Cosmic Chicago
Chicago's Independent Space News Outlet
Category: Mission Update
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Photos: ULA Rolls Boeing Starliner to the Launch Pad
In preparation for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test of the Starliner spacecraft, ULA rolled its Atlas V rocket to SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral on Saturday, May 4th. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in the spacecraft, named Calypso, on Monday, May 6th at 9:34 pm CST.…
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Crew-7 Splashdown Marks End to Six Month Mission to the ISS.
Crew-7 astronauts safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico at 4:47 am CDT on March 12th to mark the end of a six-month mission to the International Space Station. Following the arrival of Crew-8, the two crews completed Station handover responsibilities and Crew-7 undocked from the ISS at 10:20 am CDT on March 11th…
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How to Watch Intuitive Machines Attempt the First Commercial Moon Landing
Intuitive Machines’ is attempting to land their Nova-C lunar lander, named Odysseus, on the surface of the Moon today. If the landing is successful, it will be the first time the United States has soft-landed a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon since the end of the Apollo program. Odysseus is expected to attempt…
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NASA’s New HERA Crew Begins 45 Day Simulated Mars Mission
On Friday, a new HERA crew began a 45-day simulated mission to Mars inside NASA’s ground-based habitat. The four-person crew is designated as Campaign 7, Mission 1, and will live together for their analog mission as part of the agency’s Human Research Program, HRP. NASA selected and trained the four-person crew to participate in the…
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NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends After Three Years on Mars
After nearly three years of flying around the surface of Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter mission has come to an end. According to NASA, Ingenuity suffered rotor damage during descent on its 72nd flight and is “no longer capable of flight”. On January 18th, the final flight of Ingenuity was going to be a simple vertical…
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Photos: OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Reveal at Johnson Space Center
NASA revealed the contents of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule today at the agency’s Johnson Space Center. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, JSC Director Vanessa Wyche, and scientists from the OSIRIS-REx team were on hand to share initial details about the asteroid material collected. The OSIRIS-REx mission launched to the asteroid Bennu in 2016, reached the…
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The Artemis I Mission Comes to an End: How to Watch the Orion Spacecraft Splash Down
The Orion spacecraft is on its way back to Earth, about to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the Artemis I mission. On Sunday, December 11th Orion will go through the final three mission milestones; entry, descent, and splashdown. Recovery teams will demonstrate that they can safely secure the spacecraft in the water before…
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Artemis I Photos from the Launch Pad
The Artemis I mission is underway as Orion approaches the Moon for a close lunar flyby before going into distant retrograde orbit. The first photos from NASA’s Orion spacecraft have started to come in, giving us spectacular views of Earth. We also have new Artemis I photos from the launch pad to share. Cosmic Chicago…
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Artemis I Mission is Underway After a Successful Launch of SLS Sent the Orion Spacecraft to the Moon
The Orion Spacecraft is headed to the Moon after NASA successfully carried out the maiden launch of SLS to begin the Artemis I mission. In the early morning hours at Kennedy Space Center, the countdown clock hit T-O at 1:47 ET, four main engines and twin solid rocket boosters ignited, and SLS lifted off the…
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Photos: Artemis I Mission Launches to the Moon from Kennedy Space Center
The Artemis I mission began with the launch of SLS rising like a second sun into the Florida sky. Liftoff occurred at 12:47 a.m. CST on November 16th, 2022, from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The light from the four RS-25 engines was so bright that SLS was visible in the…
