Space exploration Coverage

All assets associated with the tag: space exploration

First flight of the Vulcan rocket sends an American lander toward the moon

A brand-new rocket lifted off early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending a robotic spacecraft toward the surface of the moon.

SpaceX: Starship explosion 'rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation'

Thursday's launch marked the SpaceX Starship's historic first test flight. But ... "As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation," SpaceX tweeted.

Richard Branson's rocket company files for bankruptcy

The California-based company said in a statement Monday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, meaning that it can continue doing business while it restructures its debts.

NC State grad named to 4-person crew that will fly to the moon

NASA on Monday named the four astronauts who will fly around the moon late next year, including the first woman and the first African American assigned to a lunar mission. Posted 11:48 a.m. Today - Updated 1:31 p.m. Today

Rocket made primarily of 3D-printed parts fails to achieve orbit - watch videos

A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts made its launch debut Wednesday night, lifting off amid fanfare but failing three minutes into flight — far short of orbit.

SpaceX's big blast: Massive engine test is step on road to orbit for 'Super Heavy' rocket

SpaceX attempted to ignite all 33 engines in a test fire of its gargantuan Super Heavy rocket booster on Thursday. The trial marks the company's first "static fire" test for what is expected to be the most powerful launch vehicle ever built.

Exoplanet is confirmed by new James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope can add another cosmic accomplishment to its list: The space observatory has been used to confirm the existence of an exoplanet for the first time.

Earth 2? Another potentially habitable planet found orbiting nearby star

A NASA mission has spotted an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting a small star about 100 light-years away. Here are the details.

Duke's links to new NASA's Artemis mission: manikins Helga, Zohar

NASA’s Artemis I mission launched Wednesday, and its "crew" includes Helga and Zohar, two manikin models designed in collaboration with Duke University.

Bezos company's rocket fails; no crew on board

A Blue Origin rocket experienced a "booster failure" during an uncrewed launch of its New Shepard rocket from West Texas on Monday morning, triggering an abort system that allowed the capsule to parachute to Earth.

New pictures from James Webb telescope reveal rare cartwheel galaxy

NASAs James Webb Space Telescope has peered into the chaos of the Cartwheel Galaxy.

‘Star Trek’ legend William Shatner spills tea with WRAL Out & About ahead of appearance at GalaxyCon in Raleigh

The four-day fan fest known as GalaxyCon returns this weekend to Raleigh. “Star Trek” actor and astronaut William Shatner is sure to draw a crowd.

A new space odyssey: Most powerful telescope delivers images of great beyond

A stellar nursery where stars are born, interactions between galaxies and a unique view of an exoplanet are just some of the new cosmic images are being shared Tuesday.

It's (almost) a 'go' for Mars rocket: SpaceX wins key environmental OK

Federal regulators made a key decision on SpaceX's plans to launch its gargantuan Mars rocket, called Starship, into orbit from Texas — saying Monday that, as long as the company complies with 75 "mitigating actions," the rocket launches should clear federal standards for environmental impact.

Boeing vs. SpaceX at last? Starliner capsule is launched on uncrewed test mission

Starliner has proven a difficult program for Boeing, which originally hoped the spacecraft would be operational in 2017 but has been plagued by delays and development hangups. Here's an update.

Rocket Lab briefly catches rocket falling from space with helicopter

A California-based rocket company attempted something groundbreaking -- and almost succeeded. Rocket Lab tried to use a helicopter to catch a falling piece of rocket debris released as part of the regular launch process.

Startup Axiom's brokered all-private space mission crew back home

The first all-private mission to the International Space Station finally made its way home Monday, making a splash down landing off the coast of Florida and concluding a mission that has lasted a week longer than expected.

Space station builder to lease space in Winston-Salem regenerative medicine accelerator

A commercial space company that is building a space station and launched its first mission earlier this month will lease space in Winston-Salem.

'Just breathtaking': UNC professor amazed by experience aboard Blue Origin

A UNC-Chapel Hill professor was awestruck Thursday after being part of a successful Blue Origin flight.

Blue Origin exec to replace Saturday Night Live star on next flight

Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, said it will replace Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson with a long-time employee on the company's next supersonic jaunt to the edge of space.

UNC professor, Saturday Night Live star joins crew for next Jeff Bezos' rocket experience

Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson and UNC professor Jim Kitchen will become the latest celebrity to fly to space with Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, in a brief, suborbital flight slated for later this month.

This billionaire to go deeper into space than anyone in 50 years - and it's not Elon Musk

Jared Isaacman — the billionaire CEO of payments processing company Shift 4 — is buying three more flights with SpaceX, the first of which is scheduled for this year and could put Isaacman and SpaceX on track to travel deeper into space than any human has traveled in a half century. Here are the details.

NASA moon shot's virtual crew includes Amazon's Alexa, Cisco's WebEx

NASA's Artemis 1 mission, slated for take off as soon as this March, aims to send an Orion spacecraft around the moon. The cabin will be largely empty, save for an a interactive tablet that has been dubbed "Callisto," which will sit propped up to face an astronaut mannequin. Callisto is essentially a touch-screen device that features reconfigured versions of Alexa, Amazon's voice assistant, and Cisco's teleconferencing platform WebEx.

Space tourism in 2021: Branson, Bezos, Musk - reviewing year of the billionaires

When future generations write about the history of space travel, 2021 may well get its own chapter. "The year of the billionaires," it might be called.

Space jam & Elon Musk: China complains about satellite close encounters

The tech billionaire's SpaceX satellites are catching heat in the country after Beijing complained that two satellites launched by the American aerospace manufacturer endangered Chinese astronauts.