Spacecraft

Saturday, May 04, 2024 | Last Update : 05:06 AM IST

In this image taken from video on Thursday, April 4, 2019, and distributed by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, Russian cargo ship Souz FG with the Progress MS-11 takes off from the launch pad at Russia's main space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The cargo ship is carrying fuel, food, water, oxygen and other supplies for the space station, which currently has three Americans, two Russians and one Canadian aboard. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)

Russian supply ship reaches space station in record time

The Progress freighter blasted off Thursday from the Russian launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

08 Apr 2019 10:34 AM

New Horizons on New Year’s day came within 2,200 miles (3,500 km) of Ultima Thule. (Photo: AFP)

After historic flyby, New Horizons probe treks deeper on hunt for moons

The piano-sized probe is travelling deep into the ring of celestial bodies known as the Kuiper Belt.

04 Jan 2019 6:32 PM

The craft, called Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis, is shaped like a round table with four carbon-fibre legs, stands about 1.5 meters tall and weighs 585 kg (1,290 lb) - with fuel accounting for two-thirds of that weight.

Israeli spacecraft gets final element before 2019 moon launch

Israel has launched satellites before, but this is the first longer-range Israeli spacecraft of its kind.

18 Dec 2018 9:42 AM

This illustration made available by NASA in October 2016 shows an illustration of NASA's InSight lander about to land on the surface of Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

NASA spacecraft lands on red planet after six-month journey

NASA's InSight spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere at supersonic speed, then hit the brakes to land on the alien red plains.

27 Nov 2018 3:39 PM

The BepiColombo spacecraft will have to follow an elliptical path that involves a fly-by of Earth, two of Venus and six of Mercury itself so it can slow down before arriving at its destination in December 2025. (Photo: AP)

Europe, Japan send spacecraft on 7-year journey to Mercury

ESA says the 1.3 billion-euro (USD 1.5 billion) mission is one of the most challenging in its history.

20 Oct 2018 2:43 PM

This computer graphic image provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or MASCOT, lander on the asteroid Ryugu. The Japanese unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 dropped the German-French observation device, MASCOT, on October 3, 2018, to land on the asteroid as part of a research effort intended to find clues to the origin of the solar system. (JAXA via AP)

Japanese spacecraft drops observation device onto asteroid

The Japan Space Exploration Agency said the MASCOT was released from an unmanned spacecraft and successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu.

05 Oct 2018 7:37 AM

This computer image provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows two drum-shaped and solar-powered Minerva-II-1 rovers on an asteroid. JAXA said confirmation of the rovers’ touchdown has to wait until it receives data from them. (JAXA via AP)

Japan space rovers lowered to asteroid to collect data

An unmanned spacecraft released two Minerva-II-1 rovers on the asteroid Ryugu in an effort to get clues to the origin of the solar system.

21 Sep 2018 7:53 PM

In this image taken from NASA on August 24, 2018, the asteroid Bennu is seen from an image obtained from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraf. (Image: AFP)

NASA spacecraft approaches asteroid, snaps first pic

The spacecraft is designed to circle Bennu, and reach out with a robotic arm to

26 Aug 2018 8:26 AM

The project, with a $1.5 billion price tag, is the first major mission under NASA’s Living With a Star program. (Photo: NASA)

NASA to fly Parker probe into Sun's scorching atmosphere

The Parker probe is set to fly into the Sun’s corona within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the solar surface.

21 Jul 2018 2:43 PM

The New Shepard is designed to autonomously fly six passengers more than 62 miles (100 km) above Earth into suborbital space. (Photo: Blue Origins)

Jeff Bezos plans to charge at least $200,000 for space rides: Sources

The company is rumoured to start selling tickets in the range of about $200,000 to $300,000.

13 Jul 2018 12:09 PM

Virgin Galactic says that brings the company closer to its goal of being able to fly its spacecraft more frequently than has been typical for human spaceflight. (Photo: Virgin Galactic)

2nd powered test flight for Virgin Galactic spaceship

VSS Unity fired its rocket motor for 31 seconds and climbed to an altitude of 114,500 feet.

30 May 2018 8:07 AM

The spacecraft was flown by the US Air Force to Florida, where it will continue testing, and eventually undergo final assembly and mating to the third stage of the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle.

Humanity's first flight to Sun set to launch in July: NASA

Parker Solar Probe is humanity's first mission to the Sun.

09 Apr 2018 6:52 PM

With the engine shut down, Unity coasted upward to an apogee of 84,271 feet (25,686 meters). (Photo: Virgin Galactic)

Virgin Galactic conducts 1st powered flight of new spaceship

The spaceship climbed steeply and went supersonic — Mach 1.87 — during the 30-second rocket burn.

06 Apr 2018 8:56 AM

Bennu is also the best-studied asteroid of all the known NEOs, the researchers note. (Photo: Pixabay)

Spacerock that can end life on Earth can't be stopped by Nasa, say scientists

Researchers say it might be impossible to stop the space rock, the size of the Empire State building, from crashing into Earth in 2135.

16 Mar 2018 1:02 PM

Jupiter’s southern hemisphere in this image captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

Jupiter’s Colorful Cloud Belts captured by Juno Spacecraft

At the time the image was taken, the spacecraft was about 8,453 miles (13,604 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet.

16 Jan 2018 5:02 PM

NASA suggests that Voyager 1 should keep on running for another 2-3 years before it runs out of fuel in the interstellar space.

NASA nails test on voyager spacecraft, 13 billion miles away

Voyager 1 is the only spacecraft traveling through interstellar space, the region beyond our solar system.

05 Dec 2017 9:46 AM

Dream Chaser successfully completes landing test

Around 30 feet (nine meters) in length, the space plane looks like a miniature version of NASA’s retired Space Shuttles

16 Nov 2017 4:26 PM

It was the third successful launch in the McLean, Virginia-based company's campaign to replace its entire globe-circling fleet with a total of 75 next-generation communications satellites.

SpaceX launches 10 more Iridium Communications satellites

The satellites also carry payloads for global real-time aircraft tracking and a ship-tracking service.

10 Oct 2017 3:21 PM

Lockheed Martin is among several companies working on deep space habitats with NASA, which hopes to send the first astronauts to Mars in the 2030s.

This Mars lander will allow humans to explore the Red Planet

NASA is planning missions into the space between Earth and the Moon for the next decade to prepare for trips to Mars.

29 Sep 2017 11:38 AM

Bennu is a primitive, carbon-rich asteroid, the kind of cosmic body that may have delivered life-giving materials to Earth billions of years ago. The asteroid's orbit around the Sun is tilted six degrees in comparison to Earth's.

Asteroid-bound spacecraft zips by Earth for gravity boost

The spacecraft zipped over Antarctica at a distance of 11,000 miles (17,000 kilometers), using Earth's gravity to shift its trajectory.

23 Sep 2017 7:42 AM

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Shobhaa De

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