Articles written by Marcia Dunn
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 251
Cheers! French wine, vines headed home after year in space
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station bid adieu Tuesday to 12 bottles of French Bordeaux wine and hundreds of snippets of grapevines that spent a year orbiting the world in the name of science. SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule...
Double Dragons: SpaceX launches space station supplies
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched a newer, bigger version of its Dragon supply ship to the International Space Station on Sunday, marking the first time the company has two capsules in orbit at the same time. The Dragon — packed with Ch...
SpaceX capsules parked side-by-side at station for 1st time
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A SpaceX supply ship bearing Christmas goodies arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, parking alongside another Dragon capsule that carried up astronauts three weeks ago. It's the first time Elon Musk's...
NASA: Mystery object is 54-year-old rocket, not asteroid
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A mysterious object temporarily orbiting Earth is a 54-year-old rocket, not an asteroid after all, astronomers confirmed Wednesday. Observations by a telescope in Hawaii clinched its identity, according to NASA's Jet...
SpaceX aims for night crew launch, Musk sidelined by virus
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX aimed for a Sunday night launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station, although the prospects of good weather were just 50-50 and its leader was sidelined by COVID-19. Vice President Mike Pence...
Report: NASA needs more time, money to bring back Mars rocks
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is underestimating the amount of time and money it will take to bring Mars rocks back to Earth in the coming decade, an independent panel said Tuesday. The review board suggested that NASA and the European Space...
Astronauts arrive at launch site for 2nd SpaceX crew flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday for SpaceX's second crew launch, coming up next weekend. For NASA, it marks the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations at the International Space Station,...
Moon holds more water in more places than ever thought
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The moon's shadowed, frigid nooks and crannies may hold frozen water in more places and in larger quantities than previously suspected. And for the first time, the presence of water on the moon's sunlit surface has been...
Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft is stuffed with so much asteroid rubble from this week's grab that it's jammed open and precious particles are drifting away in space, scientists said Friday. Scientists announced the news three days...
US spacecraft touches asteroid surface for rare rubble grab
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft descended to an asteroid Tuesday and, dodging boulders the size of buildings, momentarily touched the surface to collect a handful of cosmic rubble for return to Earth. It was a first for the United Sta...
Touch-and-go: US spacecraft sampling asteroid for return
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After almost two years circling an ancient asteroid hundreds of millions of miles away, a NASA spacecraft this week will attempt to descend to the treacherous, boulder-packed surface and snatch a handful of rubble. The...
NASA's new moonshot rules: No fighting or littering, please
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's new moonshot rules: No fighting and littering. And no trespassing at historic lunar landmarks like Apollo 11's Tranquility Base. The space agency released a set of guidelines Tuesday for its Artemis moon-landing...
NASA's new moonshot rules: No fighting or littering, please
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's new moonshot rules: No fighting and littering. And no trespassing at historic lunar landmarks like Apollo 11's Tranquility Base. The space agency released a set of guidelines Tuesday for its Artemis moon-landing...
Fake asteroid? NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The jig may be up for an "asteroid" that's expected to get nabbed by Earth's gravity and become a mini moon next month. Instead of a cosmic rock, the newly discovered object appears to be an old rocket from a failed...
Space station air leak forces middle-of-night crew wakeup
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A small air leak at the International Space Station finally has been traced to the Russian side, following a middle-of-the-night search by astronauts. NASA said Tuesday that the two Russians and one American on board...
SpaceX's Mars test rocket makes 1st flight, landing upright
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched a prototype of its Mars rocketship hundreds of feet into the air, then landed it upright in a successful test flight. The flight lasted barely 45 seconds and reached just 500 feet (150 meters) Tuesday nig... Full story
SpaceX capsule and NASA crew make 1st splashdown in 45 years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk's SpaceX company. It was...
US astronauts pack up for rare splashdown in SpaceX capsule
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two U.S. astronauts about to make the first splashdown return in 45 years said Friday they'll have seasick bags ready to use if needed. SpaceX and NASA plan to bring Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken back Sunday afternoon in t...
Tropical storm may delay 1st SpaceX crew's return to Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Tropical weather barreling toward Florida could delay this weekend's planned return of the first SpaceX crew. On Wednesday, SpaceX and NASA cleared the Dragon crew capsule to depart the International Space Station and...
NASA's next Mars rover is brawniest and brainiest one yet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — With eight successful Mars landings, NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover. The spacecraft Perseverance — set for liftoff this week — is NASA's biggest and brainiest Martian rover yet. It sports the latest...
Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail. Comet Neowise — the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere in a quarter-...
SpaceX launches Air Force's newest GPS satellite
SpaceX launched the military's newest, most accurate GPS satellite Tuesday after a two-month delay due to the pandemic. A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the GPS satellite to orbit. The brand new...
Astronaut says losing mirror on spacewalk was 'real bummer'
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The commander of the International Space Station said Monday that losing a mirror during last week's otherwise successful spacewalk was "a real bummer." NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy said he has no idea how the small...
Spacewalking astronaut loses mirror, newest space junk
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A spacewalking astronaut added to the millions of pieces of junk orbiting the Earth on Friday, losing a small mirror on his sleeve as soon as he emerged from the International Space Station for battery work. Commander...
SpaceX captures the flag, beating Boeing in cosmic contest
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first astronauts launched by SpaceX declared victory Monday in NASA's cosmic capture-the-flag game. They quickly claimed the prize left behind at the International Space Station nearly a decade ago by the last crew...