Lifeboat Foundation

An increasingly likely catastrophe can cause major disruptions in space flight and our daily lives.

It might be a little cramped.

SpaceX is preparing to make its first demo launches for NASA’s commercial crew mission program, which aims to bring back the capability for U.S. spacecraft to fly astronauts to space.

The rocket company plans to use Tesla Model X vehicles to bring the first astronauts flying in the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the launch pad.

It appears to be the latest example of some synergy between Elon Musk’s two main companies.

Continue reading “Tesla Model X will carry first astronauts flying in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to launch pad” »

Black women, especially, played a crucial role in the pool, providing mathematical data for NASA’s first successful space missions, including Alan Shepherd’s 1961 mission and John Glenn’s pioneering orbital spaceflight.

The habitat is designed to form one module of NASA’s proposed Deep Space Gateway, a miniature space station that would orbit the moon and serve as a way station for lunar missions or journeys deeper into the cosmos.

Lockheed’s prototype is the refurbished Donatello cargo container that was originally designed to fit inside the space shuttle’s cargo bay and ferry supplies to and from the ISS. Donatello never flew in space, but its two sister modules made several trips aboard the shuttle. One, dubbed Leonardo, is now a permanent “space closet” attached to the space station.

Continue reading “Mars will be the longest human road trip. This space ‘motel’ will help them get there” »

Moon? Mars? A trillion over 25 years? Lunar space station? Lunar resources? It’s gonna be interesting to see where this goes. It’s kind of a mess. But a good mess, a driven mess. A mess that is leading to real space exploration.

Space exploration is the latest partisan divide, as the Trump administration backs a moon mission and others, including Elon Musk, push for a trip to Mars. Here’s why it all matters.

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SpaceX is another step closer to crewed flight.

On Monday (Aug. 20), the private spaceflight company installed an astronaut walkway at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, the jumping-off point for SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon spaceship.

The walkway is like the jetways that connect airport lounges and airliners. Astronauts will use the walkway to get from Pad 39A’s tower to Crew Dragon, which will sit atop SpaceX’s 230-foot-tall (70 meters) Falcon 9 rocket. [Photos: Behind-the-Scenes Look at SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Spaceship].

Continue reading “SpaceX’s New Astronaut Walkway Represents a Step Toward Crewed Flight” »

NASA’s new administrator, Jim Bridenstine, sat down with Space.com and other outlets to discuss his priorities for NASA going forward.