NASA Sets Target Date for Mars Helicopter Flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA announced on Tuesday a target date for the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.

The small helicopter known as Ingenuity is expected to lift-off from the surface of Mars no earlier than Thursday, April 8. The copter remains attached to the belly of NASA’s new rover Perseverance, receiving electricity, warmth, and a ride to its launch zone.

NASA will have only one month to perform a series of flights once the copter is dropped from the rover’s belly. It’s deployment next week will start a 30 day clock on how long the team will have to fly the craft.

Deployment of the helicopter will take six days, four hours to complete. The tissue box-size aircraft will be cut loose on day six and drop five inches onto the Martian surface.

NASA's Martian Helicopter 'Ingenuity' Nears its First Flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A small helicopter attached to the NASA rover Perseverance will soon take flight to conduct the first flight of an aircraft on another world.

The drone-style helicopter known as Ingenuity will provide the Red Planet with a first of its kind air show the first week of April. During a 30-day window, engineers hope to perform up to five flight tests -- each building on the previous flight.

At $85 million, the Ingenuity program is an investment in understanding aviation in the very thin Martian atmosphere. The planet's surface pressure is only .088% that of Earth's, and this may make it difficult to provide the necessary lift in order to fly.

"When the Wright Brothers flew for the first time, they flew an experimental aircraft," Ingenuity's chief pilot Håvard Grip explained. "In the same way, the Mars helicopter is designed to show we can fly a powered helicopter flight in the Martian atmosphere."

NASA to Conduct the First Martian Air Show

Controlled from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, Ingenuity will be lowered from the belly of Perseverance. Signals from Earth will then detach the copter and it will drop a few inches to the Martian surface and land on its four legs.

Exclusive Interview: Space Shuttle Discovery Pilot Col. Eric Boe

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA astronaut Col. Eric A. Boe, who piloted the final flight of space shuttle Discovery ten years ago this week, recalls the exciting 13-day mission to service the International Space Station.

The 133rd space shuttle flight delivered tons of supplies, including water, fuel, and oxygen to the orbital laboratory. Discovery's six-person crew also left the Leonardo multi-purpose module docked to the station.

On March 9, 2011, Boe and mission commander Steven Lindsay piloted Discovery to a safe landing at the Kennedy Space Center. In total, Discovery spent a combined 365 days in space; orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled a distance of 148,221,675 miles during 39 flights.

In an exclusive interview with this aerospace journalist, the former U.S. Air Force fighter and test pilot discusses his feelings related to the space flight. From the emotions of the mission to his piloting time around the space station.

Eric Boe: From a CAP Student to NASA Astronaut

Eric Boe's career in aviation began as he joined the Civil Air Patrol which is an auxiliary of the Air Force.

SpaceX Dragon Launches Four Astronauts toward Space Station

Falcon 9 lifts-off with Crew Dragon 1 from KSC on Nov. 15. (NASA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted-off from America's Space Coast on Sunday evening with four astronauts beginning the first flight of an operational Crew Dragon spacecraft.

NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan's Soichi Noguchi are on course to dock with the International Space Station on Monday. They are scheduled to live and work aboard the orbital outpost for six months.

Crew Dragon 1 thundered away from the Kennedy Space Center's historic pad 39-A at 7:27:17 p.m. EST, riding a top the Falcon 9. The candlestick rocket darted out over the Atlantic waters at the exact moment the space station was 260 miles overhead.

"To all the people at NASA and SpaceX, by working through these difficult times you've inspired the nation, the world, and in no small part the name of this incredible vehicle," Dragon commander Hopkins radioed minutes before launch. "And now it's time to do our part -- Crew One for all."

The astronauts named their spacecraft Resilience by the crew to highlight the dedication of the teams involved with preparing the mission for flight. The successful launch occurred on the heels of a test flight by two NASA astronauts last May.

NASA Astronauts Lift-off from America's Space Coast

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Two NASA astronauts lifted-off from the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday to begin the first U.S. crewed launch to the International Space Station in nine years.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken boarded the commercial spacecraft known as Crew Dragon 2 at historic launch pad 39-A. As the countdown ticked toward zero, the launch team ran a smooth count and weather was go.

X-37B Lifts-off to Begin a Multi-Research Mission for Space Force

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The U.S. Space Force's uncrewed X-37B space shuttle lifted off into the blue skies over America's Space Coast on Sunday to begin military science research in space.

This sixth flight of the X-37B program is the first under the management of the Space Force. As the previous five flights under the Air Force were top secret, several payloads have been announced for this mission.

Based at the Kennedy Space Center, there are two Orbital Test Vehicles in service. They are serviced in a building once used to prepare NASA's space shuttle fleet for flight. The X-37-B is 25:100 scale compared to NASA's orbiters.

NASA Apollo 13 Upper Stage Impacted the Moon During the Flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The astronauts aboard the aborted flight of NASA's Apollo 13 may not have landed on the Moon, one section of their spacecraft did make a landing for scientific results.

The third stage of the Saturn V rocket known as the S-IVB was used to place the crew in the direction of the Moon. The S-IVB-508 stage housed the lunar lander Aquarius and the command module Odyssey, attached to its service module.

During the previous Apollo 12 landing, NASA had deployed one seismometer on the Moon's surface. The S-IVB impact occurred on April 14, 1970, at 77 hours, 56 minutes after the launch on April 11. The impact occurred 84 miles from that seismic station.

Odyssey of Apollo 13 Became NASA's 'Successful Failure'

Crew of Apollo 13 the day before launch at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The odyssey of NASA's Apollo 13 lifted-off fifty-years ago on Saturday to begin the third crewed mission to land on the Moon but quickly became a mission of survival in deep space.

The flight of Apollo 13 has been called “a successful failure”. It was successful in how the crew worked with mission control to return home, but a failure in that the lunar landing was aborted.

A veteran of three previous spaceflights, James (Jim) Lovell commanded the flight. Command Module pilot John (Jack) Swigert and Lunar Module Pilot Fred W. Haise, both rookie astronauts, rounded out the crew.

Akron Classmates Achieved High Flying Jobs as Astronaut, Blue Angel

AKRON, OHIO -- Two high school classmates driven early by different goals found themselves a decade later working in similar career fields -- one a top naval aviator and one a NASA astronaut.

On June 6, 1966, Stuart Robinson Powrie and Judith Arlene Resnik graduated with their senior class from Firestone High School. Their families and the educators at the Akron, Ohio school had inspired the two to climb higher and travel farther.

Stu (as he liked to called) was a competitive swimmer during high school, a sport he continued during his years at the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1970, Powrie graduated from the academy, but not before he set two Navy records as a competitive swimmer.

Judy loved classical piano, however she loved mathematics even more during high school. She even earned a perfect score on her SAT exam. In 1970, she graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering.

Upclose: Two Engineers Discuss Servicing Space Shuttle Atlantis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's space shuttle fleet served as an orbiting workshop for thirty years -- a space truck which delivered a variety of spacecraft and segments of the International Space Station into orbit.

Five space-worthy orbiters were built to allow astronauts to live and work in space. Behind the pressurized living quarters, a massive 60-foot cargo bay housed commercial and scientific satellites, or a pressurized module, which extended the volume of the crew's work space.

Each orbiter named to honor a sailing vessel -- Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Each was structurally built the same, however there were differences to those who knew them on an intimate basis.

Between 1981 through 2011, NASA launched 135 space shuttle missions from the Kennedy Space Center. Of those, two orbiters -- Columbia and Challenger -- did not return home after launch due to failures.

At the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex, one shuttle is on display following her retirement. Atlantis, a veteran of 33 space flights, rests inside a multi-level building built especially for the spacecraft.

SpaceX Crew Dragon Performs Successful Launch Abort Test

A Falcon 9 lifts-off on January 19, 2020, on the launch abort test. (SpaceX)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- SpaceX achieved a huge milestone in safely launching astronauts from America's Space Coast this spring as they performed an uncrewed launch abort test of their spacecraft on Sunday.

This flight test of the Crew Dragon's launch escape system now moves SpaceX and NASA closer to launching astronauts from American soil. While NASA is focused on returning first to the moon, SpaceX will taxi astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

"SpaceX’s in-flight demonstration of Crew Dragon’s launch escape capabilities is designed to provide valuable data toward NASA certifying the spacecraft to begin carrying astronauts to and from the Space Station," SpaceX Spokesperson James Gleeson said on Saturday.

SpaceX Launches 60 Starlink Internet Relay Satellites into LEO

SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts-off from Cape Canaveral AFS on January 6. (SpaceX)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A new decade of rocket launches began Monday evening as a SpaceX Falcon 9 thundered away from America's Space Coast to place 60 internet-relay satellites into orbit.

This launch was confirmed as the first official rocket launch under the new U.S. Space Force.

SpaceX is in the midst of building and launching their own network of data and Internet spacecraft known as Starlink. The commercial company hopes to blanket the Earth with thousands of Starlink spacecraft located at about 350 miles above.

NASA's Quieter Supersonic X-59 Approved for Final Assembly

The future of supersonic flight across land will be tested with NASA X-59. (LMA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An experimental NASA aircraft designed to perform supersonic commercial travel while reducing the sound generated by sonic booms was approved for final assembly on Thursday.

The X-59, also known as the Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD), is NASA’s first experimental aircraft in three decades. Aircraft construction is taking place today at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Skunk Works plant in Palmdale, California.

A $250-million contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2018 will see the aircraft built and tested during 2020. The X-59 is expected to make its inaugural flight from Edwards AFB, Calif. in 2021 to deem it is safe to fly.

Following a series of test flights, NASA will receive the aircraft in late-2021 to close out Phase one. Phase two will have a NASA test pilot first fly the X-59 to Mach 1 over the Edwards test range in 2022.

NASA research test pilot Jim Less is one of two pilots waiting in the wings to perform those first supersonic flight tests. “A supersonic manned X-plane,” Less said during a NASA interview. “This is probably going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. We’re all pretty excited.”

SpaceX Launches Dragon Resupply Craft to Space Station

SpaceX Falcon 9's CRS-19 mission launches on Dec. 5, 2019 (Atkeison)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --  A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off into the blue skies over America's Space Coast Thursday successfully placing a resupply craft on a course toward the International Space Station.

The Dragon supply craft is making its third voyage to the space station, having flown in 2014 and 2017. Loaded with 5700 pounds of science experiments, the Dragon will spend one month docked to the station.

As the countdown reached zero, the Falcon's nine engines roared to life lifting the commerical rocket off it's seaside pad at 12:29:24 p.m. EST. The white rocket thundered into the deep blue sky riding a golden flame toward space.

Air Force's X-37B Space Shuttle Returns from Record Breaking Flight

The X-37B returns home to Cape Canaveral with a predawn landing. (USAF)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A secret military winged spacecraft glided out of Earth orbit on Sunday touching down at the Kennedy Space Center at the conclusion of a record breaking mission.

The uncrewed Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle spent 780 days in space performing detailed experiments for the military. The winged spacecraft glided on automatic from low Earth orbit to a pin-point landing at 3:51 a.m. EDT.

This flight was scheduled to deploy several small satellites and perform classified "on-orbit testing of emerging space technologies," according to the Air Force. The space plane is operated from a control room while on-orbit with an open payload bay facing Earth.

Four-Time Shuttle Astronaut Inspiring Today's Youth at SpaceCamp

Dr. Don Thomas stands near space shuttle Pathfinder in Huntsville. (Atkeison)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The early days of America's space program inspired a future four-time space shuttle astronaut who now works to inspire the youth of today to reach for their goals -- including a voyage to Mars.

Dr. Donald Thomas ventured into space during four flights on the space shuttle. Each flight was a personal hallmark of achievement and a passion he shares with children and teens around the globe.

On Friday, Thomas will visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center -- home to the popular SpaceCamp and Aviation Challenge STEM-related camps. He hopes to inspire future engineers, pilots, and astronauts on the day they graduate from SpaceCamp.

"I was inspired to become an astronaut when I was just six years-old as I watched the launch of Alan Shepard," Dr. Thomas said as he stood near a large scale mock-up of the space shuttle. "That forever changed my life and career direction and motivated me to become an astronaut."

NASA's X-57 Maxwell to Demonstrate the Benefits of Electric Propulsion

NASA's experimental aircraft will use electricity and zero gas to fly. (NASA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is engineering an all-electric aircraft capable of flying people and cargo great distances as a futuristic, clean-energy concept becomes a reality during the coming decade.

NASA’s first piloted X-plane in two decades, the X-57 Maxwell will push the boundaries of aeronautics by creating a clean-air, low noise aircraft. Using a modified Italian Tecnam P2006T high-winged aircraft, NASA has removed its propellers and will install an experimental wing with a reduced surface area.

When testing is completed in 2020, the nearly 3,000-pound X-57 may be able to fly at a maximum altitude of 14,000-feet. Its fastest air speed is expected at about 172 m.p.h. during a cruising altitude of 8,000-feet.

Test pilots and engineers are now preparing for those first flights this autumn by working with an X-57 simulator. Pilots are learning how the unflown aircraft may react in flight and understanding possible failure modes.

Two Americans, One Russian Lift-off to the Space Station

A Soyuz FG lifts-off from Kazakhstan with a new space station crew. (NASA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Two Americans and their Russian spacecraft commander launched a top a Soyuz rocket on Thursday to begin a four-orbit voyage to catch-up with and dock to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch, and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin will spend six-months living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory 255 miles up. Once the crew docks on Thursday evening, the station will return to a full compliment of six crew members.

A Russian Soyuz FG rocket lifted-off on March 14 -- Pi Day -- at 3:14:08 p.m. EDT (12:14 a.m. on Friday, local time) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew's Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft is scheduled to dock at 9:06 p.m. to the space station's Rassvet module. (NASA-TV will air these events live.)

SpaceX launches Uncrewed Craft Designed to Ferry Astronauts to Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts-off with the first crew-rated Dragon on Mar. 2 (SpaceX)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A giant leap in launching astronauts from the United States began on Saturday as a commercial rocket lifted off from America's Space Coast with a space capsule designed to fly crews to and from Earth orbit.

As NASA paves the way for humanities voyages to the moon and Mars in the coming decade, the SpaceX Crew Dragon will be used as a space taxi to ferry NASA crews to and from the International Space Station. A successful docking and return with a splashdown in the Pacific this week will set up for the first crewed mission this summer.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched into a clear midnight sky from the Kennedy Space Center's historic launch pad 39-A at 2:49 a.m. EST (March 2). Following a flawless launch, the Crew Dragon separated from the Falcon's upper stage 11-minutes later to begin a 27-hour voyage to the orbiting laboratory.

NASA Apollo 6 paved America's Pathway to the Moon

ATLANTA -- As America recalls the golden anniversary of mankind's first voyage to the moon this December, the lesser known flight of Apollo 6 cleared a major hurdle for NASA as it paved the country's pathway toward lunar orbit.

Designed as a test flight article and flew unmanned, the flight of Apollo 6 fifty years ago tested not just the spacecraft itself, but launched the largest rocket America ever flew on a second and final critical mission to ensure the astronauts safety.

Today, the Apollo 6 command module rests at the Fernbank Science Center in East Atlanta. The spacecraft is on public display at the science center and remains a testament to the Earth orbiting test flight which flew on April 4, 1968.

The launch of the second Saturn 5 with Apollo 6 (AS-502) a top lifted-off at 7:00:01 a.m. EDT, from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The nearly 365-foot tall rocket darted into a blue morning sky without a crew, however loaded with a wealth of science instruments and video cameras for engineers to reseach in the months that followed.


Once launched, flight controllers began to notice the rocket was shaking a bit as it ascended through the atmosphere. The five massive F1 engines at the base of the rocket's first stage performed well for the first two minutes, and then, according to a 1968 NASA memo, "there were thrust fluctuations that caused the vehicle to bounce like a giant pogo stick for about 30 seconds."