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Two Rockets at Cape Canaveral

SpaceX’s Axiom-1 is in the foreground on Launch Pad 39A with NASA’s Artemis I in the background on Launch Pad 39B on April 6, 2022. This is the first time two totally different types of rockets and spacecraft designed to carry humans are on the sister pads at the same time—but it won’t be the last as NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida continues to grow as a multi-user spaceport to launch both government and commercial rockets.

An interesting photo-op took place at Launch Complex 39 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida last week. On April 6th, two different rockets were photographed occupying neighboring launch pads – LC 39A and 39B. The former was occupied by the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule (visible in the foreground) that launched the first all-private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 8th – the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1).

The latter was occupied by the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion Spacecraft that will be used to conduct the inaugural launch of the Artemis Program (Artemis I) this summer (seen in the background). This is the first time two different types of rockets and spacecraft occupied LC 39’s sister pads simultaneously. This will become the norm in the future as the KSC continues to grow and becomes a multi-user spaceport that launches government and commercial rockets.

Further Reading: NASA

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NASA Will be Testing SLS Over the Weekend

The Space Launch System (SLS) has just one more hurdle to clear before this summer’s historic launch. This is known as the Wet Dress Rehearsal, where the fully-stacked SLS and Orion spacecraft will conduct a series of operations at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This test follows the arrival of the SLS to Launch Complex 39B after making its big rollout on March 17th from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VLB).

The Wet Dress Rehearsal will run from Friday, April 1st, through Sunday, April 3rd, and will see the Artemis I launch team load propellant into the rocket’s tanks, conduct a full launch countdown, demonstrate the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and also drain propellants to give them an opportunity to practice the timelines and procedures they will use for launch. The weekend-long event will be live-streamed via the Kennedy Newsroom YouTube channel.

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Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Provides the Music for NASA's new SLS Video

For fans of Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam, and space exploration, this video will require very little explanation. But just in case some people haven’t seen it yet, this musical performance was a tribute to the long-awaited roll-out of the fully-stacked Space Launch System (SLS) at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It’s guaranteed to give you goosebumps and maybe even bring a tear to your eye!

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New Images of Artemis in the VAB; Rollout for SLS Launch Rehearsal Test Now Scheduled for March 17

The stack of the Space Launch System rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Credit and copyright: Alan Walters, for Universe Today.

Every journey begins with a single step, and the first step of NASA’s return to the Moon begins with a four-mile rollout to the launchpad. NASA announced their target date for rolling out the Space Launch System rocket for the four-mile crawl to the launch pad is March 17. The full rocket stack will spend about a month at the pad undergoing several tests before heading back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. If all goes well with the tests, NASA hopes to launch its uncrewed Artemis test flight, likely by early summer.

Continue reading “New Images of Artemis in the VAB; Rollout for SLS Launch Rehearsal Test Now Scheduled for March 17”
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Third Falcon Heavy Launch Blasts 24 Payloads Into Orbit Including a Solar Sail. Doesn’t Quite Stick the Landing

The Falcon Heavy STP-2 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, June 25, 2019. Image Credit: Alex Brock Instagram: @alexhbrock, Website: www.alexhbrock.com

In what Elon Musk is calling their “most difficult” mission so far, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket for the third time. The launch took place at 2:30 am ET Tuesday from a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission was called STP-2, and Universe Today sent a photographer to capture all the action.

Continue reading “Third Falcon Heavy Launch Blasts 24 Payloads Into Orbit Including a Solar Sail. Doesn’t Quite Stick the Landing”
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Another Milestone for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Docks with ISS

SpaceX's powerful Falcon 9 engines sending the Crew Dragon on its way to the ISS. Image Credit: Alex Brock.
SpaceX's powerful Falcon 9 engines sending the Crew Dragon on its way to the ISS. Image Credit: Alex Brock.

It’s another milestone for SpaceX as their Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station.

In the early morning of March 2nd, the unmanned Crew Dragon launched from complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Then on March 3, at approximately 6:00 AM, the spacecraft successfully docked with the space station. Universe Today had a photographer, Alex Brock, at the launch to capture the action.

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Steam-Powered Spacecraft Could Explore the Asteroid Belt Forever, Refueling Itself in Space

Artist's impression of a Near-Earth Asteroid passing by Earth. Credit: ESA

The era of renewed space exploration has led to some rather ambitious proposals. While many have been on the books for decades, it has only been in recent years that some of these plans have become technologically feasible. A good example is asteroid mining, where robotic spacecraft would travel to Near-Earth Asteroids and the Main Asteroid Belt to harvest minerals and other resources.

At the moment, one of the main challenges is how these craft would be able to get around and refuel once they are in space. To address this, the New York-based company Honeybee Robotics has teemed up with the University of Central Florida (UFC) to develop a steam-powered robotic spacecraft. The company recently released a demonstration video that shows their prototype World is Not Enough (WINE) “steam hopper” in action.

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This is How NASA Releases Almost Half a Million Gallons of Water in 60 Seconds

The suppression system at Launch Pad 39B releases almost a half-million gallons of water to protect the SLS during launch. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The suppression system at Launch Pad 39B releases almost a half-million gallons of water to protect the SLS during launch. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

As rockets become more and more powerful, the systems that protect them need to keep pace. NASA will use almost half a million gallons of water to keep the Space Launch System (SLS) safe and stable enough to launch successfully. The system that delivers all that water is called the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression (IOP/SS) water deluge system, and seeing it in action is very impressive.

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Construction on the Orion Capsule is Done. Next it’ll be Sent to Florida for Final Assembly

The Orion pressure vessel for Exploration Mission-2 arrives at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 24, 2018. Credit: NASA/Christopher Swanson

In recent years, NASA has been busy developing the technology and components that will allow astronauts to return to the Moon and conduct the first crewed mission to Mars. These include the Space Launch System (SLS), which will be the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V (which brought the Apollo astronauts to the Moon), and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV).

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Weekly Space Hangout – Jan 24, 2018: Paul Hildebrandt’s “First to the Moon”

Hosts:
Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain)
Dr. Paul M. Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter)
Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier )
Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org)

Special Guest:
Paul Hildebrandt (director of the film Fight for Space) joins us again to discuss his newest project, a documentary which is an historical piece about the mission of Apollo 8 and it’s crew, Borman, Anders, and Lovell. Titled First to the Moon, the film covers the biographies of each astronaut and goes on to tell the story of the Apollo 8 flight using new animations and newly found archival footage.

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