Tag

Spaceflight

All articles tagged with #spaceflight

science50 minutes ago•187 min saved

Space medical scare could redefine long-duration missions

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke experienced a sudden speech disturbance aboard the ISS and returned to Earth early on the SpaceX Crew-11 mission. While no formal diagnosis was disclosed, NASA and space medicine experts say the incident highlights how weightlessness and radiation pose complex health risks that may affect future deep-space missions. As agencies plan longer journeys to the Moon and Mars, there is growing emphasis on onboard medical capabilities, Earth‑linked support, and emerging tools like organ chips to monitor and tailor care for astronauts on extended missions.

via CNN|

#astronauts #deep-space #nasa

space-and-spaceflight2 hours ago•16 min saved

Starship V3's Heat Shield Steals the Spotlight on Flight 12

Starship V3's Flight 12 was largely successful and its heat shield performed exceptionally well, with reentry temperatures around 1,450 C and video/images showing a uniform, largely intact shield thanks to new tile geometry and stronger attachment clips. SpaceX will study post-flight data since the vehicle was destroyed on splashdown to validate heat-shield durability for rapid reuse ahead of crewed Moon/Mars missions; meanwhile a separate multi-engine failure during the booster boostback caused a hard splashdown, a problem SpaceX must address before Flight 13.

via Gizmodo|

#heat-shields #rocket-launches #space-and-spaceflight

space2 hours ago•4 min saved

New Lunar Trajectory Slashes Fuel Costs by 58.80 m/s

Researchers using the theory of functional connections simulated 30 million routes to the Moon and found a more fuel-efficient path that enters the lunar variate from the far side, reducing delta-v by 58.80 m/s and maintaining continuous Earth communication. The findings, based on gravity-assisted trajectories in the Interplanetary Transportation Network, could lower mission costs, though it is an initial result and future work may incorporate solar gravity as lunar missions scale up (e.g., Artemis 2).

via The Times of India|

#delta-v #interplanetary-transportation-network #lunar

science3 hours ago•16 min saved

Tardigrades Survive the Extreme by Turning into a Glassy, Time-Stopped State

Tardigrades endure boiling, freezing, vacuum, and high radiation by drying into a glass-like tun that halts metabolism. This cryptobiosis is enabled by tardigrade-specific proteins (TDPs) that form a protective amorphous solid and the Dsup protein that shields DNA from radiation. They’ve been revived after years and even sent to space (ISS), with ongoing studies aiming to apply these mechanisms for radioprotection and dry, room-temperature biomedical storage, though translating to humans remains far off.

via Space Daily|

#cryptobiosis #dsup #radioprotection

technology4 hours ago•2 min saved

FAA Clears Blue Origin to Resume New Glenn Launch After Corrective Actions

The FAA has cleared Blue Origin to resume New Glenn launches after investigating NG-3’s mishap, which was caused by a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and created a thrust anomaly during the second-stage burn. Blue Origin has implemented nine corrective actions and is preparing NG-4, including integrated hotfire testing, with a new launch timeline to be announced.

via Engadget|

#aerospace #blue-origin #faa

technology1 day ago•13 min saved

China launches Shenzhou-23 crew for a yearlong Tiangong mission

China launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on May 24, 2026, sending a three-astronaut crew to the Tiangong space station for a planned yearlong stay as part of ongoing Chinese spaceflight and station operations.

via AP News|

#china #jiuquan #shenzhou-23

space-exploration2 days ago•72 min saved

China's Shenzhou 23 set for Tiangong launch with Hong Kong's Lai Ka-ying aboard

China is preparing to launch Shenzhou 23 to the Tiangong space station on May 24 with crew Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying for a six‑month stay; Lai will be Hong Kong's first orbiting astronaut, and one crew member is expected to embark on a year‑long orbit later as part of the Shenzhou 24 plan involving a Pakistani visitor (the specific astronaut to take the year‑long seat has not yet been named). The mission follows Shenzhou 21’s end and Shenzhou 22’s lifeboat role, and Tianzhou 10 arrived May 11 with nearly seven tons of supplies.

via Space|

#china #hong-kong #shenzhou-23

space-exploration5 days ago•94 min saved

SpaceX’s Starship V3 preps for historic first flight on May 21

SpaceX will debut Starship V3 from Starbase in a 90-minute launch window opening at 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 21 for Flight 12, which will deploy 20 dummy Starlink satellites and two modified real Starlink satellites to test hardware and heat-shield readiness as SpaceX pushes toward lunar/Mars missions and Artemis milestones; live coverage will be available on Space.com and SpaceX’s site.

via Space|

#space-exploration #spaceflight #spacex

science6 days ago•13 min saved

Spaceflight Leaves Lasting Molecular Footprints, Twin Study Reveals

NASA’s Scott–Mark Kelly twin study found no DNA sequence changes from a 340‑day mission, but about 7% of Scott’s gene expression remained dysregulated six months after landing. Telomeres lengthened in space and then shortened to below baseline upon return. Cognitive performance stayed slower for months; immune function, DNA repair, bone formation, hypoxia response, and mitochondrial pathways were affected, and liver metabolism shifted, suggesting spaceflight perturbs an interconnected biological network with lasting effects for future long-duration missions.

via Space Daily|

#gene-expression #mitochondria #science

space-and-spaceflight7 days ago•15 min saved

Live Flyby: House-Sized Asteroid 2026 JH2 Skims Past Earth

Asteroid 2026 JH2, roughly 14–30 meters across, will pass within about 57,000 miles (92,000 km) of Earth today—closer than a quarter of the Moon’s distance. It poses no threat, but scientists will use the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 livestream to study its orbit and physical properties as it whizzes by, with closest approach around 5:58 p.m. ET. The rock completes an orbit around the Sun every 3.76 years; the next close pass won’t occur until 2090.

via Gizmodo|

#asteroids #astronomy #earth

technology7 days ago•38 min saved

Starship targets a high-stakes Tuesday flight test

SpaceX is planning a high-stakes Starship flight test on Tuesday; the window, weather and vehicle readiness will determine whether the fully integrated system soars and lands as hoped, a result that could steer the program’s next milestones.

via Forbes|

#launch #spaceflight #spacex

space7 days ago•13 min saved

Cassini's Grand Finale: A Deliberate Farewell to Protect Enceladus and Unveil Saturn's Secrets

After 20 years in orbit, Cassini ended in 2017 with a controlled plunge into Saturn to prevent a fuel-depleted craft from contaminating Enceladus; its Grand Finale sent the orbiter on 22 dives through a 1,500-mile gap between Saturn's cloud tops and the inner edge of its rings, yielding landmark data on Saturn’s gravity, magnetic field, rings, and upper atmosphere, while Enceladus’s plumes revealed a subsurface ocean and organic chemistry. To avoid any contamination, Cassini carried plutonium-powered generators that would disperse if the craft burned up, ending the mission but leaving a vast scientific data legacy.

via Space Daily|

#cassini #enceladus #grandfinale

space9 days ago•6 min saved

Race to Titan: Nuclear-Heat Propulsion Could Reach Saturn’s Moon in 220 Days

Engineers compared nuclear propulsion options for a crewed Titan mission; a uranium-fueled nuclear-thermal design called Copernicus could reach Titan in about 220 days, with additional propellant tanks shrinking transit to 90 days but adding mass and cost. The full mission could last ~1,000 days, far exceeding any human in deep space so far, with exposure to galactic cosmic rays and bone/muscle deterioration that current shielding cannot fully mitigate. NASA’s Dragonfly robotic mission, launching in 2034, will gather data to test assumptions before any crewed mission.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#cosmic-radiation #dragonfly-mission #nuclear-thermal-propulsion

canada9 days ago•17 min saved

Artemis II Crew Reveals the Playbook for Teamwork and Resilience

Artemis II’s four-astronaut crew shared life lessons from their lunar flyby: build a close, communicative team, lean on behavioral health support, train for low-probability/high-stakes scenarios, and keep relationships with loved ones strong to stay calm and focused under pressure—emphasizing that failure isn’t feared but faced with proactive problem-solving and trust in each other.

via Global News|

#artemis-ii #astronauts #canada

technology12 days ago•2 min saved

NASA's Palm-Sized AI Chip Could Put Spacecraft on Autopilot

NASA is testing a palm-sized, radiation-hardened system-on-a-chip that could deliver up to 100x the computing power of current spaceflight computers and enable onboard AI to autonomously respond to anomalies and analyze vast data, potentially speeding science and mission ops; the project, in partnership with Microchip Technology, is undergoing radiation, thermal, and landing-simulation tests at JPL before flight certification for use on Earth-orbiters, rovers, habitats, and deep-space missions. The article notes the headline claims 500x, but NASA cites testing at up to 100x.

via Gizmodo|

#ai #autonomy #nasa