Richard T. Par Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Just thought I'd share these images that I took of the LEGO® Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that I got as a Christmas gift by one of my siblings last week. This Artemis 1 LEGO set contains 3,601 pieces...and took me about a day-and-a-half to complete. By comparison, the LEGO Perseverance Mars rover that my sibling got me for Christmas a year ago contains over 1,100 pieces—but took me two full days to finish, I believe. (I never built LEGO sets of such complexity when I was a kid!) Just like with LEGO Percy (and Ginny, as in the Ingenuity Mar ..read more

Blue Origin Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Completes Integrated Launch Vehicle Hotfire (News Release) New Glenn successfully completed an integrated launch vehicle hotfire test today, the final major milestone on our road to first flight. NG-1 will carry a Blue Ring Pathfinder as its first manifested payload and will launch from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, FL. The seven-engine hotfire lasted 24 seconds and marked the first time that we operated the entire flight vehicle as an integrated system. The multi-day test campaign leading up to the hotfire included numerous inert functiona ..read more

NASA / Kim Shiflett Artemis Launch Team Successfully Test Upgraded Launch Software (News Release - December 19) Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida successfully tested the launch control system, the software used to launch the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis Moon missions. The evaluations, which took place in the firing rooms of Kennedy’s Launch Control Center, included testing that software, audio and imagery displays function well together, as well as practicing a launch pad-abort scenario. Engineers with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Prog ..read more

SpaceX Vast Announces Deal with SpaceX to Launch Two Human Spaceflight Missions to the International Space Station (News Release - December 19) Vast, the pioneering space habitation technology company building Haven-1, which is expected to become the world’s first commercial station when it launches in 2025, announced today that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch up to two Dragon missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in support of Vast’s future bid for NASA’s private astronaut missions (PAM). These missions, contingent on Vast being selected by NASA, will be the fifth and sixt ..read more

NASA NASA Welcomes Liechtenstein as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory (News Release - December 20) Liechtenstein signed the Artemis Accords on Friday during a ceremony hosted by NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, becoming the 52nd nation to commit to the responsible exploration of space for all humanity. “Today, as Liechtenstein signs the Artemis Accords, we take another step forward together, united by the promise of international cooperation and discovery,” said Melroy. “Liechtenstein’s commitment strengthens our vision, where space is explore ..read more

NASA / Frank Michaux Artemis II Stacking (Photo Release - December 19) Engineers and technicians with the Exploration Ground Systems program stack the next solid rocket booster segment, the left aft center, for the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) Moon rocket onto Mobile Launcher 1 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, December 19, 2024. Once assembled, the boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket, and provide more than 75 percent of the ..read more

NASA / Kim Shiflett Artemis II Core Stage Vertical Integration Begins at NASA Kennedy (News Release - December 19) NASA has taken a big step forward in how engineers will assemble and stack future SLS (Space Launch System) rockets for Artemis Moon missions inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The VAB’s High Bay 2 has been outfitted with new tooling to facilitate the vertical integration of the SLS core stage. That progress was on full display in mid-December when teams suspended the fully-assembled core stage 225 feet in the air inside ..read more

NASA / Bill Stafford New Commercial Artemis Moon Rovers Undergo Testing at NASA (News Release - December 18) Through NASA’s Artemis campaign, astronauts will land on the lunar surface and use a new generation of spacesuits and rovers as they live, work and conduct science in the Moon’s South Pole region, exploring more of the lunar surface than ever before. Recently, the agency completed the first round of testing on three commercially owned and developed LTVs (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) from Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. As p ..read more

Thales Alenia Space Gateway: Wired for Deep Space (News Release) A maze of cables and sensors snakes through a major piece of Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon, during a key testing phase earlier this year to ensure that the lunar-orbiting science lab can withstand the harsh conditions of deep space. HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) is one of four Gateway modules where international teams of astronauts will live, conduct science and prepare for missions to the lunar South Pole region. Other elements will be provided by the European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace ..read more

Axiom Space Accelerates Axiom Station Assembly (News Release) Payloads, power, thermal to go first enabling commercial free-flyer two years earlier Axiom Space announced today that it is revising the Axiom Station module sequence to enable its commercial space station to become an independent orbital platform as early as 2028. Revising the order in which modules will attach to the International Space Station allows Axiom Station to operate as a free-flyer about two years earlier than planned, supporting customer needs as well as national objectives – preparing the International Space Stat ..read more