Latest news with #spaceflight
Times of Oman
12 hours ago
- Science
- Times of Oman
NASA postpones Axiom Mission 4 launch, new date to be announced soon
Washington: NASA has postponed the planned launch of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station (ISS). The Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla-led mission was rescheduled for June 22 (Sunday). The ISS said on Friday morning that NASA is standing down from a launch on Sunday, and that it will target a new launch date in the coming days. "@NASA, @Axiom_Space, and @SpaceX continue reviewing launch opportunities for Axiom Mission 4. NASA is standing down from a launch on Sunday, June 22, and will target a new launch date in the coming days," the ISS wrote in a post on X. According to the ISS, additional time is needed to evaluate station operations following recent repair work in the aft segment of the Zvezda service module. Due to the highly interconnected nature of the orbital laboratory's systems, NASA is reviewing relevant data to ensure readiness for the arrival of additional crew members. Highlighting the global significance of the mission, ISS noted that the agencies "appreciate the historic nature of this mission for the nations of India, Poland, and Hungary, as well as the world." The four-member crew remains in quarantine in Florida and is prepared to launch once the station is cleared to receive them. Axiom Mission 4 will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and now Axiom Space's Director of Human Spaceflight. Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla from ISRO will serve as the mission's pilot. The mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remain in good condition and are stationed at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Earlier, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that the Axiom-4 space mission -- which includes Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla -- will not launch before June 22, as safety assessments are still underway before clearing the final launch timeline. "We have been told that it won't be before 22nd June. There is a safety angle also involved here," Singh said at a press conference. Following the rescheduling, Axiom Space had said in a statement earlier that NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX were targeting no earlier than Sunday, June 22, for the launch. The change allows NASA time to continue evaluating station operations after recent repairs in the Zvezda service module. In a post on X, Dr. Jitendra Singh confirmed the updated launch timeline, writing: "Axiom Mission 04 to the International Space Station (ISS)... After assessing key parameters, including module fitness, crew health, and weather, @Axiom_Space has indicated that June 22, 2025, may be the next likely launch date of Axiom-04 Mission carrying, among others, the Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, to the ISS." He added that further updates would be shared accordingly. On the 11th anniversary of the Modi government, Singh also highlighted the socio-economic impact of administrative reforms over the past decade. "The administrative reforms that happened in the last 11 years were not limited to governance. They had extreme socio-economic ramifications," he said. He emphasized the push toward digital governance aimed at enhancing ease of living for common citizens, and noted that reforms created a more automated system that helped the government achieve key milestones. "During the 11 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, not only has governance improved but also had significant socio-economic consequences," Singh said. He added that schemes and reforms were aimed at ensuring justice for marginalised groups.
Geek Wire
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Wire
William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson banter about human follies and the final frontier
'Star Trek' captain William Shatner and astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson sit down for a photo op after their rollicking fireside chat in Seattle, titled 'The Universe Is Absurd.' (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) William Shatner set a record as the oldest human to go into space at the age of 90 — but at the age of 94, he's not that interested in taking a second space trip to break his own record. 'You know, I had such a meaningful experience,' he told GeekWire. 'Maybe I tend to think of it like a love affair. You want to go back to that love affair? Maybe not. It was such a great moment.' The original captain from 'Star Trek' revisited that emotional moment from his Blue Origin suborbital spaceflight on Wednesday night during a rollicking chat with celebrity astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson at McCaw Hall in Seattle. This week's performance grew out of a meetup that the astronomer and the actor had last year during a space-themed Antarctic cruise. The two had such a good time that they worked with producers to organize an onstage follow-up. Tyson said Seattle was chosen as a promising venue for what was billed as a 'one night only' event. 'I knew I have a very loyal, large fan base here in the Pacific Northwest, centered on Seattle,' he said during a pre-show press availability. 'I think Bill does, too. Is that right?' 'I don't follow that as closely,' Shatner deadpanned. The banter went full-tilt during the evening's onstage chat. Shatner recalled his origins as a struggling actor in Canada, 'moving from city to city, and fetid bed from fetid bed.' 'Am I the only one who doesn't know what 'fetid' means?' Tyson joked. 'That means it didn't smell good, and it wasn't me,' Shatner replied. Then Tyson took his turn, recounting his rise from a dog-walker to astrophysicist to cultural icon. 'Do you know I have six cameo appearances in feature-length movies?' Tyson asked Shatner. He proceeded to reel off his credits, including a cameo in 'The Last Sharknado: It's About Time' and a role as as 'astrofishicist' Neil DeBass Tyson alongside SpongeBob SquarePants. 'Can you believe that this highly educated Ph.D. has spent 15 minutes telling you about his bit parts in these incredibly bad movies,' Shatner shot back. The two continued to thrust and parry over topics ranging from quantum physics to penguin poop. But Shatner took center stage with the recollection of his real-life space trip in 2021, aboard a New Shepard suborbital rocket ship built by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture. Shatner said the space odyssey had its origins in a conversation that he had with Bezos years previously. 'I want to Blue Origin, met with Jeff Bezos and suggested, because he hadn't flown his rocket yet, maybe I should go,' he recalled. 'So we left the building … he's got a model of the Starship Enterprise under a dome in his lobby … I went home under the impression that might work, and COVID hit.' That put the topic on hold for a year. When Blue Origin scheduled the first crewed New Shepard flight, the crew list included Bezos — but not Shatner. 'So he went up first, and was noted, and then came back and he sent me a message: 'Would you like to go up second?'' Shatner said. 'I'm not gonna go up second. That's the vice president. For God's sake, I want the president.' Then Shatner thought about it again. 'You know, the feeling of space, the final frontier. Why not go, out of a sense of curiosity, what it's like? So, I said yes,' he said. Shatner recalled that he was brought to the launch site a day before the rest of the crew, and taken on a tour that involved a climb up 11 flights of stairs to get to the top of the launch tower. 'And then we walked back down and went back to the headquarters,' he said. 'I thought, they must have brought me here to see if I could walk up 11 flights of stairs.' 'It would be embarrassing if you died halfway up,' Tyson said with a smile. Shatner has often remarked that his trip reminded him of the fragility of life on Earth, and he returned to that theme on Wednesday night. 'I see how vulnerable the Earth looks,' he said. 'It's a moat of dust in the sky. It's got 12,500 feet of oxygen, and then you're dead. … It's a vulnerable, precious piece of rock that supplies us with life, and we have destroyed it.' When he touched down and left the spaceship, Shatner began to weep. 'I couldn't understand why I was crying,' he said. 'I went someplace to sit down and try and understand what had happened to me. And I realized I was in grief for our Earth.' During the pre-show interview, Shatner said that feeling has stayed with him over the past four years. 'In that time, the United States has canceled its position in global warming. It's outlandish. It's like, with a knife at your chest, saying, 'Well, you're not going to kill me,'' he said. ' And what's sad is, we have the ability. I mean, there are companies now that are working on the teetering edge of reality to fix what we've got, and we're not financing and going at it like the Manhattan Project.'
The National
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The National
Honda revs up space race after reusable rockets test success
Japanese car manufacturer Honda is hoping to join an elite club of companies that launch reusable rockets after carrying out a successful test. During a one-minute flight on Tuesday, an experimental rocket reached an altitude of 271.4 metres before descending within 37cm of the target point. The successful test places Honda in a small but increasing group of companies, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, China's iSpace and Europe's PLD Space, that regularly launch or are actively developing reusable rockets. Honda said its programme was still in the research phase and that no decisions have been made for commercial operations, but the short-term goal was to carry out suborbital flights by 2029. Sahith Madara, founder of advisory firm Bumi & Space, said the company could tap into the growing market for small satellite launches, including suborbital and low-Earth orbit missions for observation satellites and technology testing. 'It's about getting small satellites up quickly, reliably and affordably,' he said. 'And if Honda brings the same reliability to rockets as they do to their cars, we might be looking at the first launch provider where everything runs exactly on schedule.' From cars to rockets Honda's entry into space flight may seem unexpected but it builds on decades of engineering expertise. 'What makes this interesting is that Honda isn't starting from scratch,' said Mr Madara. 'They already know how to build robots, engines and autonomous systems at scale, which space start-ups often struggle with. 'So, while others are still proving they can launch, Honda is already thinking about how to land, recover and repeat. That kind of thinking matters as Japan ramps up its space ambitions, aiming to double the size of its space sector in the next decade.' The test took place in Taiki Town, a growing hub for aerospace research in Hokkaido where the Japanese space agency Jaxa and companies test latest technology. Japan has been encouraging industry leaders like Honda and Toyota to play a larger role in its space programme. Toyota, for example, is working with Jaxa to build a crewed lunar rover. 'We are pleased that Honda has made another step forward in our research on reusable rockets with this successful completion of a launch and landing test,' said Toshihiro Mibe, global chief executive of Honda. Reusable rockets SpaceX pioneered reusable rockets with its Falcon 9 system, transforming the space industry by lowering launch costs and increasing the frequency of missions. Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has successfully flown and landed its New Shepard rocket several times on crewed suborbital missions. It is also looking to start commercial operations of its much larger orbital vehicle, New Glenn. In China, iSpace became the country's first company to reach orbit and is now developing rockets with vertical landing capabilities, as Beijing encourages its private sector to compete globally in the growing launch market.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Blue Origin schedules next human flight from West Texas
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Space technology company Blue Origin announced that its next human flight will be this weekend. The next New Shepard crewed flight is scheduled to lift off Saturday, June 21 from the company's Launch Site One located outside of Van Horn. The launch window opens at 7:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time. The webcast on will start at T-30 minutes. This mission will be the 13th human flight for the New Shepard program and 33rd in its history. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Gizmodo
Honda Unexpectedly Enters the Space Race With First Successful Rocket Launch
In a bizarre twist, Honda, the Japanese car manufacturer, has taken its engineering off-road—and into space. The company launched and landed a prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, June 17, marking a key milestone toward its newfound goal of achieving suborbital spaceflight by 2029. In the surprise announcement, Honda R&D—the company's research arm—said it successfully completed the first launch and landing test of its 20.6-foot (6.3-meter) experimental reusable launch vehicle after reaching an altitude of 889 feet (271 meters) at its test facility in Taiki, a town in northern Japan known for space research. The test aimed to demonstrate technologies essential for rocket reusability, such as flight stability during ascent and descent, as well as landing capability, according to the company statement.
