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Marcia Dunn

SpaceX will try 1st private cargo run again Tues.

Last updated Monday, May 21, 2012 - 1:57pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Private rocket maker SpaceX aimed for a Tuesday liftoff after fixing the engine problem that caused a launch abort over the weekend, stalling the world's first commercial space station supply flight.

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SpaceX rocket launch aborted in last second

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, May 19, 2012 - 7:01am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second abort of the historic flight.

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NASA rooting for SpaceX rocket flight to space station

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 2:46pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- For the first time, a private company will launch a rocket to the International Space Station, sending it on a grocery run this weekend that could be the shape of things to come for America's space program.

If this unmanned flight and others like it succeed, commercial spacecraft could be ferrying astronauts to the orbiting outpost within five years.

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Space shuttle Discovery atop a 747 carrier jet departs the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, April 17, 2012, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Discovery is being transported to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Space shuttle Discovery makes final takeoff

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - 9:45am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — After three decades of space service, NASA’s oldest and most traveled shuttle, Discovery, began its new life as a museum relic Tuesday with one final takeoff.

Discovery, Museum, Smithsonian, Space, Space shuttle, NASA, National Read more Comments

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lift off from Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 10:43 a.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010.

SpaceX to launch cargo run to space station

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, March 19, 2012 - 10:10am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The International Space Station should be getting its first commercial cargo shipment in early May.

Business, International Space Station, Rockets, Space, SpaceX, NASA Read more Comments

In this photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, Felix Baumgartner prepares to jump during the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos over Roswell, N.M. on Thursday, March 15, 2012. Baumgartner is more than halfway toward his goal of setting a world record for the highest jump. A spokesperson says the skydiver took a practice jump from more than 13 miles high over New Mexico. He's aiming for nearly 23 miles in the summer. The record is held by Joe Kittinger who jumped from 19.5 miles in 1960. (AP Photo/Red Bull Stratos, Jay Nemeth)

Skydiver makes test jump for record

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, March 16, 2012 - 9:33am

Skydiving daredevil Felix Baumgartner is more than halfway toward his goal of setting a world record for the highest jump.

Baumgartner lifted off Thursday for a test jump from Roswell, N.M., aboard a 100-foot helium balloon. He rode inside a pressurized capsule to 71,581 feet -- 13.6 miles -- and then jumped. He parachuted to a safe landing, according to project spokeswoman Trish Medalen.

Features, Balloons, hot air balloon, Parchute, World Record, Skydiving Read more Comments

In this Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 image made from video provided by NASA, commander of the International Space Station, Daniel Burbank, shakes hands with Robonaut aboard the station in orbit around the earth. It's the first handshake ever between a human and a humanoid in space. NASA's Robonaut was launched aboard space shuttle Discovery last February. Crews have been testing it to see how it one day might help astronauts perform space station chores. (AP Photo/NASA)

Astronaut and robot shake hands in space

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 4:21pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronauts and robots have united in space with a healthy handshake.

The commander of the International Space Station, Daniel Burbank, shook hands Wednesday with Robonaut. It's the first handshake ever between a human and a humanoid in space.

Astronaut, International Space Station, Robots, Space, NASA, National Read more Comments

NASA spaceport breaks ground for shuttle display

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 10:42pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's retired space shuttle Atlantis is a step closer to completing its final journey.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex broke ground Wednesday for Atlantis' permanent home, a $100 million exhibit due to open in summer 2013. Schoolchildren waved red, white and blue Atlantis flags -- 33 flags representing each of Atlantis' space missions -- as state and local dignitaries joined former shuttle staff at the construction site.

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NASA OKs Feb. launch of private space station trip

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, December 9, 2011 - 1:15pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A private space company will attempt the first-ever commercial cargo run to the International Space Station in February.

Business, International Space Station, Private space program, Space, Space craft, NASA Read more Comments

NASA launches super-size Mars rover to red planet

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 11:22am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer, NASA's Curiosity rover, rocketed toward Mars on Saturday on a search for evidence that the red planet might once have been home to itsy-bitsy life.

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Quarter-mile-wide asteroid coming close to Earth

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, November 5, 2011 - 10:23am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An asteroid bigger than an aircraft carrier will dart between the Earth and moon on Tuesday -- the closest encounter by such a huge rock in 35 years.

But scientists say not to worry. It won't hit.

Asteroid, Astronomy, Space, NASA, National Read more Comments

Falling satellite slows down, Earth strike delayed

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, September 23, 2011 - 3:21pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A 6-ton NASA satellite on a collision course with Earth clung to space Friday, apparently flipping position in its ever-lower orbit and stalling its death plunge.

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(The Associated Press) In this image provided by NASA this is the STS-48 onboard photo of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in the grasp of the RMS (Remote Manipulator System) during deployment, from the shuttle in September 1991. The satellite is 35 feet long, 15 feet in diameter, weighs 13,000 pounds. U.S. space officials say they expect a dead satellite to fall to Earth in about a week. NASA has been watching the 6-ton satellite closely. NASA scientists are doing their best to tell us where a plummeting 6-ton satellite will fall later this week. It’s just that if they’re off a little bit, it could mean the difference between hitting Florida or New York. Or, say, Iran or India.

Earth to satellite: When will you hit and where?

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - 7:15am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA scientists are doing their best to tell us where a plummeting six-ton satellite will fall later this week. It’s just that if they’re off a little bit, it could mean the difference between hitting Florida or landing on New York. Or, say, Iran or India.

Crash, Satellites, Space, NASA, National Read more Comments

This framegrab image from NASA-TV shows the twin GRAIL satellites sitting on launch pad 37-A at the 15-minute hold mark atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket Thursday Sept. 8, 2011. NASA is sending the probes on a long, roundabout trip to the moon. The spacecraft will orbit the moon, chasing one another in circles so researchers can measure the gap and the gravity below. It will be the first lunar mission devoted to studying the insides of the moon. By measuring the entire gravity field of the moon, scientists hope to learn what the moon is made of all the way to its core. (AP Photo/NASA)

Wind delays NASA launch of twin moon spacecraft

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, September 8, 2011 - 10:05am

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — High wind forced NASA on Thursday to delay the launch of twin spacecraft destined for the moon, the first mission dedicated to measuring lunar gravity.

NASA will try again Friday, despite another poor weather forecast: 60 percent no-go. Launch time is 8:33 a.m. The space agency has just two single-second launch windows every day.

Moon, Space, Space craft, NASA, National Read more Comments

FILE - This May 23, 2011 file photo released by NASA, shows the International Space Station flying at an altitude of approximately 220 miles, in an image taken by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking. Astronauts may need to temporarily abandon the International Space Station this fall if last week's Russian launch accident prevents new crews from flying, a NASA official said Monday. (AP Photo/NASA, Paolo Nespoli)

Space station may be evacuated by late Nov.

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, August 29, 2011 - 4:20pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronauts may need to take the unprecedented step of temporarily abandoning the International Space Station if last week's Russian launch accident prevents new crews from flying there this fall.

Until officials figure out what went wrong with Russia's essential Soyuz rockets, there will be no way to launch any more astronauts before the current residents have to leave in mid-November.

International Space Station, Space, NASA, National Read more Comments