NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
When it comes to the inaugural crewed launch of Starliner, it increasingly feels as though Boeing and NASA are chasing the proverbial carrot on a stick. The latest delay pushes the earliest available launch date to April 2024, a month later than planned, in what’s a seemingly never-ending succession of postponements.
NASA concept image
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
NASA’s goal to reduce costs on its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket by switching to a commercial service contract was dismissed in the latest audit of the space agency’s ongoing Moon program.
Update: October, 13, 11:17 a.m. ET: Psyche is finally in space. The Falcon Heavy lifted off on time, sending the probe on its 2.2 billion-mile journey to a highly metallic asteroid.
The OSIRIS-REx canister still contains the bulk of the asteroid sample inside, but pieces of the ancient space rock found on the outside have already shown evidence of organic matter embedded within tiny bits of debris.
After being dropped off on Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, pieces of asteroid Bennu will be revealed to the public for the first time on Wednesday.
NASA, ESA, NSF's NOIRLab, Mark Garlick , Mahdi Zamani
NASA/Carla Cioffi