NASA extends ISS cargo contracts through 2030
11 Nov
Science & Technology

NASA extends ISS cargo contracts through 2030

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NASA Space Technology The space station's robotic arm grapples a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft launched in August 2024. Credit: NASAWASHINGTON — NASA has extended three contracts with companies to continue providing transportation of cargo to and from the International Space Station through the projected end of the station’s life in 2030.In procurement filings Nov. 8, NASA stated it planned to extend the existing Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) 2 contracts with Northrop Grumman, Sierra Space and SpaceX that were set to expire at the end of 2026 through the end of 2030. NASA’s current plans call for retiring the ISS in 2030.The three companies received CRS-2 contracts in 2016, and NASA announced in March 2023 its intent to extend the contracts. “There are no other CRS-2 certified visiting vehicles in the current marketplace for providing...
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Crew-8 astronauts remain mum about post-splashdown medical issue
11 Nov
Science & Technology

Crew-8 astronauts remain mum about post-splashdown medical issue

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NASA Space Technology WASHINGTON — The three NASA astronauts who returned to Earth on the Crew-8 mission declined to discuss the medical issue that prompted a trip to the hospital after their return and, for one of them, an overnight stay.NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, returned to Earth Oct. 25 on a Crew Dragon spacecraft, concluding the 235-day Crew-8 mission. But later that day NASA said that the four were taken to a Pensacola, Florida, hospital for additional medical evaluations “out of an abundance of caution.” One of the NASA astronauts was hospitalized in stable condition there, but released the next day “in good health.”NASA did not disclose the identity of the astronaut who was hospitalized or the specific medical concern that prompted the hospital...
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NASA MSR review continues despite committee leadership change
11 Nov
Science & Technology

NASA MSR review continues despite committee leadership change

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NASA Space Technology WASHINGTON — NASA says it still expects to make a recommendation on a new architecture for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program by the end of the year despite a change in leadership of a key review committee.At a Nov. 6 meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Jeff Gramling, MSR program director at NASA Headquarters, said a committee called the MSR Strategy Review Team, or MSR-SR, is scheduled to provide a recommendation on a “go-forward architecture” for MSR in December. That recommendation will go to Nicola Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, and then to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson for final approval.That was the same timeline that Gramling provided at an Oct. 21 meeting of a National Academies committee. That took place days after NASA announced the formation of...
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Unbreakable Voyager space probes close in on a 50 year mission
11 Nov
Science & Technology

Unbreakable Voyager space probes close in on a 50 year mission

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NASA Space Technology "We're definitely going to make the 50th anniversary," says Professor Garry Hunt, one of the scientists responsible for NASA's Voyager mission, as Voyager 1 recovers from an unexpected pause in communications.Launched when Jimmy Carter was President of the United States, the two Voyager spacecraft have endured almost half a century of spaceflight and, according to Hunt, should still be in contact with Earth in 2027, 50 years after leaving the planet.A spokesperson for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told The Register that the agency hopes there will be enough power from the onboard Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) to keep the antenna and at least one science instrument running until the early 2030s. The power produced by the RTGs is dwindling, and the Voyager team has been forced to make...
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