Hello and welcome again to Ztoog Space. Mark your calendars, everybody: Boeing and NASA are planning to conduct the first crewed Starliner mission as quickly as May 1.
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SpaceX is in the last levels of certifying a second pad for astronaut launches, which ought to ease launch website congestion and assist the firm scale the variety of people it sends to area. As a preliminary step, the firm used that second pad to launch an uncrewed Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. Next step: crew.
Image Credits: SpaceX (opens in a brand new window)
Rocket Lab accomplished its fourth launch from Virginia final Thursday, with the Electron rocket carrying a categorized payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. This is the fifth and last mission Rocket Lab has carried out for NRO underneath a contract the firm was awarded again in 2020. Watch the launch replay right here.
Image Credits: Rocket Lab (opens in a brand new window)
What we’re studying
I’ve at all times privately questioned about how the rise of NewSpace firms has impacted hiring and retention at locations like NASA — so I used to be actually excited to see this story from Bloomberg trying into precisely that query. The state of affairs is a bit more complicated than it might sound at first look.
Image Credits: NASA
This week in area historical past
On March 30, 1982, the area shuttle Columbia touched down at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The shuttle was carrying astronauts Jack R. Lousma and C. Gordon Fullerton, who have been returning residence after a profitable eight-day mission.
The Space Shuttle Columbia, STS 3, after climate prohibited it from touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base in California, touchdown at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico with its escort T-38 jet, on March 30, 1982. Image Credits: Photo by Buddy Mays/Getty Images.