Florida man arrested in neo-Nazi banner display
A man arrested this week in Brevard County is accused of hanging swastikas and other antisemitic banners above Interstate 4 near Orlando, what the Florida Department of Law Enforcement described was in violation of a state law signed this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
SpaceX launches test rocket, breaks apart before landing
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX chalked up another failed landing Tuesday for its futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship, as the prototype Mars rocket broke apart right before touchdown. A camera on the rocket froze not quite six minutes into the test flight, and dense fog in South Texas obscured views of the ruptured rocket. Ad“Another exciting test, as we say,” SpaceX launch commentator John Insprucker said as he concluded the webcast. SpaceX plans to use Starship to send astronauts and cargo to the moon and, ultimately, Mars. Ad___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.
2 hombres y 2 mujeres viajarán en vuelo privado al espacio
In this photo provided by SpaceX, Jared Isaacman, from left to right, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski pose for a photo, Monday, March 29, 2021, from the SpaceX launch tower at NASAs Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (SpaceX via AP)(SpaceX)
Mars landing team 'awestruck' by photo of descending rover
This Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover lowered towards the surface of Mars during its powered descent. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The world got its first close-up look at a Mars landing on Friday, as NASA released a stunning picture of its newest rover being lowered onto the dusty red surface. NASA equipped the spacecraft with a record 25 cameras and two microphones, many of which were turned on during Thursday’s descent. It's the ninth time that NASA has successfully landed on Mars __ and the fifth rover. As it did with 2012's Curiosity rover — still roaming 2,300 miles (3,750 kilometers) away — NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Perseverance descending beneath its massive parachute.
NASA rover lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life
(NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A NASA rover streaked through the orange Martian sky and landed on the planet Thursday, accomplishing the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on Mars. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around Mars on successive days last week. AdPerseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S. “Are we alone in this sort of vast cosmic desert, just flying through space, or is life much more common? Two older NASA landers are still humming along on Mars: 2012′s Curiosity rover and 2018′s InSight.
‘Unfavorable weather’ postpones SpaceX launch of Starlink satellites
A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. The payload is the 17th batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network. (AP Photo/John Raoux)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX was ready to roll Sunday night to carry more Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, but at the last minute, the plans were scrapped due to weather conditions. At least two were planned for this week of launches of 60 Starlink satellites at a time. SpaceX received approval Friday from the 45th Space Wing, which oversees the eastern range, for a Falcon 9 lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base Sunday night carrying more Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.
35 years since Challenger launch disaster: 'Never forgotten'
Barely 100 people — all masked and seated or standing far apart — gathered in front of Kennedy Space Center’s Space Mirror Memorial. The widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee quietly observed the anniversary from her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In a recent interview, June Scobee Rodgers said the presence of teacher Christa McAuliffe on the flight added to the crew’s lasting legacy. Scobee Rodgers helped establish the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in the wake of the accident, along with the other Challenger families. This year's observance focused on the Challenger crew — McAuliffe, Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.
NASA astronauts depart ISS for first spacewalk of 2021
In this image taken from NASA video, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins works outside the International Space Stations European lab on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Spacewalking astronauts installed a high-speed data link outside the International Space Station’s European lab on Wednesday and tackled other improvements. The shelf was installed with the station’s robot arm, but had to wait until Wednesday’s spacewalk to get hooked up and activated. Hopkins and Glover will perform a second spacewalk on Monday to complete battery upgrades to the station’s solar power grid. Their docked Dragon capsule was visible on NASA TV during the spacewalk.
Blue Origin launches capsule to space with astronaut perks
In this image from video made available by Blue Origin, the company's New Shepard rocket lands after a test flight in West Texas on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company launched a new capsule into space Thursday to test all the astronaut perks before people strap in. Thursday’s flight with a dummy named Mannequin Skywalker lasted 10 minutes and reached 66 miles (106 kilometers) above West Texas. Both the New Shepard rocket and the capsule landed successfully. It was the 14th flight to the fringes of space for a New Shepard rocket.
WATCH: SpaceX completes 1st 2021 launch out of Cape Canaveral
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Elon Musk’s SpaceX completed the first mission of 2021 on Thursday evening out of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 lifted off about 9:15 p.m. carrying Turksat 5A, a new communication satellite that will expand communications in Turkey and other parts of the world. The Falcon 9′s booster landed on a drone ship. Transporter 1 is SpaceX’s next mission next week will deliver dozens of small satellites to orbit. FULL MISSION
SpaceX launches Starship on highest test flight, crash-lands
In this screen grab from video posted by SpaceX, the company's Starship launches for a test flight, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, in a remote area of Texas. (SpaceX via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX launched its shiny, bullet-shaped, straight-out-of-science fiction Starship several miles into the air from a remote corner of Texas on Wednesday, but the 6 1/2-minute test flight ended in an explosive fireball at touchdown. The full-scale, stainless steel model — 160 feet (50 meters) tall and 30 feet (9 meters) in diameter — soared out over the Gulf of Mexico. The entire flight — as dramatic and flashy as it gets, even by SpaceX standards — lasted six minutes and 42 seconds. “Anybody who knows how hard this stuff is is impressed by today’s Starship test.”Two lower, shorter SpaceX test flights earlier this year from Boca Chica, Texas — a quiet coastal village before SpaceX moved in — used more rudimentary versions of Starship.
First woman, next man on moon will come from these NASA 18
The first woman and next man on the moon will come from this elite group. Vice President Mike Pence introduced the astronauts Wednesday at the close of his final meeting as chairman of the National Space Council. The space agency is aiming for a moon landing by 2024, although the chances of that happening are growing increasingly dim. Half of the NASA astronauts have spaceflight experience. “The history is awesome, but we’re here to look toward the future,” Acaba told reporters after the announcement.
Test flight of SpaceX's Starship aborted at last second
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The first high-altitude test flight of SpaceX’s futuristic Starship was aborted at the last second in Texas on Tuesday. SpaceX came close to launching a prototype of the rocketship that company chief Elon Musk is designing to carry people to Mars. SpaceX already has conducted five Starship test flights, but these earlier, simpler models have gone no higher than 490 feet (150 meters.) SpaceX has taken over Boca Chica in the far southeastern corner of Texas, near the Mexican border, to build and test its Starships. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.
SpaceX capsules parked side-by-side at station for 1st time
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A SpaceX supply ship bearing Christmas goodies arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, parking alongside another Dragon capsule that carried up astronauts three weeks ago. The two Dragon parking spots are just 15 feet (4.5 meters) or so apart. SpaceX redesigned its cargo ships to be as big as its spacious crew capsules in order to pack more in. The cargo Dragon will remain at the space station for a month, before parachuting into the Atlantic with science samples and discarded gear. The crew Dragon will stay up until spring.
Double Dragons: SpaceX launches space station supplies
The Dragon — packed with Christmas treats and presents — should reach the space station on Monday, joining the Dragon that delivered four astronauts last month. “Dragons everywhere you look,” said Kenny Todd, NASA’s deputy space station program manager. With NASA’s commercial crew program officially under way, SpaceX expects to always have at least one Dragon capsule at the space station. The station crew watched a live broadcast of the launch, from 250 miles (400 kilometers) up. This updated cargo-carrying model — as large as the SpaceX crew capsule — will dock to the orbiting lab by itself.
SpaceX launch postponed due to poor weather
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The latest launch by SpaceX has been scrubbed, pushing it back from Saturday to Sunday. The reason for the change is poor weather. SpaceX is planning to launch its 21st cargo supply mission for NASA from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Originally scheduled for Saturday at 11:39 a.m., the launch is now set to take place at 11:17 a.m. on Sunday. Due to poor weather in the recovery area for today’s attempt, now targeting Sunday, December 6 at 11:17 a.m. EST for launch of CRS-21 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 5, 2020A Falcon 9 rocket will send the Cargo Dragon spacecraft into the atmosphere and ultimately to the International Space Station.
NASA: Mystery object is 54-year-old rocket, not asteroid
Observations by a telescope in Hawaii clinched its identity, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The object was classified as an asteroid after its discovery in September. But NASA’s top asteroid expert, Paul Chodas, quickly suspected it was the Centaur upper rocket stage from Surveyor 2, a failed 1966 moon-landing mission. Chodas was proven right after a team led by the University of Arizona's Vishnu Reddy used an infrared telescope in Hawaii to observe not only the mystery object, but — just on Tuesday — a Centaur from 1971 still orbiting Earth. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.
Astronaut: SpaceX Dragon beats shuttle, Soyuz for launching
SpaceX delivered its second crew of astronauts to the International Space Station late Monday night, just 27 hours after their launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. In their first press conference from orbit, the four astronauts described Sunday night's launch and their first impressions of the space station, their new home until spring. It's the first time the space station has had seven long-term crew members all at once, which is expected to boost scientific output. There's energy up here,” said NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who arrived on a Russian Soyuz capsule a month ago. NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to the space station from the U.S. following the 2011 retirement of the shuttle fleet, reducing America's costly reliance on Russian rockets.
SpaceX capsule with 4 astronauts reaches space station
In this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon is seen after docking at the International Space Station, late Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (NASA TV via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived Monday at the International Space Station, their new home until spring. The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. “Oh, what a good voice to hear,” space station astronaut Kate Rubins called out when the Dragon's commander, Mike Hopkins, first made radio contact. And so it will go, with SpaceX — and eventually Boeing — transporting astronauts to and from the station for NASA.
SpaceX flying ex-football players, flight controller, Scout
The three Americans and one Japanese should reach the International Space Station late Monday for a five- to six-month stay, following Sunday's liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A brief look at each:—Crew commander Mike Hopkins, 51, is an Air Force colonel and former space station resident who grew up on a hog and cattle farm in Missouri. He played football for the University of Illinois and, before becoming an astronaut in 2009, worked at the Pentagon. —Shannon Walker, 55, a Houston-born-and-raised physicist, also has lived before on the space station. She worked as a flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and then behind the scenes in the space station program, before becoming an astronaut in 2004.