supernova will happen?

Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here.

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Support Universe Today podcasts with Fraser Cain

Track: Space Flight

This track focuses on space engineering and space exploration. It covers a broad field, ranging from satellite engineering, space systems engineering, orbital mechanics, instrumentation, launchers and propulsion to mission analysis, remote sensing, planetary exploration and scientific interpretation of satellite observation data.

Astronautics is quite different from aeronautics because each space mission is uniquely designed to perform a specific task related to its operational or scientific objectives. This requires an “end-to-end” approach where the objectives drive the design of the mission and data processing is an integral part of the mission. Within this track, you are offered opportunities to participate in ongoing engineering and scientific projects at the participating chairs.

What will you learn?

You will develop skills to carry out an engineering or research project independently and individually. This will be achieved by a highly focused MSc thesis project under strict supervision. In addition, you will acquire broad knowledge in the field of space and its applications. These objectives will make you a broad aerospace engineer with generally applicable engineering and research skills and with a clear focus area.

The track consists of two profiles, Space Engineering and Space Exploration. Each profile has a different focus, but they are also interrelated. On the one hand you will become an all-round space professional, but on the other hand you will acquire generic skills that enable you to pursue a career in a broad spectrum of industrial and research environments.

The Track offers two Profiles:

Space Engineering combines multidisciplinary engineering fields to realise high-performance space systems and system components. Areas of interest include the engineering of space missions, space vehicles and instruments, sensors, actuators, mechanisms, propulsive means, vehicle control, distributed space systems, and Systems Engineering. More

This profile covers spacecraft navigation and planetary missions, and aims at delivering skilled space mission engineers and scientists. Using mathematical methods and knowledge of the physical world, it is possible to design and/or estimate spacecraft trajectories, or to retrieve properties of planets and moons from measurements taken by planetary orbiters and space probes. Mastering this chain enables the student to design space missions (navigation and observation systems inclusive) that are used in the exciting area of space exploration. More

The Space Flight track is one of six tracks within the Aerospace Engineering master programme. On graduation, students receive a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering (Space Flight).

Special notice for students interested in the track Space Flight: this track has a limited capacity.