NASA says 'fireball' that shook Washington coast about the size of minivan
SEATTLE – The fireball hundreds of people reported over the Washington coast Wednesday night was a meteor entering our atmosphere, NASA scientists told KCPQ.Around 7:10 p.m., Washingtonians reported a bright light in the sky, a boom and shaking.
SEATTLE – The fireball hundreds of people reported over the Washington coast Wednesday night was a meteor entering our atmosphere, NASA scientists told KCPQ.Around 7:10 p.m., Washingtonians reported a bright light in the sky, a boom and shaking.
Watch LIVE: Space sports car now flying toward asteroid belt beyond Mars
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The world's first space sports car is cruising toward the asteroid belt, well beyond Mars.SpaceX chief Elon Musk confirmed the new, more distant route for his rocketing Tesla Roadster, which was launched aboard the company's Falcon Heavy from Florida.The Heavy became the most powerful rocket flying today with Tuesday's inaugural test flight.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The world's first space sports car is cruising toward the asteroid belt, well beyond Mars.SpaceX chief Elon Musk confirmed the new, more distant route for his rocketing Tesla Roadster, which was launched aboard the company's Falcon Heavy from Florida.The Heavy became the most powerful rocket flying today with Tuesday's inaugural test flight.
SpaceX's big new rocket blasts off with sports car on top
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX's big new rocket blasted off Tuesday on its first test flight, carrying a red sports car aiming for an endless road trip past Mars.The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX's big new rocket blasted off Tuesday on its first test flight, carrying a red sports car aiming for an endless road trip past Mars.The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon.
Record-setting spacewalk ends with antenna in wrong spot
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A record-setting Russian spacewalk ended with a critical antenna in the wrong position Friday outside the International Space Station.NASA's Mission Control reported that the antenna was still working.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A record-setting Russian spacewalk ended with a critical antenna in the wrong position Friday outside the International Space Station.NASA's Mission Control reported that the antenna was still working.
Christa McAuliffe's lost lessons finally taught in space
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Christa McAuliffe's lost lessons are finally getting taught in space.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Christa McAuliffe's lost lessons are finally getting taught in space.
NASA: Legendary astronaut, moonwalker John Young has died
NASA says legendary astronaut John Young, who walked on the moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, has died.
NASA says legendary astronaut John Young, who walked on the moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, has died.
Brilliant light over SoCal skies after SpaceX launches rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base
CALIFORNIA -- A mysterious white light that appeared over Southern California skies during the Friday evening rush hour, prompting curiosity and questions from the many onlookers who observed it, was from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch, authorities confirmed.KTLA began receiving numerous phone calls shortly after 5:30 p.m., when a brilliant but slow-moving light -- somewhat resembling a jellyfish-like creature -- appeared in the night sky.
CALIFORNIA -- A mysterious white light that appeared over Southern California skies during the Friday evening rush hour, prompting curiosity and questions from the many onlookers who observed it, was from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch, authorities confirmed.KTLA began receiving numerous phone calls shortly after 5:30 p.m., when a brilliant but slow-moving light -- somewhat resembling a jellyfish-like creature -- appeared in the night sky.
NASA astronaut, 1st to fly untethered in space, dies at 80
HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, the first person to fly freely and untethered in space, has died.
HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, the first person to fly freely and untethered in space, has died.
NASA drops replica Orion spacecraft to test parachutes
YUMA, Ariz. — NASA on Friday successfully dropped a replica Orion spacecraft from an Air Force transport aircraft to a southwestern Arizona desert site to test the craft's ability to cope with a partial parachute failure.The test used two of Orion's three main parachutes to simulate the failure of the third and still sufficiently slowed the spacecraft for a landing.Previous attempts were thwarted by a failure of the C-17 plane's cargo doors to open at the drop altitude of 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) on Wednesday and by high winds on Thursday.Jim McMichael, a NASA systems engineer, said the 10-ton (10.16-metric ton) replica was "sitting perfectly upright" after bouncing once when it landed at the Yuma Proving Ground, an Army installation.Actual Orion landings will involve ocean splashdowns.The Orion spacecraft is expected to carry as many as four astronauts deeper into space than anyone has ever gone before.In Friday's test, two small "drogue" chutes successfully deployed, stabilized the replica's fall and then were cast off before deployment of the orange-and-white main chutes that then slowed the descent, McMichael said.The landing spot was on hard desert soil, not a plowed and leveled area where NASA hoped the unit would land, McMichael said.Still, "it went really well," McMichael said. "We get a little bit of a bounce.
YUMA, Ariz. — NASA on Friday successfully dropped a replica Orion spacecraft from an Air Force transport aircraft to a southwestern Arizona desert site to test the craft's ability to cope with a partial parachute failure.The test used two of Orion's three main parachutes to simulate the failure of the third and still sufficiently slowed the spacecraft for a landing.Previous attempts were thwarted by a failure of the C-17 plane's cargo doors to open at the drop altitude of 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) on Wednesday and by high winds on Thursday.Jim McMichael, a NASA systems engineer, said the 10-ton (10.16-metric ton) replica was "sitting perfectly upright" after bouncing once when it landed at the Yuma Proving Ground, an Army installation.Actual Orion landings will involve ocean splashdowns.The Orion spacecraft is expected to carry as many as four astronauts deeper into space than anyone has ever gone before.In Friday's test, two small "drogue" chutes successfully deployed, stabilized the replica's fall and then were cast off before deployment of the orange-and-white main chutes that then slowed the descent, McMichael said.The landing spot was on hard desert soil, not a plowed and leveled area where NASA hoped the unit would land, McMichael said.Still, "it went really well," McMichael said. "We get a little bit of a bounce.
Good night, night: Light pollution increasing around globe
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The world's nights are getting alarmingly brighter — bad news for all sorts of creatures, humans included.A German-led team reported Wednesday that light pollution is threatening darkness almost everywhere.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The world's nights are getting alarmingly brighter — bad news for all sorts of creatures, humans included.A German-led team reported Wednesday that light pollution is threatening darkness almost everywhere.
Lofty Thanksgiving: Astronauts feasting on pouches of turkey
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts at the International Space Station will be feasting Thursday on pouches of Thanksgiving turkey.The three Americans, two Russians and one Italian will also rip into single-serving bags of mashed potatoes, candied yams, cornbread stuffing and cranberry-apple dessert.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts at the International Space Station will be feasting Thursday on pouches of Thanksgiving turkey.The three Americans, two Russians and one Italian will also rip into single-serving bags of mashed potatoes, candied yams, cornbread stuffing and cranberry-apple dessert.
New US weather satellite launched from California
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An advanced U.S. weather satellite designed to improve the accuracy of extended forecasts has been launched into polar orbit from California.The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:47 a.m. PST Saturday atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket.The satellite is the first of four next-generation spacecraft for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Circling the Earth from pole to pole 14 times a day, JPSS-1 carries a suite of five instruments intended to make global observations that will improve forecasts of severe weather events three to seven days beforehand.The satellite also will contribute to near-term weather forecasts, climate and ocean dynamics research, among many other uses.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An advanced U.S. weather satellite designed to improve the accuracy of extended forecasts has been launched into polar orbit from California.The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:47 a.m. PST Saturday atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket.The satellite is the first of four next-generation spacecraft for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Circling the Earth from pole to pole 14 times a day, JPSS-1 carries a suite of five instruments intended to make global observations that will improve forecasts of severe weather events three to seven days beforehand.The satellite also will contribute to near-term weather forecasts, climate and ocean dynamics research, among many other uses.
Apollo 12 astronaut Richard Gordon, who circled moon, dies
WASHINGTON — Apollo 12 astronaut Richard "Dick" F.
WASHINGTON — Apollo 12 astronaut Richard "Dick" F.
Commander of 1st flight of space shuttle Challenger dies
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Paul Weitz, a retired NASA astronaut who commanded the first flight of the space shuttle Challenger and also piloted the Skylab in the early 1970s, has died.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Paul Weitz, a retired NASA astronaut who commanded the first flight of the space shuttle Challenger and also piloted the Skylab in the early 1970s, has died.
SpaceX launches communications satellite, lands booster
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has launched and landed its second rocket in three days, this time from the U.S. East Coast.The unmanned Falcon — recycled following a February flight — blasted off with a satellite Wednesday evening from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has launched and landed its second rocket in three days, this time from the U.S. East Coast.The unmanned Falcon — recycled following a February flight — blasted off with a satellite Wednesday evening from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
Vice Pres. Mike Pence pledges that US will go to the moon, Mars and beyond
WASHINGTON — Seated before the grounded space shuttle Discovery, a constellation of Trump administration officials used soaring rhetoric to vow to send Americans back to the moon and then on to Mars.After voicing celestial aspirations, top officials moved to what National Intelligence Director Dan Coats called "a dark side" to space policy.
WASHINGTON — Seated before the grounded space shuttle Discovery, a constellation of Trump administration officials used soaring rhetoric to vow to send Americans back to the moon and then on to Mars.After voicing celestial aspirations, top officials moved to what National Intelligence Director Dan Coats called "a dark side" to space policy.
Spacewalkers install new hand on station's robot arm
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts gave the International Space Station's big robot arm a new hand Thursday.Commander Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei accomplished the job on the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks.The latching mechanism on one end of the 58-foot robot arm malfunctioned in August.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts gave the International Space Station's big robot arm a new hand Thursday.Commander Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei accomplished the job on the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks.The latching mechanism on one end of the 58-foot robot arm malfunctioned in August.
SpaceX releases fail video of all of its rocket explosions
Boom!While we may be used to watching SpaceX successfully land its Falcon 9 rocket boosters on land and sea, the company wasn't always so successful.Elon Musk's company lost many boosters as it tried to figure out how to make a successful landing.On Thursday, Musk posted a compilation video of all those explosions - or as the video jokingly calls them ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly' - with new footage that had never been released.In the description, Musk wrote: "The sordid history of how the @SpaceX Falcon 9, the first fully reusable, orbit-class booster rocket, eventually managed to land in one piece and stay that way ...
Boom!While we may be used to watching SpaceX successfully land its Falcon 9 rocket boosters on land and sea, the company wasn't always so successful.Elon Musk's company lost many boosters as it tried to figure out how to make a successful landing.On Thursday, Musk posted a compilation video of all those explosions - or as the video jokingly calls them ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly' - with new footage that had never been released.In the description, Musk wrote: "The sordid history of how the @SpaceX Falcon 9, the first fully reusable, orbit-class booster rocket, eventually managed to land in one piece and stay that way ...
NASA's Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft faces fiery finish
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — After a 20-year voyage, NASA's Cassini spacecraft is poised to dive into Saturn this week to become forever one with the exquisite planet.There's no turning back: Friday it careens through the atmosphere and burns up like a meteor in the sky over Saturn.NASA is hoping for scientific dividends up until the end.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — After a 20-year voyage, NASA's Cassini spacecraft is poised to dive into Saturn this week to become forever one with the exquisite planet.There's no turning back: Friday it careens through the atmosphere and burns up like a meteor in the sky over Saturn.NASA is hoping for scientific dividends up until the end.